State AG Opinions
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When the 1997 Swine Farm Siting Act takes effect with new setback distances (1,500 feet from residences, 2,500 feet from schools/hospitals/churches, etc.), do farmers whose water quality permits were already approved at lesser setbacks still have to comply with the new setbacks when they start construction?
Yes. The effective date language is clear and unambiguous: the new setbacks apply to any new construction or expansion commencing on or after the date of the act. Holding a DWQ-issued water quality pe…
If NC enacts a swine farm moratorium that takes effect when the Governor signs it, can permits issued earlier the same morning still be valid?
Yes. The General Assembly ratified the Clean Water Responsibility and Environmentally Sound Policy Act on August 26, 1997. The Act imposed a two-year moratorium on construction or expansion of swine f…
Does my city get to keep the money from parking tickets, or does the cash have to go to the county public schools?
It depends on whether the city has decriminalized its parking ordinance. If the council has invoked G.S. 160A-175(b) to remove criminal penalties (as Raleigh did in Section 11-2025 of its code), the p…
Can the North Carolina General Assembly create a local-option tax by passing a bill on fewer than three separate days, or does Article II, Section 23 require strict three-day passage even for narrow city/county authorizations?
No, the General Assembly cannot. The AG concluded that to the extent S.L. 1997-452 (H.B. 786) authorized Cabarrus County or the City of Concord to levy taxes through a binding local referendum, it was…
When a North Carolina builder builds a spec house on land he owns and sells the house and land together, does the project 'value' for general-contractor licensing purposes include the land?
No. The AG concluded that the 'value' used to determine which level of general-contractor license is required under G.S. § 87-10(a) is the cost of the building only, not the cost of the land. The lice…
Can a Texas community college charge students a mandatory technology fee?
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board asked, on behalf of the Dallas County Community College District, whether the district could impose a mandatory technology fee to buy computer hardware, s…
What happens if a town calls a special meeting on short notice without explaining why it couldn't wait seven days?
The town violated FOIA, under the law as it stood in 1997, by posting a special-meeting notice three days ahead without explaining why the usual seven-day notice couldn't be given. No remedy was order…
Can a North Carolina town legally run a 'Business Development Investment' tax-rebate program that gives incentive grants to private companies to attract economic development?
Tentatively yes, but Lexington's BDI Program needs published guidelines and criteria before the AG can sign off. Maready v. City of Winston-Salem (1996) confirms that § 158-7.1 incentive grants are co…
If I appeal a Texas justice court case and post an appeal bond, do I still have to separately pay the county clerk's court costs?
When a justice court case is appealed to county court, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 143a deems the appeal not perfected if the appellant fails to pay county-court costs within twenty days of the cler…
Is it enough for a city to just announce that a committee will meet, without saying what it will discuss?
No, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the City of New Castle violated FOIA by giving less than seven days' notice for two Public Safety Review Committee meetings and by failing to includ…
Can a Minnesota county attorney prosecute someone who distributed unsigned campaign leaflets, when Minnesota's statute says it's a misdemeanor to distribute campaign material without a 'Prepared and paid for by ...' disclaimer?
The AG concluded the statute is clearly unconstitutional on its face under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1995 decision in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, which struck down a nearly identical Ohio la…
Are public employers that contribute to Oregon's PERS pension trust 'beneficiaries' of the fund?
No. Public employers that contribute to PERS were not beneficiaries of the Public Employees Retirement Fund. The 1997 opinion explicitly reversed contrary statements in earlier 1976 and 1977 opinions.
Can the mayor of a Minnesota city serve in office while also being an employee, incorporator, and director of a nonprofit that holds a contract from the city to operate public-access cable television under the city's cable franchise?
Yes, with abstention. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 238.15, the cable-specific conflict statute, controls over the general municipal conflict statute (§ 471.87) under the special-versus-general …
If a NC home school doesn't actually enroll any children of compulsory school age, does the state Division of Non-Public Education still have to recognize and register it?
No. NC's compulsory school attendance law (G.S. § 115C-378) requires children ages 7-16 to attend a school. The state's home-school, private-church-school, and qualified-nonpublic-school regulatory fr…
How much authority do New York local governments have to use zoning to control where group homes, soup kitchens, and substance abuse treatment facilities can locate?
It depends on the type of facility. State law preempts local zoning over community residential facilities for the mentally disabled and group family day care, but allows local zoning over substance ab…
Could Idaho give parents a $500 income tax credit for not enrolling their child in public school, including parents using private religious schools, without running into the Establishment Clause or Idaho's no-aid-to-sectarian-schools provision?
The Legislature could grant a $500 income tax credit to parents who comply with Idaho's compulsory education law without using public schools, regardless of whether the child attends a non-sectarian p…
Is a school's National Honor Society chapter subject to Delaware's public records law just because the school partly funds it?
No, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the local National Honor Society chapter at Caesar Rodney High School was not itself a "public body" under FOIA, even though the school district pai…
Did changes to the salary schedule for North Carolina school psychologists and speech pathologists in the 1990 and 1996 appropriations acts strip these employees of eligibility for career status (tenure)?
No. The AG concluded that the 1990 and 1996 appropriations-act salary adjustments only raised the starting salary points for school psychologists and speech pathologists on the existing master's-degre…
If a North Carolina felon's firearm rights were restored under the old rule (five years after release), can the State or the federal government still prosecute him for possessing a firearm after the 1995 NC amendment tightened the rules?
Yes. The 1995 NC Felony Firearms Act amendment applies to any felony conviction in NC occurring before, on, or after December 1, 1995. The AG concluded that even ex-felons whose firearm rights had bee…
When a North Carolina county wants to reorganize its county-owned hospital as a hospital authority, can the county lease the hospital property to the new authority with strings attached, like requiring the county's written consent before major decisions?
Yes. The AG concluded that G.S. § 131E-31 expressly authorizes a county to lease hospital property to a hospital authority on whatever terms the county chooses, including prior-written-approval condit…
Are applications for a North Carolina Private Protective Services license open to the public, or can the licensing board keep them confidential?
Applications and other information the Board receives during licensure are public records under G.S. § 132-1 and § 132-6, and are open to public inspection. Narrow exceptions cover Social Security num…
Does Texas charge the agricultural rollback tax when the state buys farmland and stops farming it?
Land that is appraised at its lower agricultural value owes a 'rollback' tax, a penalty recapturing several years of tax savings, when the use changes away from farming. Land Commissioner Garry Mauro …
Are meetings of Oregon's bar disciplinary screening panel (the SPRB) open to the public under the Oregon Public Meetings Law?
No. State Professional Responsibility Board meetings were exempt from the Public Meetings Law as 'judicial proceedings' under ORS 192.690(1), because the SPRB performed an adjudicatory role in the jud…
Can New York's 1997 ban on combative sport (extreme fighting) be enforced against events held on an Indian reservation in the state?
Yes. The AG concluded that Chapter 14 of the Laws of 1997 was a criminal/prohibitory law (not a civil/regulatory one) under the Cabazon test, because it imposed an absolute statewide ban on combative …
Does a village attorney have a conflict of interest if they also represent a private client in a matter pending before a town planning board on which the village's mayor sits?
No. The AG concluded the village attorney did not have a disqualifying conflict, because the mayor's role on the town planning board is independent of the village attorney's representation of private …
Can a New York town license tow truck operators, set up a rotational call list for accident scenes, and ban tow operators from cruising for tows?
Yes. The AG concluded a town may use its police power to license tow truck operators, establish a rotational towing service list for police-initiated calls at accident scenes, and prohibit unauthorize…
Can North Carolina's anti-gambling property-seizure law be used to ban billboards advertising the legal Indian casino games at the Eastern Band of Cherokee reservation?
No. The gaming offered at the Cherokee reservation under the Tribal-State Compact is legal in North Carolina, and the First Amendment protects commercial speech about lawful activity. N.C.G.S. § 14-29…
When my county pays for materials to build a new school, can the county get back the sales tax it paid on those materials?
Only in narrow circumstances. Local boards of education are not on the list of entities eligible for the G.S. § 105-164.14(c) sales-tax refund. A county can get a refund only when the county itself ha…
How does Minnesota's 95-percent-of-governor compensation cap apply to school superintendent contracts that include vacation cash-out, deferred compensation, vehicle expense reimbursements, expense allowances, and split-dollar life insurance?
The AG answered nine questions from the Commissioner of Children, Families and Learning following a 1995 State Auditor review of Twin Cities superintendent contracts. The headline holdings: school dis…
Can a New York town clerk who already collects state, county, and town taxes also be appointed school tax collector by the local school board?
Yes. The AG concluded the town clerk of Willsboro could be appointed school tax collector for the Willsboro Central School District. Neither position is subordinate to the other, and the duties (colle…
Can a New York town's deputy building inspector inspect the building inspector's own home and issue permits, given that the deputy reports to the inspector?
Yes, under the rule of necessity. The AG concluded the deputy may inspect and issue any required permits because the deputy and the inspector were the only individuals authorized to do so. Ideally a d…
Can a New York town pass a local law to keep part of the fines its justice court collects on village violations?
No. The AG concluded a town cannot use its supersession power to amend the Uniform Justice Court Act's rule that fines collected for violations of a village local law are the property of the village. …
Can a New York village reserve on-street parking spaces for municipal employees and for people doing business at village offices?
Yes. The AG concluded that after Chapter 663 of the Laws of 1996 added subdivision 22 to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1640(a), cities and villages had express state authorization to set aside on-street p…
If a New York village or library board member is personally named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit against the board, do they have to recuse from the board's deliberations and executive sessions about defending the case?
No. The AG concluded board members named as individual co-defendants in a lawsuit against the board may participate in the board's deliberations about the village's or library's liability and may atte…
Can a Minnesota assistant county attorney also serve as the city attorney for a statutory city in the same county?
Yes, qualified. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 481.17's second sentence (any-population provision for criminal prosecutorial functions) means the offices of city and county attorney are not per s…
Can a Texas city review or veto the rules its fire and police civil service commission adopts?
State Senator Frank Madla asked whether the City of San Antonio, which has adopted the fire fighters' and police officers' civil service system in chapter 143 of the Local Government Code, may review,…
Can a school board require a newspaper's records request to be made in writing to its attorney, and can it discuss a controversial charter school application in closed session?
Mostly no violation, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found Red Clay's requirement that a newspaper's public records request be in writing and addressed to its counsel didn't violate FOIA, th…
Can the UIL require Texas school coaches to be full-time employees, and can a school board agree to that?
Representative Paul Sadler asked whether University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules requiring athletic coaches to be full-time school employees exceed the League's authority and intrude on local sc…
Can a Texas auto club pay members back for towing and other costs, or only for legal fees?
The Secretary of State and the Insurance Commissioner jointly asked whether the Automobile Club Services Act (Transportation Code chapter 722) lets an auto club contract to reimburse its members for e…
Does the mayor of a New York city have veto power over the common council's appointments to the local Industrial Development Agency?
Yes. The AG concluded the Dunkirk City Charter's general mayoral veto over council resolutions applies to IDA appointments. State law requires the city's governing body to appoint IDA members, and an …
Can central high school district board members who also sit on a constituent elementary district's board vote on a sale of property between the two districts?
Yes. The AG concluded the dual board members may vote on the proposed sale. The Legislature designed central high school districts knowing constituent-district board members would also sit on the cent…
Could Idaho voters ban the use of bait or dogs to hunt black bears, and codify a tougher penalty for violations?
The proposed initiative would have banned the use of bait year-round and the use of dogs from May 1 through August 31 to take black bears. The AG identified drafting concerns: an unintentional photogr…
Does a city or its appointed utility board own and control a municipal water utility's property and staff?
State Representative Edmund Kuempel asked about the legal relationship between New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) and the City of New Braunfels, which had created NBU in 1942 to run the city water and sewe…
Is North Carolina's tax break that lets in-state corporations deduct dividends from majority-owned subsidiaries (but denies the same deduction to out-of-state corporations) constitutional under the U.S. Commerce Clause?
No. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 105-130.7(4), which allowed only corporations commercially domiciled in NC to deduct subsidiary dividends, facially discriminates against interstate commerce in vi…
Does the Minnesota statute capping drainage repair costs at the originally-determined benefits apply only to petitioned repairs, or does it also cap routine maintenance and repairs by the drainage authority?
Only petitioned repairs. The AG concluded that the cost cap in Minn. Stat. § 103E.715, subd. 4(a) (cost cannot exceed the total benefits determined in the original drainage proceeding) applies only to…
Can the NC State Education Assistance Authority pay for counselor training and financial aid outreach programs out of the interest income on the NC Student Loan Fund?
Yes. Article 23 of Chapter 116 grants the Authority broad power to operate financial assistance programs and 'to do all other acts and things necessary or convenient' to that mission. Training high sc…
Would changing 'shall' to 'may' in Idaho's teacher-negotiation statute actually let teachers pick their own bargaining representative?
The proposed initiative would have changed Idaho Code 33-1271 from 'shall' to 'may,' making it optional for school districts to enter negotiation agreements with teacher representatives. The AG saw no…
Could Idaho voters use the initiative process to undo the 1997 Legislature's tightening of initiative procedures?
The proposed initiative would have repealed most of HB 265 (signed March 20, 1997), which had added time limits, geographic proportionality, signature-gatherer requirements, and judicial review provis…
Can a physical therapist in Texas perform needle EMG testing?
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners asked whether needle electromyography (EMG), a nerve-and-muscle test, is the practice of medicine, whether it also falls within a physical therapist's scope …
Could Idaho put a 'Signed TERM LIMITS pledge' or 'Broke TERM LIMITS pledge' legend next to a congressional candidate's name on the ballot, after the Supreme Court struck down state-imposed term limits on Congress?
The AG warned that ballot legends were on uncertain footing pending the Idaho Supreme Court's pending Simpson v. Cenarrusa decision, and that section 6's deemed-service rule risked colliding with U.S.…
Could a single Idaho ballot initiative both let counties opt out of term limits and impose a multi-year lobbying ban on former state legislators?
The AG warned the initiative likely violated Article 3, section 16's single-subject rule because county term limits and revolving-door lobbying restrictions are not 'necessary as ends and means to the…
Did Idaho need a 1997 ballot initiative requiring state, county, municipal, and school district candidates to pledge compliance with a 1994 term-limits act that already legally bound them?
The AG questioned the initiative's necessity because the 1994 Term Limits Act already bound state and local candidates regardless of whether they signed a pledge, and the proposed ballot legend faced …
Could a 1997 ballot initiative phase out Idaho's school maintenance-and-operation property tax levy without specifying how the lost revenue would be replaced?
The AG flagged that section 1 would phase the M&O levy down to zero by 2001 but only contained a non-binding 'should' that the legislature replace lost revenue from sales taxes, leaving school funding…
Could a 1997 Idaho ballot initiative ban the 'reburial' of plutonium and require written accident analyses for state air-quality permits, when the proposal lacked the basic structure of operative legislation?
The AG concluded the initiative was not implementable as written: it failed to designate any state agency to act, used pivotal terms like 'reburial' and 'this plutonium' without definition, and ran in…
Can North Carolina bar nonresidents from holding shellfish licenses, and how much higher can it set commercial-fishing license fees for out-of-state fishermen, without violating the U.S. Constitution?
Yes in theory, but with serious doubt about the shellfish bar and the $1,800 fee gap in HB 1097. The AG warned that flat resident-only shellfish licenses (NCGS 113-154(c), 113-202) probably fail Privi…
Can a New York town outside the four counties listed in Town Law § 130(17) regulate the size and horsepower of motorboats on a lake within its borders?
No. The AG concluded the town may regulate the speed and operation of vessels, but cannot regulate motorboat size or horsepower without explicit state authorization. Town Law § 130(17) only grants tha…
Can an Oregon county library keep corporate stock it received by bequest?
No. Article XI, section 9 of the Oregon Constitution barred counties from being stockholders in any company. The bar applied even when the stock arrived by bequest, and dividend reinvestment was also …
If a former North Carolina state judge has already vested in his judicial pension before the General Assembly passed a law cutting benefits for state retirees who later become federal judges, can the State still cut his pension once he is appointed to the federal bench?
No. The AG concluded that NCGS 135-72 cannot constitutionally be applied to reduce the judicial retirement benefits of any state-system member or retiree who had already satisfied the minimum-age and …
Can a New York county clerk record a subdivision map that is certified by a professional engineer instead of a licensed land surveyor?
No. The AG concluded the county clerk may not accept a subdivision map certified by a professional engineer. Real Property Law § 334 requires the certificate of a licensed land surveyor, and Education…
Can a New York car dealer's staff use dealer plates to run errands like picking up parts or driving customers to and from the shop?
No. The AG concluded that Vehicle and Traffic Law § 415 limits dealer-plate use to sale, demonstration, and the specific other purposes the statute lists. Running customer transport or parts-pickup er…
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