State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can the NY Pilots Board suspend a Hudson River pilot's license for negligent acts he did while working as a docking master, not under his license?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Board of Commissioners of Pilots could proceed against the license of a State-licensed Hudson River pilot for actions taken while he was working as a docking master and …
Can a NY EMT install red lights and a siren on her personal car to respond to ambulance calls?
Yes, when properly equipped and operating as an agent of an ambulance service. The AG concluded the phrase 'owned or operated by' in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 115-c is disjunctive: a private vehicle i…
Can a Texas state agency buy liability insurance for its employees?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission could obtain Texas Tort Claims Act liability insurance for its employees under section 101.027 of the Civil Pract…
Does Maine's LD 1217 takings bill just restate constitutional property protections, and is it retroactive?
No on both counts as framed. The AG concluded LD 1217's compensation scheme, triggered when laws cut a property's value by 50 percent or more, departed markedly from constitutional takings law and wen…
Do disabled parking plates let you skip campus parking permits and fees at a Texas university?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas state university could require students, faculty, and staff, even those who are disabled, to register their vehicles and pay a reasonable fee, and c…
Is it illegal in Texas to bet on card games played online over computers and modems?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that when two or more people use their own computers and modems to play and bet on a card game, the activity is illegal gambling under chapter 47 of the Texas Pe…
Do the proposed amendments to LD 1412's Section D-4 fix the constitutional problem flagged in Op. 95-6?
Yes. The AG concluded the parallel amendments H-182 and S-102 cure the constitutional infirmity identified in Op. 95-6. Instead of letting the Governor unilaterally implement statutory amendments afte…
Is LD 1412 Part D (the Productivity Realization Task Force budget mechanism) constitutional, particularly its Section D-4 authority for the Governor to implement statutory amendments without legislative action?
Mixed. The AG concluded Section D-5 of LD 1412 (authorizing the Governor to transfer positions and balances to achieve a $45 million productivity savings target) would survive nondelegation and separa…
In a NY eviction, does the sheriff have to physically remove the tenant's furniture and possessions?
Yes, by default. The AG concluded that a sheriff executing a RPAPL § 749(1) warrant must effect the removal of the evicted person's personal property unless the petitioner-landlord relieves the sherif…
Can a Texas city make its own rules for septic systems, or does the state control that?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that chapter 366 of the Texas Health and Safety Code set up comprehensive statewide regulation of on-site sewage disposal systems (septic systems) under the stat…
When Maryland's Constitution says a newly elected or appointed official must take the oath of office 'before the Governor,' does the Governor personally have to read the oath out loud?
No. The opinion concluded that an officer qualifies 'before the Governor' as long as the oath is taken in the Governor's presence; the Governor is not required to personally administer or read the oat…
Would Maine's LD 537 (extending binding arbitration to municipal labor disputes over salaries, pensions, and insurance) be an unfunded mandate?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 537, which would amend 26 M.R.S.A. § 965(4) to make controversies over salaries, pensions, and insurance subject to binding arbitration (instead of advisory arbitration), woul…
When does Maine's initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) take effect, and can the Legislature pass it as an emergency?
Both questions answered. The AG concluded that if the Legislature enacted initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) without invoking the emergency clause, it woul…
Can Maine's Legislature divert pre-1992 appropriations to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and over-appropriated funds in excess of actual department revenues, to other purposes despite the Article IX, Section 22 dedication amendment?
Yes, in two narrow circumstances. The AG concluded that Me. Const. art. IX, § 22 (effective November 23, 1992) protects only funds equal to revenues actually collected by the Department of Inland Fish…
Does a fire district commissioner have a conflict if he's a paid firefighter in another city and belongs to the same national union as the firefighters he must negotiate with?
No. The AG concluded membership in the same national union, through different locals, creates only a remote and indirect incentive. Fire commissioners are unpaid volunteers; the commissioner had no co…
Can a NY county create a fire marshal position by resolution, or does it need a local law?
By local law, not by resolution. The AG concluded that home-rule authority allows a county to create the fire marshal position and define its duties through a local law (or charter law for a charter c…
Can a planning board member also work as a full-time computer services employee for the same town?
Yes. The AG concluded no statute prohibits the combination, and the two positions are compatible at common law: the computer services job is not subordinate to the planning board and the duties do not…
Can the same person serve as a New York village's code enforcement officer and also sit on the village planning board?
Yes. The two positions are compatible. They are not subordinate to one another, their duties do not conflict, and any case-specific conflicts can be handled by recusal.
If Congress reinstates a federal tax deduction retroactively after Idaho's annual federal-conformity bill is already signed, can Idaho taxpayers use the new deduction on their Idaho state return, or do they have to wait for the legislature to update Idaho law?
They have to wait. Idaho's tax conformity statute pegs Idaho's definition of taxable income to the Internal Revenue Code 'as in effect on the first day of January, 1995,' so any federal change made af…
Which county social services department records can be inspected by social services board members, and can an individual board member look at files concerning their own family (like a protective services file for their child or AFDC records on a relative)?
Board members can inspect any record in the director's office relating to public assistance or social services, but only in their role as board members carrying out their statutory duties. They cannot…
Can North Carolina's Department of Human Resources tell a home-health agency it can only treat patients within the geographic 'service area' on its Certificate of Need?
Probably not in a way that survives federal antitrust law. The Department's territorial restriction on home health providers is a horizontal market-allocation that has been per se illegal under Sherma…
Can Maine's Senate President and House Speaker, by joint policy, deny lodging and meal reimbursement to legislators staying overnight before a session if they live within 75 miles of Augusta?
No. The AG concluded that the February 17, 1995 joint policy of Senate President Butland and Speaker Gwadosky, which denied 'night before' reimbursement to legislators living within 75 miles of August…
When a Minnesota county-seat-removal petition is presented to the county auditor, can the petition be rejected because the affiants did not personally witness each signature? And is the City of Warroad's contingent offer to donate land and $4.5 million toward courthouse construction a valid election-law offer that the county board can accept?
Petition: not rejectable. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 372.01 requires affiants to assert genuineness of signatures, 60-day recency, and legal-voter status, but does not require personal observ…
If North Carolina formally withdrew from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission compact, would the state still have to follow the Commission's fishery management plans for striped bass, summer flounder, weakfish, and other coastal species? And would the state lose any voting rights?
The state would still have to follow the plans. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that the federal Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (1993) applied to every Atlantic coastal state b…
Do you have to pay the witness fee for someone subpoenaed to a deposition, not just to court?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the witness fee in section 22.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (then a flat $10 per day) had to be paid to everyone subpoenaed to appear an…
Can a New York city keep a seven-member zoning board of appeals even after a state amendment said boards must have three or five members?
Yes. The AG concluded that General City Law § 81 (the ZBA-membership rule) excludes cities with populations over 1 million, so it is not a 'general law' under the home rule definition. A city may ther…
Does Title VI of the Civil Rights Act ban discrimination in federally funded programs, and who counts as a recipient?
The Attorney General confirmed in 1995 that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. sections 2000d to 2000d-7) was enacted to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, or national orig…
Does the NY Crime Victims Board waive its lien on later recoveries when it compromises a lien on an earlier one?
It depends. The AG concluded that the Crime Victims Board's compromise or settlement of a § 634(2) lien on a particular recovery may or may not waive the lien attaching to a later recovery or the Stat…
Can a public retirement system's board review a disability applicant's medical records in a closed meeting?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the board of trustees of a public retirement system may meet in closed session to review and deliberate the medical and psychiatric records of someone apply…
Can a videographer who is a notary public, but not a court reporter, record a deposition in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a 'videographer' who is also a notary public, but who is not a certified shorthand reporter, could not make a videotape that serves as the only record of an…
Did an expanded Texas county civil service system cover deputy sheriffs and constables, and could its commission create subpoena power?
Under the 1995 law and the facts presented, an expanded subchapter A county civil service system covered deputy sheriffs and deputy constables when the sheriff’s department had no separate subchapter …
If a Delaware town council posts a revised meeting agenda late without explaining why, does that void what the council voted on?
Under the law as it stood in 1995, yes. The AG found that the City of New Castle violated FOIA's open-meetings requirements when it posted a revised agenda adding an ordinance item just one day before…
Can a Texas county cut or phase out health insurance for district judges and the district attorney?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that Local Government Code section 157.002 let a county provide medical coverage for district officers whose salaries the county pays, even a supplemental salary…
Can a Texas acupuncturist call themselves a 'doctor' or 'Oriental Medical Doctor (O.M.D.)'?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas acupuncturist could use the title 'doctor' as long as they followed section 4 of the Healing Art Identification Act, which requires designating the …
If a Texas school district hires a private company to run its classes, does it still have to follow state school rules?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 23.34 of the Education Code, which lets an independent school district contract with a public or private entity to provide educational services, did…
Could a vandalism victim inspect or copy a child's confidential Texas juvenile-court records for use in a related civil damages case?
Possibly. A juvenile court could find that a vandalism victim had a legitimate interest in records needed for a related civil damages action, but that decision rested in the court's discretion. Inspec…
If Maine caps state contributions to the Maine State Retirement System for teacher retirement costs at 3% growth, forcing school districts to cover the rest, does that count as an unfunded 'state mandate' under Article IX, Section 21?
No. The AG concluded that Governor King's proposal in Part G of LD 706 (capping the State's MSRS teacher-retirement contribution at a 3% increase over the prior fiscal year's aggregate teacher salary …
Can Delaware school districts refuse to release the names of teachers along with their salaries in a public records request?
No. The opinion found that teachers' names, paired with their salary, position, and years of service, were public records under Delaware's FOIA, and ordered five school districts to produce them, conc…
Can a South Dakota school board member-elect also serve as Assistant Director of a cooperative educational service unit (the Black Hills Special Services Cooperative) where the school district is a member of the cooperative, contracts for services from the cooperative, and pays the cooperative for those services?
No. The positions are incompatible under both SDCL 13-43-1 (if the Member-Elect is a certified teacher she is 'drawing public money as a teacher' from a public-financed multi-district education progra…
Can a private company that contracts with the federal government to guard federal buildings in DC license its guards as DC Special Police Officers, so they can lawfully carry firearms while moving between protected federal sites?
Yes. The DC Special Police Officer statute lets any 'corporation or individual' apply, and a private contractor responsible for guarding federal property qualifies. Earlier Corporation Counsel opinion…
Under North Carolina's state-law definition of 'handicapped person' in Chapter 168, did substance abuse count as a handicap, so that a substance-abuse halfway house would qualify as a protected 'family care home' under § 168-21(1)?
No. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that substance abuse did not fit § 168-21(2)'s definition of a present, non-correctible loss of body function substantially impairing normal functioning. So a subs…
Can a Texas county sheriff assign reserve deputies to work as paid security guards for private companies or other agencies?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 85.004 of the Local Government Code, which lets a commissioners court authorize the sheriff to appoint reserve deputies and call them into service w…
Does a subordinated bank loan count against a Texas pawnshop's net assets when it applies for a license?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a debt covered by a subordination agreement, in which the bank gives up its lien priority and any unsecured-creditor claim to the pawnshop's current assets …
Does a Texas city have to use competitive bidding when it spends federal CDBG grant money, including on nonprofits?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas city spending federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money had to follow the state's municipal competitive bidding laws whenever the spend…
In Texas, can a towing company give a parking lot the required tow-away warning sign, or is that an illegal kickback?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the warning sign a parking lot must post before towing unauthorized vehicles is a 'thing of value,' even though it cost only about twenty dollars, so a towi…
If an Idaho city wants to apply its zoning rules to land just outside the city limits in the 'area of city impact,' can the city council pass that ordinance on its own, or does the county also have to act?
The county also has to act. Only the board of county commissioners can exercise legislative authority in unincorporated land outside city limits. A city can draft an area-of-impact zoning plan, but th…
Can a Texas university run a student debit card program without a banking or check-seller license?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a campus debit card program (where a student, faculty member, or staffer prepays into a university account and draws it down for on-campus purchases, with n…
Do disability-owned businesses count as Texas HUBs (historically underutilized businesses)?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no, the General Services Commission could not adopt a rule treating businesses owned by people with disabilities as 'historically underutilized businesses' …
If Delaware school board members meet with fewer than a quorum present, can that still violate the state's open meeting law?
The opinion found that the Woodbridge School District's January 1995 breakfast meeting again violated Delaware's open meeting law for the same reasons as a prior decision, and warned that even a small…
Can members of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission, their family members, or members of the Commission's advisory committees receive grants from the state Fishery Resource Grants Program that the Commission itself awards?
Commissioners themselves, no. G.S. 14-234(a) prohibits a public officer from contracting with the body on which the officer sits, and recusal does not cure the violation. Family members of Commissione…
Can a Troy Housing Authority member move outside the city of Troy but stay on the board?
No. The AG concluded that members of the Troy Municipal Housing Authority are local public officers under Public Officers Law § 3 and must reside in the City of Troy at appointment and throughout thei…
In a NY city with a city-manager form of government, does the manager or the mayor appoint members of the city housing authority?
The city manager. The AG concluded that under Plan C of the Optional City Government Law (Watertown's plan), the city manager is the chief executive officer of the city. Public Housing Law § 30(2) giv…
Are professional license applications filed with a Delaware licensing board open to public inspection?
Mostly yes. The opinion found that applications filed with Delaware's Committee on Massage/Bodywork Practitioners were public records subject to inspection, except that any criminal history statements…
Could off-duty Texas peace officers or security guards carry guns at a racetrack?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no. Penal Code section 46.03 made it a third-degree felony to take a firearm onto certain premises, including a racetrack, and gave a defense only to a peac…
Can a NY county refuse to enforce the building code on industrial development agency property while still enforcing it everywhere else?
No. The AG concluded that Executive Law § 381 and 19 NYCRR §§ 441.2 and 441.3 allow a county to opt out of code enforcement entirely (in which case the Secretary of State takes over), or to allocate e…
If a private drug-and-alcohol treatment center starts treating Department of Corrections inmates under a state contract, does that turn it into a 'penal and correctional facility' for zoning purposes?
No. Zoning classifications turn on the nature of the owner's *use* of the property, not the status of the people being served. Since the Mary Frances Center continued to provide drug-and-alcohol treat…
Can Texas force local governments into an assessment-funded insurance guaranty pool?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no, the proposal as described would be unconstitutional. A legislative subcommittee wanted to create a guaranty association for the workers' compensation li…
Do private industry council members in New York have to file annual financial disclosure forms with the county?
No, except for governmental representatives. The AG concluded that private industry council members are not officers or employees of the county. The council is a separate federal-law entity formed to …
Can a charter county design its own indigent defense plan instead of using one of the County Law options?
No. The AG concluded that even a charter county cannot use home rule to design an indigent defense plan that differs from the options in County Law § 722. The right to counsel is a matter of state con…
Can a town planning board member do paid soil-boring work that ends up in subdivision maps the board reviews?
No. The AG concluded that General Municipal Law § 805-a(1)(c) flatly prohibits a planning board member from being paid for services in a matter that will come before the board. Even at $100 per boring…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.