State AG Opinions
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Could the Maryland General Assembly use statistically adjusted census numbers instead of the official 1990 head count to redraw legislative districts?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the General Assembly was not required to use the official 1990 census head count for legislative redistricting, but could use statistically adjusted …
Can Maryland's Governor require legislators to sign letters of support before the Board of Public Works or a state agency approves capital project funding?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that no statute required legislators to write letters of support for capital projects, but the Governor's practice of asking for such letters was not itself unlaw…
If Texas legalized casino gambling in its waters, could Indian tribes run casinos on their Texas lands?
Most likely yes, the Attorney General concluded. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, if Texas enacted a bill permitting Class III (casino-type) gaming anywhere in the state, including stat…
Can a Texas city grant a homestead tax exemption if it would hurt the city's ability to pay its bonds?
No, not where it would impair the bonds, the Attorney General concluded. Camp Wood pledged all its property tax revenue to repay bonds in September 1990, then voters approved a $50,000 over-65/disable…
Can Maryland ban liquor licenses within 300 feet of a church's property line, and does that cover a church hall or parsonage?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Somerset County's 300-foot buffer between certain liquor licenses and church property does not violate the First Amendment, that the distance is measured fro…
Can a Maryland state employee deduct attorney's fees before repaying the state for accident leave pay?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a state employee who was paid accident leave for an on-the-job injury, and who then recovered damages from the person who caused it, could withhold a…
What kind of entity is Idaho's Water District 1 (the big Snake River district managed by the Committee of Nine), and who controls the water-bank money it collects?
Water District 1 is a state instrumentality created under Idaho Code § 42-604 to assist the Department of Water Resources. The watermaster cannot also act as district treasurer (the offices are incomp…
Can Maine voters use a citizen initiative to require future legislation on a specific topic to be approved by referendum?
No. A citizen initiative cannot impose a procedural requirement (like a future statewide referendum) on the Legislature's power to enact later statutes on a specific subject. Such restrictions can onl…
Must a Texas county clerk give you a microfilm copy of deed and real estate records, or just a paper copy?
Just a paper copy, the Attorney General concluded. A county clerk may provide microfilm copies of real estate and deed records, but the Open Records Act does not impose a duty to do so. The Act requir…
Could Maryland's State Police charge a fee for medevac helicopter transfers between hospitals without losing legal immunity?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the State Police could charge fees for medevac helicopter transfers between hospitals under the law as it then stood, but the opinion also found that…
Could a Maryland campaign treasurer let the candidate or someone else handle the campaign's money and required reports instead of doing it personally?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a campaign treasurer under the Fair Election Practices Act could not delegate statutory duties, like receiving contributions, signing checks, or fili…
When a North Carolina home health agency takes state Home Health Services money, does it have to open its books to the State Auditor?
Yes. Private home health agencies that received Home Health Services (HHS) funds from the Division of Adult Health were subject to the audit requirements of N.C.G.S. § 143-6.1, despite the program's f…
On a North Carolina public construction project, who has to do the work of finding and using minority businesses: the contractor, the city or county, or both?
On all public construction contracts subject to N.C.G.S. § 143-128, both the State and any city, county, or other public body had a verifiable percentage goal for minority business participation. Unde…
Could a Maryland county school board lease public school land to a private nonprofit school serving special-education students, like the Harbour School?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Anne Arundel County Board of Education could lease public school property to the Harbour School, a nonprofit special-education institution, as lo…
Does Maryland inheritance tax apply to money from a retirement plan or IRA left to someone other than a surviving spouse?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that retirement plan, IRA, and annuity proceeds are subject to Maryland inheritance tax whenever they are taxable for federal estate tax purposes, that th…
Can a Texas hospital district pay dues to join a chamber of commerce or nonprofit, or reimburse an official's membership?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Dallas County Hospital District is a creature of limited authority, and nothing in chapter 281 of the Health and Safety Code authorizes its board to spend distr…
Does a Texas overweight truck permit measure the five percent against the vehicle's weight or the road's limit?
Against the vehicle's allowable gross weight, the Attorney General concluded. A section 5B permit from the Highway Department lets the listed commercial vehicles run at a weight that exceeds their all…
Can a Maryland public drainage association manager also hold another paid government office at the same time?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a member of the board of managers of a public drainage association holds an 'office of profit' under Article 35 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights…
Could Maryland require its prison health care contractors to test employees for HIV and restrict what HIV-positive doctors and nurses could do?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the state could not restrict or test HIV-positive health care providers whose jobs did not involve procedures with a real risk of blood exposure, but…
Did Maryland reimburse counties for inmates on home detention the same way it reimbursed them for inmates physically held in the local jail?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that local jurisdictions were entitled to state reimbursement under Article 27, §690 for sentenced inmates placed in a home detention program, but that th…
Can a member of the public ask the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists to hand over an applicant's test score?
No. The Board's records of its proceedings and its register of licensees are public records open under N.C.G.S. § 132-6. But individual test scores, applications, and supporting materials like referen…
Does a Maryland retirement system have to accept service credit transferred from a different type of public pension system?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a retirement system must accept a transferring member's service credit even if the member's former system was a different type (contributory or nonco…
Did a Maryland school board have to competitively bid the refinancing of a lease-purchase deal that had already funded and built a public school?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that once a school building had already been constructed under a competitively bid lease-purchase agreement, the Board of Education of Baltimore County co…
Did planning documents for a new Maryland bridge legally obligate the state to keep funding the old drawbridge next to it?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the State was not legally obligated to keep funding maintenance of the old Kent Narrows Drawbridge, because planning statements made during construct…
Was a Maryland county legally required to fund its local election board at the staffing level the board said it needed to run elections?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a county government could not cut a local election board's budget below the staffing level the board, with the approval of the State Administrative B…
Can Maine pay its district attorneys' traffic-prosecution costs out of the Highway Fund instead of the General Fund?
Yes, but only for the portion of a district attorney's budget actually attributable to traffic-law prosecution. Article IX § 19 permits Highway Fund spending on traffic enforcement, and the AG saw no …
Can a Texas school principal refuse a teacher the district wants to transfer to the campus?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 13.352(d) gives each principal authority to approve all teacher and staff appointments on the campus. Nothing limits that approval power to …
Could Maryland's Environmental Trust keep and spend gift money without running it through the state budget and appropriations process?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Maryland Environmental Trust, though a State agency and not fiscally independent like the Chesapeake Bay Trust, could still maintain and spend gift funds…
Could a Maryland minor visit the local health department for birth control or STD treatment during school hours without their parents' consent, and could the school get in trouble for not telling the parents?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that state law let minors consent on their own to treatment or advice for drug abuse, alcoholism, venereal disease, pregnancy, contraception, and rape-rel…
What clerk fee applies to a Texas condemnation case, and when is it due?
A maximum of $40, the Attorney General concluded, with different timing in the two courts. In county court, a condemnation falls in the clerk's 'all others' filing-fee category at $40, but because a c…
Could a federal bankruptcy court stop a Maryland liquor license from expiring under state law while the licensee was in bankruptcy?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a federal bankruptcy court had full authority to enjoin a county liquor board from letting a debtor's alcoholic beverage license expire under Maryland's aban…
What does 'locality where the work is performed' mean under the Texas prevailing wage law?
The political subdivision most nearly corresponding to where the work is done, the Attorney General concluded. Under article 5159a, a state agency setting a prevailing wage for a public works project …
Do Texas detention centers and lock-ups have to follow the same single-cell rules as county jails?
Not necessarily, the Attorney General concluded. Low-risk facilities, lock-ups, detention centers, and county correctional centers are 'county jails' that fall under the Texas Commission on Jail Stand…
Can the Maine Legislature borrow money out of a voter-approved bond fund and put it back later if it does not change the original purpose?
No. Pulling unspent bond money out of the Maine State Park and Recreation Area Fund and using it for debt service, even for 15 months, violated Article IX § 14 of the Maine Constitution because voters…
Can a Maryland homeowners association or club, organized as a nonstock corporation, block members from counting toward a meeting quorum by proxy through a bylaw, or does it take a charter amendment?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a nonstock corporation, such as a homeowners association or social club incorporated under Maryland law, could not use its bylaws alone to stop membe…
When a New Jersey city council, board, or state commission has empty seats, do you count those vacant seats when figuring out whether you have a quorum to hold a meeting?
It depends on how the enabling statute is worded. If the statute sets a specific number ('5 directors of a 9-member board') or says quorum is 'a majority of all the members' / 'all the authorized memb…
Can a Maryland homeowners association ban family day care homes with a vote of just a small quorum instead of a majority of all members?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a homeowners association could prohibit the operation of a family day care home only if a simple majority of all of the association's eligible voting members…
Can a Texas groundwater district charge fees to permit or register a water well?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Section 52.151 of the Water Code gives an underground water conservation district broad rule-making power to conserve and protect groundwater, but it does not autho…
Can the Texas Legislature reimburse its members for expenses beyond the per diem in the constitution?
Yes, for legislative expenses, the Attorney General concluded. Article III, section 24 of the Texas Constitution sets a member's salary, per diem, and mileage, and bars extra compensation or payment o…
Who counts as a 'team physician' under the Texas athletic trainer licensing law?
Only a medical doctor, the Attorney General concluded. The term 'physician' in section 1(1) of the athletic trainer statute (article 4512d) refers to a person licensed by the State Board of Medical Ex…
Can an Idaho resort city make sellers collect its local sales tax on ski lift tickets and building materials?
The AG concluded that the City of Sun Valley could require a seller to collect the city's local-option sales tax on ski lift tickets sold inside the city limits, and on building materials when title p…
Can a state board impose training requirements on elected community college trustees in Texas?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board could not, by rule, set educational or training requirements for trustees of junior college districts. The qualificati…
Where does money from inmate pay phones in a Texas county jail go?
To the county treasurer, the Attorney General concluded. Proceeds from pay telephones in a county jail are not commissary proceeds governed by Local Government Code section 351.0415, which gives the s…
Does Maryland require a license to call yourself a 'therapist' or 'psychotherapist'?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that 'psychotherapist' and 'therapist' were not protected professional titles under Maryland law and could not be licensed or restricted the way titles li…
Can a state licensing board member also work for a company the board regulates?
Not in this case, the Attorney General concluded. The audiologist member of the Texas Board of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Aids was barred by statute from having a 'financial in…
Can the Maine Legislature change retirement rules for state employees who already have ten years of service?
The AG discouraged Part F of LD 927 to the extent it would change retirement age, contribution rates, or health-premium subsidies for state employees who already have ten years of service. For non-ves…
If I'm homeless in New Jersey and don't have a permanent address, can I register to vote, and what address do I put on the form?
Yes. Being homeless is not a basis to deny voter registration in New Jersey, as long as you meet the age and residency requirements (citizen, 18+, lived in the state, county, and district for 30 days)…
Can a Texas transit board review bids in a closed session without violating the Open Meetings Act?
Only within narrow limits, the Attorney General concluded. The Houston METRO board was not holding a 'meeting' under the Open Meetings Act if its members merely gathered to receive information and ask…
Does a registered manufactured-housing installer need a Railroad Commission certificate to haul the home?
No, the Attorney General concluded. An installer who holds a valid certificate of registration under the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (article 5221f) is exempt from the certificate-of-conv…
Can a Texas state agency pay for home modifications out of money not appropriated for that program?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation could make architectural modifications to a client's private home only with the funds specifically appropriat…
In Maryland, does the legislature have to wait for the governor to submit a redistricting map before it can vote on its own?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that under Article III, Section 5 of the state constitution, the General Assembly could hold hearings and prepare its own legislative redistricting plan a…
Does a Maine legislator who is appointed to a state commission need to take a separate oath, even though she has already sworn the legislative oath?
Yes. Under Article IX, § 1 of the Maine Constitution, a legislator appointed to the Special Commission on Governmental Restructuring had to take a separate oath before discharging Commission duties, e…
Can Maine's Governor block a legislatively-created position from being filled by telling the agency chair not to fund it?
No. Governor McKernan lacked both statutory and constitutional authority to direct the Maine Board of Environmental Protection's Chair not to fund the new Executive Director position. The Legislature …
Could a Maine school board defer state-mandated education programs in 1991 because the state had not restored aid to 1990 levels?
No. The mandate-deferral provision in P.L. 1991, c. 9 was not triggered, because the FY 1990-91 state aid (about $521 million, 56.76% of total allocation) already exceeded the FY 1989-90 levels (about…
Does a Texas school district have to use competitive bidding to hire a food service management company?
Yes, when the district participates in federal school nutrition programs. The Attorney General concluded that federal regulations governing the National School Lunch Program and similar programs requi…
Can a Texas county maintain a private dirt road just because school buses drive on it?
No, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court ordinarily has no legal authority to maintain or improve a private road, even one used as a school bus route. The only constitutional exceptio…
Can a Texas water district board member also be hired and paid as the district's manager?
The Attorney General concluded yes, in this case. The Duval County Conservation and Reclamation District ran on the powers of a water control and improvement district, and Water Code section 51.084 le…
Is it a conflict for a judge to rule on cases involving the county commissioners who set his pay?
The Attorney General concluded it was not a constitutional conflict of interest. The Government Code lets commissioners courts set the salaries of county court-at-law judges and, for certain counties,…
Can one owner of a joint bank account remove another owner's name without permission?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 440 of the Texas Probate Code let 'a party' to a joint account change 'the form of the account,' but the opinion read that power narrowly: it reaches only th…
If a juvenile felony record can't be sealed in Texas, does the person have to disclose it on a job or license application?
The Attorney General concluded that the protection did not apply. Section 51.16(h) of the Family Code let a person whose juvenile records had been sealed decline to disclose the proceeding on an appli…
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