State AG Opinions
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Could Baltimore City's liquor board force a Class B-D-7 licensee to keep running an actual bar or restaurant instead of just a package goods store?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the statute governing Baltimore City's Class B-D-7 liquor license did not clearly require licensees to maintain any minimum on-premises bar or restaurant ope…
Could a Maryland governor's cabinet agencies make the Legislative Auditor file a formal public-records request before examining agency files?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Executive Branch agencies could not force the Legislative Auditor to file a written Public Information Act application before examining agency record…
Does adding a new component to the Idaho State Water Plan (the Comprehensive State Plan: Payette River Reaches) count as a 'change' under article 15, § 7 of the Idaho Constitution, and may the Legislature act on it during its current session?
No, the Payette River Plan is not a 'change' under art. 15, § 7. 'Change' refers only to deletions or revisions of an existing plan; new geographic components are additions reviewed under sentence thr…
When the Idaho Legislature redistricts after the 1990 census, what limits do the federal Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the Idaho Constitution put on how it can draw districts?
The Fourteenth Amendment requires substantial population equality (overall range under 10% is presumptively safe). The Voting Rights Act prohibits diluting racial or language minority voting power. Th…
If the State Land Board acquires land already subject to a county zoning ordinance, must it manage the new state land in compliance with that ordinance, or do its constitutional school-trust duties override local zoning?
The Land Board does not have to comply with local zoning when managing state endowment lands. Its constitutional duty under article 9, §§ 7-8 to maximize long-term financial return for the named benef…
If a Maryland county appropriated more than required for its public schools one year, does that whole higher amount become the mandatory minimum funding floor for the next year?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a county's entire prior-year school operating budget appropriation, not just narrowly defined "basic current expenses," sets the baseline for the fol…
How precisely must Texas compute the school tax rate that decides who pays the state's teacher-retirement contribution?
The Attorney General concluded the Teacher Retirement System could carry the calculation to as many decimal places as needed, not just two. Section 825.405(h) of the Government Code excused a school d…
Does a nonprofit that serves senior citizens have to follow the Open Meetings Act?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Parker County Committee on Aging was an ordinary nonprofit corporation formed under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, run by a board not chosen by city or co…
Does releasing provisional census numbers start the clock on the Texas Legislature's duty to redraw districts?
The Attorney General concluded yes. The February 5, 1991 release of the 1990 census 'public law 94-171' counts was a 'publication' of the decennial census under article III, section 28 of the Texas Co…
Can a Maryland orphans' court judge appoint himself, or a fellow judge on that same court, to fill a vacancy as register of wills?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a common law rule against self-appointment barred an orphans' court from naming one of its own judges to fill a vacancy in the register of wills offi…
Can a local beer distributor sell a brand anywhere in Texas if it bought the beer from a general distributor instead of the maker?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under sections 102.51 and 102.52 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, a local beer distributor could sell a particular brand only inside the territory the brand's manufac…
Could the North Carolina General Assembly give a legislative oversight commission the power to indefinitely delay the effective date of any agency rule it considered to exceed statutory authority?
No. The President Pro Tempore asked the AG to review two draft bills that would have given the Administrative Rules Review Commission (a body appointed by the General Assembly) authority to indefinite…
If a Texas county advertises for bids and gets none, can it just buy directly or must it advertise again?
The Attorney General concluded the county had to readvertise. Under the County Purchasing Act (Local Government Code sections 262.022 through 262.035), a purchase over $10,000 had to go through sealed…
Does requiring arbitration before suing over bad seed violate Texans' right to open courts?
The Attorney General concluded that chapter 64 of the Agriculture Code, which made a buyer of vegetable seed submit a performance complaint to non-binding arbitration before suing the seller, did not …
Could Baxter State Park run its remote cabin facilities at Daicey Pond and Kidney Pond using contractors instead of civil-service employees?
Yes. The Maine AG agreed that contractors running Baxter State Park's Daicey Pond and Kidney Pond cabin facilities were not Park agents or representatives under 12 M.R.S.A. § 904, so they did not need…
When can the New Jersey Local Finance Board let a town spend more than the Cap Law allows in a given year?
Only when something genuinely unusual and unforeseeable has driven up the cost of a service that is essential to public health, safety, or welfare. The Local Finance Board cannot grant a Cap Law excep…
Can Maryland cap future state pension benefits without violating employees' contract rights?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that legislation applying the federal tax code's benefit accrual limits, IRC §415, prospectively to the state retirement and pension systems would not vio…
Can the Idaho Legislature retroactively amend tax statutes (H.B. 92 and H.B. 94) to undo two recent Idaho Supreme Court decisions that authorized refunds, or does that violate due process, the contract clause, art. 11 § 12, or separation of powers?
The bills should survive due process, contract clause, and art. 11 § 12 challenges, but the AG concluded a separation-of-powers attack would likely succeed because retroactively rewriting the statutes…
Do Maryland waterfront owners need a state permit to install erosion-control 'beach beams' on tidal land?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that installing a 'beach beam' erosion-control structure in tidal wetlands counted as regulated filling under the Wetlands Act of 1970, so a riparian owne…
Can a Texas city avoid the nepotism law by letting a city administrator do the hiring instead of the council?
The Attorney General concluded no. A city council cannot escape the nepotism law (article 5996a) by delegating hiring to a city administrator, because what matters is whether the related officer can e…
What does Idaho AG Opinion 91-1 (state's compelling interest in protecting potential human life from fetal drug abuse) say?
Idaho AG Opinion 91-1 addressed the state's claimed interest in protecting potential human life from fetal drug abuse against a woman's privacy interest. The Idaho AG now links a vLex Fastcase copy wh…
If a Maryland will splits the residuary estate among heirs taxed at different inheritance tax rates, how is the tax calculated?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that inheritance tax on a residuary estate should generally be computed separately for each legatee at that legatee's own tax rate rather than deducted of…
Could a Maryland local school board let a private day care company build its own new building on public school land?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a local board of education's authority to let a private day care provider construct its own building on public school land was doubtful under the sta…
If a new federal tax law cuts a high earner's itemized deductions, does Maryland cut that person's state itemized deductions too?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that when a 1990 federal tax law required certain high-income taxpayers to reduce their total itemized deductions, those taxpayers had to use the same red…
South Dakota voters added a state-lottery clause to the state constitution in 1986. The clause permitted the Legislature to authorize a state lottery, provided the lottery was 'regulated, controlled, owned and operated' by the state. The Legislature then passed video lottery in 1989. Here was the puzzle: the actual video lottery machines were owned by private licensed operators (bars, lounges, convenience stores), not by the state. The state owned only the central control computer system to which all machines had to connect. Was that enough 'state ownership' to satisfy the constitutional clause? Governor Mickelson wanted a written AG opinion before video lottery rolled out fully.
Yes. AG Mark Barnett (in an unusual AG-issues-constitutional-opinion exception) concluded that the video lottery scheme was constitutional under Article III, § 25. The state did not need a proprietary…
Can a Texas state research council hire outside contractors for administrative support, or only the state health department?
The Attorney General concluded that the On-Site Wastewater Treatment Research Council could get administrative support only from the Texas Department of Health, not from outside entities, because chap…
If a Maryland court orders a body disinterred and reburied, does the State's Attorney still have to separately approve it?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a person generally still needs the county State's Attorney's consent to disinter a body, overruling a 1954 opinion that had said this requirement was…
Could Maryland's Physical Therapy Board decide by regulation that spinal manipulation was within the scope of physical therapy, not just chiropractic?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the General Assembly had not itself decided whether spinal manipulation and mobilization fell within the scope of physical therapy, so the Physical Therapy B…
In North Carolina, can a small-loan company sell other things (like motor-club memberships or non-credit insurance) at the same office as its loans, and can it keep the commissions?
The Commissioner of Banks can let a consumer finance licensee run another business on the same premises as its small-loan office. But that licensee cannot benefit, directly or indirectly, from any cha…
Could Maine's Hancock County hold a county-wide vote on whether to allow a proposed cogeneration power plant?
No. Maine counties have no general authority to conduct referenda. Absent specific legislative authorization, the Hancock County Commissioners could not authorize a county-wide vote on whether the AES…
Can a Maryland bill that amends 113 old bond laws the same way just print the new text once instead of 113 times?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a bill amending 113 prior Baltimore City bond authorizations with the exact same new refunding provision does not have to repeat that text 113 times;…
Could a Maryland county's Human Relations Department order an employer to reinstate a worker and pay back pay for discrimination without a specific state law allowing it?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Frederick County's commissioners could not lawfully authorize the county's Human Relations Commission or Department to impose remedies such as reinst…
Can a Maine legislator also sit on a city school board?
Yes. Article IV, Part 3, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution bars legislators from holding most state and federal offices, but municipal school board membership is not an 'office of profit under this…
Can a Texas county commissioners court hire its own staff attorneys to advise individual commissioners or the sheriff instead of using the county attorney?
No, not on its own. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Harris County Commissioners Court could not create staff-attorney positions for individual commissioners or the sheriff…
Which telephone companies have to pay the Texas PURA gross receipts assessment, and do long-distance carriers owe it on the access charges they pay local phone companies?
The section 78 assessment applies to every public utility under the Public Utility Commission's jurisdiction, which after 1987 includes all long-distance (interexchange) carriers, not just those the P…
Can a Texas chiropractor call themselves a 'chiropractic physician'?
The board can allow it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has authority to adopt a rule permitting its licensees to use the title 'chir…
Could Texas local governments impose stricter septic-system installer rules, and did licensed plumbers need state installer registration?
Yes, within limits. JM-1278 concluded that authorized agents could adopt stricter on-site sewage and installer standards needed to carry out local health protections, while nonconflicting rules could …
What kind of bond does a Texas charity have to post to hold a raffle when it doesn't yet have the prize?
A surety bond, and the county clerk does not have to take cash. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that under article 179f, section 3(j), V.T.C.S., a charity that does not yet possess…
Could a Texas county road district borrow beyond voter-approved bonds, and could the county loan or guarantee the money?
Only within voter-approved and constitutional limits. JM-1276 concluded that the road district could use authorized bonds and anticipation notes but could not exceed voter authority; Bastrop County co…
Can a Texas county auditor force other elected county officials to use a specific computer accounting system and give the auditor open access to their records?
Only partly. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce regulations under Local Government Code section…
Can a Texas sheriff make deputies and jailers take random urine drug tests?
Not on a purely random basis without justification. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that random urine drug testing of deputy sheriffs and jailers, meaning testing not triggered by …
Can a Texas resident use the alternative court reporter certification route, or is it only for people moving in from other states?
A Texas resident can use it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 52.021(e) of the Government Code, which lets a person become a certified shorthand (court) reporter by pas…
Can Maine's Governor appoint a legislator-elect to an executive office before that person is sworn in to the Legislature?
Yes. Under Article IV, Part 3, Section 10 of the Maine Constitution, a newly elected senator or representative may accept executive appointment and decline the legislative seat. The Emoluments-style b…
Does a nonprofit like AARP need a state license to run a paid driver safety course in Texas?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a private, nonprofit organization that charges a fee (here, $8) for a driver safety course falls within the definition of a 'commercial dr…
Can an armed security officer for the Texas Adjutant General's Department carry a handgun on the job without a private security commission?
Yes on department premises, but not on the commute. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1989 statute (Government Code section 431.029(12)) authorizing the adjutant general to 'e…
Can a Texas group health insurer deny coverage for addiction rehab because it was not at a hospital?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 3.51-9 of the Texas Insurance Code requires group health insurers subject to Chapter 3 to cover chemical dependency treatment, and …
Can federal savings and loan law override Texas's homestead protection so lenders can make home equity loans on a home?
Not according to this 1990 opinion. On the central question, whether federal rules for federally chartered savings and loan associations preempt the Texas homestead provision (article XVI, section 50)…
Can a Texas commissioners court give county employees raises without amending the county budget?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may not grant salary increases to selected county employees without amending the budget, even when the raises are fun…
Do blind vendors have priority to run vending machines in Maryland state and local government buildings?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that Maryland's blind vendor licensing law, ED §21-303(c), let the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation license blind people to run vending facilities, includin…
Can the Texas Legislature legalize casino gambling without amending the state constitution?
Only for games that are not lotteries. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article III, section 47 of the Texas Constitution bans lotteries and gift enterprises, not all gambling.…
Can a Texas city council member also work for a school district, special district, or navigation district?
It depends on whether the second position is an office or just a job. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution (which bars holding mor…
Can a Texas school district use student activity funds to pay college scholarships for graduates?
It can, if two conditions are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that activity funds or agency funds that have actually become the school district's property (not funds still own…
Does the Fayette County attorney get paid like a district attorney under Texas law?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the county attorney of Fayette County is not entitled to be compensated as a prosecutor under section 46.003 of the Government Code. Even t…
Can a Texas county auditor require the county's federal tax ID number on all county depository bank accounts?
Only for the accounts that hold county money. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce a regulation, …
Can a Texas county pay a real estate agent a finder's fee for finding a buyer of county land at auction?
Yes, if all other legal requirements are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court may offer and pay a finder's fee to a real estate agent for locating…
Can a Texas county or city be sued in tort over property it takes at a tax sale for unpaid taxes?
Generally no, at least for claims tied to the tax sale and redemption itself. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a county, home-rule city, or independent school district acq…
Was Texas Attorney General Opinion JM-1249 withdrawn?
Yes. In this brief December 17, 1990 notice, the Texas Attorney General stated that Opinion JM-1249 was withdrawn in its entirety and that the office would advise later how it would proceed. No substi…
If a developer started a New Jersey project before the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act took effect, is the project exempt from the new state wetlands rules, and how is that exemption defined?
Yes, but the exemption is mechanical and tied to specific paperwork. A project is exempt if it received preliminary subdivision or site plan approval under the Municipal Land Use Law before July 1, 19…
Do Texas jail standards apply to a city jail that a private company runs under contract?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the minimum jail standards adopted by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards apply to a jail that a private vendor operates for a municipa…
Can a Texas municipal utility district pay for park land with revenue notes instead of bonds?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a municipal utility district created under article XVI, section 59 of the Texas Constitution and operating under chapter 54 of the Water C…
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.