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 Texas charge a petroleum storage-tank cleanup fee on barges bringing fuel in from other states but not on in-state barges?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 26.3574 of the Water Code, which funds the petroleum storage tank remediation (cleanup) fund, is unconstitutional as applied to bar…
Who could ask Maryland's Interdepartmental Committee on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits to review a proposed coverage change?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the Interdepartmental Committee on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits could review a legislative proposal only at the request of the Governor or the Legisla…
Did already-licensed Maryland nursing home administrators have to get a college degree to renew their licenses after the 1990 law?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the new statutory education requirements for nursing home administrators in HO §8-302(d) were likely not intended to apply to people who were already proper…
Does the Texas Charitable Immunity Act protect a chamber of commerce and its volunteers from lawsuits?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a chamber of commerce is not a 'charitable organization' under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987 (chapter 84 of the Civil P…
Do all Texas gasoline distributors pay the fees under House Bill 504, or only those selling ethanol or methanol blends?
It depends on which fee. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General read House Bill 504 (article 8614, V.T.C.S.) to authorize two fees. The general fee in section 9(b), for testing, inspection, forms, …
Can a Texas city issue revenue bonds to build a school building and lease it to the local school district?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a city cannot use its revenue-bond powers to finance a school building and lease it to an independent school district, even for purely educ…
Can businesses use the Maryland flag in a state promotional logo without violating the flag desecration law?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the state's 'Maryland With Pride' promotional logo, which uses a stylized version of the Maryland flag, does not violate the law against commercial misuse o…
Can a South Dakota city charge people outside the city limits more for water and sewer than it charges in-town customers? Does the city have to set those rates by ordinance, or can it just sign a separate contract with each outside customer? And can the city charge commercial users a higher rate than residential users?
Yes to charging non-residents more, yes to commercial vs. residential differentials, and rates had to be set by ordinance (not by individual contracts). The AG concluded that South Dakota cities could…
If an occupational licensing board, like the Cosmetic Art Examiners, is subject to the State Personnel Act and the State Budget Act, can it still enroll employees in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System even though the 1983 General Assembly froze licensing-board participation after July 1, 1983?
No. The 1990 AG concluded that Chapter 412 of the 1983 Session Laws (amending G.S. § 135-1.1) applies to all State boards and agencies that administer professional, trade, or occupational licensing la…
If a Texas county's contracted supplier can't deliver, can the county buy the shortfall from another vendor without new bids?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the County Purchasing Act (chapter 262 of the Local Government Code) does not stop a county from making an isolated spot purchase of suppl…
Can a Texas prosecutor use drug-seizure money to pay employee bonuses or raises without commissioners court approval?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a prosecutor may not use drug forfeiture funds to pay bonuses or increase salaries for office employees whose pay is budgeted by the commis…
In Maryland, does an interior designer need an architect's license to redesign the layout of non-loadbearing interior walls in a public building?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that preparing design plans for a significant movement of non-loadbearing interior walls in a building intended for public use constitutes the practice of archit…
Can North Carolina's Governor use an executive order to require financial disclosure and ethical-conduct compliance from people appointed to state boards by other Council of State officers?
No. Seven Council of State officers asked whether they (and their appointees) had to follow Executive Order No. 1 after Governor Jim Martin amended it in October 1990 to cover appointees of any execut…
Did Baxter State Park violate its hiring statute by using contractors instead of civil-service employees at Kidney Pond and Daicey Pond?
No. Assistant AG Paul Stern concluded that 12 M.R.S.A. § 904 controls how Park employees are hired (civil service), but does not limit the Park's authority to retain contractors. The contracting pract…
Does Maryland have to follow its normal layoff notice and seniority rules when a state employee's position loses its funding?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's layoff statute and its 90-day notice regulation do not apply when a position is lost simply because no money was appropriated to pay the salary; thos…
Can an Idaho school district sell new refunding bonds at a premium (above par) to free up cash for the refunding escrow without first holding a two-thirds bond election under article 8, § 3 of the Idaho Constitution?
Yes, as long as the refunding produces a net present value savings to the district and the premium is used for refunding purposes. Refunding bonds change the form of an existing debt rather than creat…
Could an out-of-state dealer sell a handgun that was not on Maryland's handgun roster to a Maryland buyer?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that Maryland's handgun roster law, Article 27, §36-1(b), prohibited selling an unapproved handgun whenever the buyer took physical delivery in Maryland, no matt…
Does a Baltimore City employee who left for military service after the draft ended in 1973 still get pension credit for that time under federal law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that regardless of how Maryland's own veterans-benefit statute is read, the federal Veterans Reemployment Rights Act independently guarantees pension and retirement…
Can the Texas mental health department buy or lease property for community services without using the state purchasing agency?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation buys or leases personal property, or leases real property, for community-…
Do volunteer firefighters in Texas have to meet the state's firefighter training standards?
It depends on whether the fire department is a department of a local government. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that members of a volunteer fire department that is not a departmen…
Could a Texas local government let an auditor temporarily take public records to the auditor's private office?
Section 202.004 neither prohibited nor authorized the temporary move. A local governing body could establish procedures for it through its records-management program if the service contract preserved …
Can a Texas district judge appoint a special auditor or take a commissioners court's executive-session tapes?
This 1990 opinion was withdrawn in its entirety a few weeks after it issued, so it does not represent the Texas Attorney General's position and should not be relied on. In it, the Attorney General had…
When the Idaho Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, can the Lieutenant Governor break a tie on organizational matters like the election of the Senate President Pro Tempore?
Yes. Article 4, § 13 of the Idaho Constitution expressly empowers the Lieutenant Governor to vote when the Senate is equally divided. The grant is unqualified and covers organizational votes (electing…
After Maine voters changed the Sunday closing law in 1990, what could large retail stores actually do, and what protection did employees have?
The 1990 initiative let retail stores over 5,000 square feet open on Sundays only if they did not require employees to work Sundays as a condition of employment. Stores with that exemption had to be c…
If a Texas psychologist is exempt from licensing but chooses to get licensed anyway, does the state board have authority over them?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a person who voluntarily obtains certification or licensure under the Psychologists' Certification and Licensing Act becomes subject to al…
Can a Texas judge appoint a temporary district attorney if the office already has an assistant district attorney?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a district judge may appoint a district attorney pro tem under article 2.07 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when the elected district at…
Can Baltimore's light rail trolleys use white signal lights instead of the standard red, yellow, and green traffic lights?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Mass Transit Administration's plan to guide light rail trolleys through downtown Baltimore intersections with a separate white bar signal, instead of the s…
Can you be prosecuted in Maryland for burning or defacing a flag, or is it protected free speech?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that Maryland's newly revised flag law, Article 27, §83, was constitutional even after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal flag-burning ban in United …
Could an individual Texas bail bondsman use a letter of credit as the required cash equivalent for a bail-bond license?
Yes. JM-1245 concluded that individual and corporate applicants could use a qualifying letter of credit as a cash equivalent, but the credit had to be irrevocable, independent of the underlying disput…
Does the 356th District Court in Hardin County, Texas handle probate matters like wills and estates?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the 356th District Court of Hardin County has no original probate jurisdiction. The statute creating the court gave it concurrent jurisdiction …
Does a county need payment and performance bonds on a unit-price road-materials contract when the final total price is not known in advance?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the unknown final price of a county unit-price requirements contract does not exempt it from bidding or bonding rules. A county estimates the c…
Could Texas revive expired school-land patent claims by letting the Land Office swap in replacement state land?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 5414a-2, V.T.C.S., which tried to give a second chance to people whose claims to patents on permanent school fund land had lapsed, was …
At the North Carolina Industrial Commission, is hiring and firing the Chairman's job alone, or does the whole three-member Commission have to decide?
The whole three-member Commission decides, and the Commission cannot delegate that authority to the Chairman by rule. The Industrial Commission's personnel statutes (N.C.G.S. §§ 97-78, 97-79, and 143-…
In North Carolina, can a county commissioner who also chairs the county social services board talk and vote at county commission meetings on DSS personnel and the DSS budget?
Yes on both counts. Iredell County had a commissioner who was appointed to the DSS board under N.C.G.S. § 108A-3(a) and was then elected by the social services board to be its chair. The AG concluded …
Could Harris County remove and sell trees from county road rights-of-way without paying the underlying landowner?
Generally yes, subject to the document or judgment that created the right-of-way. JM-1241 concluded that Harris County could remove or prevent trees that interfered with road purposes without compensa…
Can a county use its own employees and equipment to deliver USDA surplus food for a nonprofit charity?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the state's decision to route USDA surplus commodities through a nonprofit did not strip Nolan County of its authority to spend on public healt…
Can a city council remove the person it appointed to a regional water district's board of directors?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Garland city council could not remove its appointed representative on the board of directors of the North Texas Municipal Water District un…
How far does the arrest authority of Houston-area MTA transit police reach, just the buses and stations, or the whole service area?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1989 amendment to article 1118x expanded the jurisdiction of peace officers employed by the Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority to t…
Can campaign workers in Maine hand out palm cards inside polling places to show voters how to write in a candidate's name?
No inside the building where voting takes place. Palm cards may be distributed outside, even within the 250-foot zone around the entrance, as long as no advertising signs or sound amplification are us…
Is Caller ID phone service legal under Maryland's wiretap and privacy laws?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Caller ID service does not violate the constitutionally protected right of privacy, because a state utility commission's mere approval of a telephone company's…
Can a Maryland community college's board of trustees borrow money to buy land and buildings, or does the county have to do it?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that a community college's board of trustees had no power to borrow money to buy land and buildings, because state law placed that borrowing authority in the cou…
Can a nursing home be forced to reject or fire a worker for an old conviction even though the law says it shouldn't count against them?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that chapter 106 of the Human Resources Code, which bars certain facilities that serve the elderly or disabled from employing people convicted …
Can the Texas Real Estate Commission secretly send auditors into continuing-education classes without breaking the ban on undercover investigations?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Real Estate License Act's restriction on undercover or covert investigations applies only to investigations of licensees, not to audit…
Does a Texas county clerk charge a filing fee when you apply to have someone committed for mental illness or drug or alcohol dependency?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county clerk cannot collect a fee from the person who files an application for emergency detention or court-ordered treatment, whether th…
Do term limits for a state board count the service a member did before the term-limit law existed?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a Texas State Board of Pharmacy member who was appointed in 1973 and reappointed in 1979 and 1985 had already served two full terms and co…
Does Maryland's tax break for military pay earned outside the U.S. only apply to service members permanently stationed overseas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's income tax subtraction for military pay attributable to service outside the United States, up to $15,000 with a phase-out between $15,000 and $30,000…
Can a Maryland business license be suspended because the owner was convicted of a drug crime?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the license sanction provisions of the Drug Enforcement Act of 1990 (Chapter 410) applied only to people licensed to work in an occupation or profession, no…
Can a Texas county sell tax-foreclosed property by private sale instead of a public auction?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a county buys real property at a delinquent-tax sale, Tax Code section 34.05 impliedly lets the county resell that property by privat…
Can the Texas Employees Retirement System operate its own securities lending program?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Employees Retirement System of Texas had no statutory authority to run an in-house securities lending program with its own staff. Governme…
Does the State Funds Reform Act apply to fees collected by the Texas Board of Medical Examiners?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the State Funds Reform Act did not apply to fees collected by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. An exemption for agencies that were …
Does Maryland's Board of Public Works have to approve a gift of real estate to the state, or can the Governor accept it alone?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that, unless a specific statute said otherwise, only the Governor's consent was required to accept a gift to the State of Maryland, whether the gift was real pro…
Can a Maryland town let its zoning board grant a variance on an easier 'practical difficulty' standard instead of 'unnecessary hardship'?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Article 66B's zoning-variance standard, unnecessary hardship, applies to every municipality in Maryland, and a town cannot use its own ordinance to authorize va…
Can a Texas county or state agency provide goods or copies before receiving payment without unconstitutionally lending credit?
Yes, under the constitutional analysis adopted in JM-1229. A Texas public body could extend credit when the arrangement served a public purpose and included controls ensuring that public credit remain…
When the Child Day Care Commission writes a rule requiring day care licenses for preschool programs in public school buildings (whether run by the school system or by a private provider), can it lawfully reach programs run by public schools for 3 and 4 year olds even though G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the definition of 'day care facility'?
No, not for public school programs; yes for private providers. The 1990 AG concluded that G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the day care licensing regime, and that exclusion covers all pro…
How much can a company charge to help me recover unclaimed property in Texas?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that anyone who helps a claimant recover unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer (an heirfinder or private investigator) could not charge mo…
If the North Carolina legislature passes a bill creating a new crime but specifies an effective date earlier than the day it actually became law, can the State still prosecute people who commit the crime after the bill is enacted?
Yes, but only for conduct after the bill was actually passed. The retroactive effective date is unconstitutional under the Ex Post Facto Clause and cannot be enforced, but it is severable from the res…
Is a marriage valid in Maryland if the person who performed the ceremony wasn't legally authorized to?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that only a sworn deputy clerk designated by the county administrative judge (along with clerks and religious officials) could legally perform a marriage, so a g…
Did the Supreme Court's Cruzan decision change Maryland law on living wills and refusing life-sustaining treatment?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the Supreme Court's Cruzan decision did not require any change to Maryland's framework for forgoing life-sustaining treatment, set out in the office's 1988 …
If the Maine Legislature removes a position from the unclassified service in one statute but forgets to amend another statute that lists the same position as unclassified, which one controls?
The newer enactment controls. AG Tierney concluded that the later, express amendment removing the Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Information Services from the unclassified service prevailed o…
In 1990, did Mexican commercial truck drivers need Texas driver's licenses to operate in Texas?
Yes, under the law and federal determinations addressed in 1990. JM-1226 concluded that Mexican commercial drivers lacked the reciprocal-license exemption and needed a Texas license or another state's…
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.