State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Does the long earth embankment around the southern end of Mud Lake count as a 'dam' under Idaho's Dam Safety Act, and could the state be sued if the Water Resource Board failed to regulate it?
The 1988 AG opinion concluded that the Mud Lake embankment qualified as a dam under Idaho Code § 42-1711(b) because it stored more than 50 acre-feet of water. Idaho Code § 42-1710 mandated regulation …
Which Texas continuing-care retirement facilities needed certificates of authority, qualified for transition rules, or fell within the new 1987 regulatory act?
Facilities occupied, under construction, or backed by substantial development obligations by September 1, 1987, were entitled to certificates without satisfying section 4(c)'s substantive criteria, bu…
Was Gregg County's 1955 special road law constitutional, and did the 1983 County Road and Bridge Act replace it?
If the constitutionally required local notice was not published, the parts of the Gregg County law that regulated the commissioners court's quorum and assigned general county-affairs committees were u…
Did Texas's 1987 property-tax exemption for non-income-producing recreational boats apply to boats already on the tax rolls?
Yes, but only in taxing units whose 1987 tax rolls had not been certified when the amendment took effect on May 26, 1987. Tax liability was not fixed merely because a boat was listed on the appraisal …
Could a Texas county commissioner use county crews, equipment, and materials to build an alley inside a city without specific commissioners-court approval?
No. An ex officio road commissioner had no independent authority to commit county resources. Work on a city street or alley required action by the commissioners court under section 2.010, consent from…
Could the Lubbock Emergency Communication District sell 911 service outside its boundaries, charge a joining jurisdiction, and immediately change its board?
The district could contract under the Interlocal Cooperation Act with a nonmember jurisdiction that independently had authority to provide 911 service, and it could charge a joining jurisdiction for i…
Does Baxter State Park have to get state procurement approval before making purchases, like other Maine state agencies?
No, based on this memo. Because Baxter State Park was created by Governor Percival Baxter's deeds of trust and is managed by an independent Authority funded from its own trust account rather than as a…
Did a Texas county have to competitively procure a private company's microfilming and indexing services for the county clerk?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the company contract was neither a personal service, because the commissioners court had not selected specific individuals to perform it, nor a professional se…
How much liability insurance could a Texas state agency buy for employees using agency vehicles, and what did the Attorney General review?
Article 6252-19a set no minimum or maximum coverage, and the Texas Tort Claims Act's governmental liability caps did not limit a policy bought under that article. The agency chose a reasonable amount;…
Could Texas Board of Irrigators members recover their actual official travel expenses instead of being limited to the general daily meal-and-lodging cap?
Yes. The 1985 amendment to the board's enabling law retained express authority for actual travel expenses while tying compensatory per diem to the General Appropriations Act. Because that amendment ca…
Could Sutton County self-fund part of its employee health coverage through an account controlled by an unlicensed private administrator?
No. The arrangement made the county assume part of the deductible risk and therefore functioned as self-insurance. The only statute then authorizing county self-insurance applied to counties with more…
Could Texas let directors of a failing state bank sell most of its assets with FDIC help and banking-commissioner approval but no shareholder vote?
Yes. Article 342-803a was a constitutional banking regulation. Shareholders had no general statutory right to approve a bank's asset sale unless they had reserved one by bylaw, and the Banking Code's …
Could an appropriations rider require the Texas National Guard Armory Board to spend construction and maintenance funds through the Adjutant General's Department?
Yes. The Adjutant General's Department had implied statutory authority to build, maintain, and repair military facilities, so an interagency contract did not exceed its lawful duties. Rider 17 validly…
Could a Texas Commission for the Deaf member also work for a local deaf council that received a commission contract?
Not if the member had a paid financial interest in the council or authority to contract for it. A paid interest made the commission contract illegal and void, while authority to represent both sides v…
Could a Texas recorded document combine a jurat and acknowledgment in one notary paragraph, and did the county clerk have to review the jurat?
Yes. A jurat could be included within an acknowledgment. If the instrument otherwise met Property Code section 12.001's recording requirements, the county clerk's ministerial duty was to record it, no…
Can a state law stop a mortgage lender from collecting interest in advance at closing?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a Maryland statute barring lenders from collecting advance 'odd days' interest on first mortgage loans was preempted by a federal law over…
Could Idaho's endowment fund managers earn extra income by lending out the state's stocks and bonds, or by selling 'covered call' options on those securities?
The 1988 AG opinion concluded the Endowment Fund Investment Board could constitutionally enter securities lending agreements and sell covered call options if the legislature authorized those transacti…
Did a county auditor or county treasurer have to sign before money could be withdrawn from a court trust-fund account administered by a county or district clerk?
No. The clerk with legal custody of the trust funds drew the check, and withdrawal required an order from the judge of the court where the funds had been deposited. Neither the county auditor nor the …
Could Harris County require a construction contractor to perform at least 25 percent of the work with the contractor's own employees?
No. The county's competitive-bidding laws did not authorize that restriction, and a self-performance requirement would improperly limit competition. The county could still reject a particular bid as n…
Could a commissioners court set the fees charged by a sheriff or constable for executing criminal warrants?
No. The opinion concluded that commissioners courts could not set those fees in misdemeanor or felony cases. Misdemeanor costs for state offenses had to remain uniform statewide, while the former felo…
Could a county auditor require travel documentation from commissioners receiving fixed monthly allowances, and which trips could the county cover?
The auditor could not require documentation before paying a fixed monthly allowance. The allowance still had to be reasonably related to official county business and actual expenses. Home-to-courthous…
Did Texas Water Commission members have to live in different regions of the state?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Water Code section 5.052 did not create an enforceable geographic residency requirement. Its reference to a different 'section of the state' expressed a legisla…
Could a duplicate Texas traffic ticket serve as the criminal complaint in justice or municipal court, and could the conviction support a habitual-violator suspension?
The Attorney General concluded that a duplicate traffic-violation notice could serve as the complaint for a guilty or nolo contendere plea in either justice or municipal court if it met the statutory …
Could a Texas bail bondsman combine cash and real property to meet the statutory security deposit minimum?
No. The Attorney General concluded that former article 2372p-3 required a Bexar County applicant to choose either the cash option or the property-deed option. Property used under the second option had…
Can a Maryland town's zoning ordinance require a county to get town approval before building a public facility inside town limits?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Poolesville could not amend its zoning ordinance to require Montgomery County to get town Planning Commission and town board approval befo…
Could a Maine law requiring pension trustees to divest from companies in Northern Ireland override their fiduciary duty to invest prudently?
No, based on this opinion. LD 2008 required the Maine State Retirement System's trustees to encourage MacBride Principles compliance and, after mid-1992, prefer divestment from noncompliant Northern I…
Could the Texas State Auditor direct executive agencies, write higher-education accounting rules, or audit the Comptroller's revenue estimates?
The Attorney General concluded that the State Auditor and Legislative Audit Committee could investigate and recommend changes, but could not direct how executive agencies administered the law. He also…
Did Bexar County probate courts keep jurisdiction over mental health proceedings after their former jurisdiction statute was repealed?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Bexar County's statutory probate courts retained jurisdiction over Mental Health Code proceedings. The repeal also did not remove their authority to docket tho…
Could a Texas traffic ticket serve as the complaint in a county-court trial de novo after an appeal from justice or municipal court?
It depended on the plea in county court. If the defendant pleaded not guilty, a complaint conforming to article 45.01 had to be filed for the same offense. If the plea was guilty or no contest, the du…
Could the Texas Aeronautics Commission regulate an interstate air carrier that also operated flights entirely within Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that any carrier transporting passengers or property between Texas and another state fell outside the Texas Aeronautics Act. The Commission therefore lacked authorit…
If a subcontractor on a NC state construction project tells the state the prime contractor owes them money, does the state have to (or should it) withhold the prime contractor's payment until the dispute is resolved?
No. The statutory payment bond under G.S. 44A-26 is the subcontractor's remedy. The state has no legal duty to withhold prime contractor payments on subcontractor notice. Withholding paragraph (Articl…
Could the Texas Railroad Commission approve railroad depot or agency closings for interstate carriers operating intrastate service?
No, not while Texas lacked the federal certification required by the Staggers Rail Act. The Attorney General concluded that federal law preempted Commission authority over depot or agency discontinuan…
Could a Texas county hospital pay visiting physicians or give salaried staff extra compensation for treating indigent patients?
Not for services performed in those existing roles at the county hospital. Visiting physicians had to serve without county pay, and salaried physicians could not receive extra compensation. The hospit…
Could a Texas county or home-rule city exempt religious, charitable, or educational organizations from local hotel occupancy taxes?
No. The Attorney General concluded that counties and home-rule cities could not create those hotel-tax exceptions without specific constitutional and statutory authority. The state-law exception did n…
Could Maine require a 150-foot buffer zone around farmland where pesticides are used without it being an unconstitutional taking?
Probably not unconstitutional, according to this opinion. The Attorney General concluded that a proposed bill creating a 150-foot setback around registered farmland using agricultural chemicals was li…
If a North Carolina town passes its own school-zone speed limit on a road that is part of the State Highway System, does the speed limit take effect on its own, or does the state DOT also have to pass a matching ordinance before drivers can actually be ticketed for going faster?
DOT has to concur. A municipal ordinance under G.S. 20-141.1 cannot, by itself, change the enforceable speed on a state highway in a school zone. As a practical matter, the town's ordinance is ineffec…
Can a governor's advisory council testify to the legislature against the Governor's own position on a bill?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the State Advisory Council for Handicapped Individuals had to route legislative disagreements through the Governor's Legislative Office fi…
Who could sell, lease, or close Northwest Texas Hospital, and did Amarillo hospital district voters have approval rights?
The Amarillo Hospital District board of managers had that authority after finding the action served district residents. A sale or closure could face a petition-triggered voter referendum, but a lease …
Could a Texas county commissioners court impose a countywide curfew on minors found on public property?
No. The Attorney General concluded that commissioners courts had no general police power and no statute authorized a countywide juvenile curfew. Limited control over county roads, buildings, and parks…
What does this Maine AG opinion (1988-02-23) say about Prescription, fitting, dispensing and replacement of contact lenses?
Maine AG opinion (1988-02-23): Prescription, fitting, dispensing and replacement of contact lenses.
Could a Texas school employee be paid as an election clerk, and could a county road worker also serve as a paid part-time police officer?
Yes to both questions on the facts presented. An off-duty school employee could be paid for clerking a constitutional amendment election, and a county road worker could also serve and receive pay as a…
Could Texas voters use the former Tax Code rollback election to reduce a hospital district's adopted property tax rate?
The Attorney General concluded that they could under the 1988 statute. Article IX, section 9 authorized the legislature to structure hospital-district taxation, so the statutory voter rollback did not…
Could a Texas taxing unit impose the full 15 percent delinquent-tax collection penalty, pay its contract attorney less, and keep the difference?
No. The Attorney General concluded that every dollar collected under Tax Code section 33.07 had to be applied to the contract attorney's compensation. The taxing unit could set a penalty below 15 perc…
Could Penobscot Nation members use gill nets to catch Atlantic salmon for personal food within the reservation?
Yes, on the facts presented in 1988. The AG concluded that Penobscot Nation members could use gill nets within the reservation to take about twenty Atlantic salmon for their own consumption.
Could a Texas sheriff use campaign or officeholder contributions to replace or reimburse a cash shortage in an official account?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that replacing the shortage was an ordinary and necessary expense connected with the sheriff's official duties, not a prohibited personal use of political contribut…
Can a Maryland town condemn land owned by the county to build a sewage treatment site?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the town of Berlin could not condemn a tract of county-owned land for a sewage disposal site, because the condemnation statute's use of th…
Can Maryland discipline a secondary mortgage loan licensee for violating mortgage-broker conduct rules when the licensee makes a first-lien mortgage loan?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that the Commissioner of Consumer Credit cannot directly enforce the mortgage banker/broker statute and Code of Conduct against a Secondary Mortgage Loan Law (SMLL) l…
Did Texas cities with more than 10,000 residents have to give police officers a thirty-minute meal break?
No. The Attorney General concluded that thirty minutes was a guideline for a bona fide unpaid meal period, not a required break. A meal period counted as compensable work time if the officer was not f…
Could a Texas judge require a probationer to donate to Crime Stoppers or offer a donation instead of community service?
No. The Attorney General concluded that article 42.12, section 6(e), prohibited payments not expressly authorized by statute. Crime Stoppers donations were not an authorized probation payment and coul…
Did San Marcos city council members employed by Southwest Texas State University have to abstain from voting on the university's street-abandonment request?
No, not under former article 988b as recodified in Local Government Code chapter 171. The Attorney General concluded that the state university was not a statutory business entity, although other confl…
Can a Maryland public school district let students from private religious schools use a public science center?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Prince George's County's Board of Education could constitutionally open the Howard B. Owens Science Center, including its pre- and post-vi…
Can the family of a police officer with a pre-existing heart condition still get the line-of-duty death benefit?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the $25,000 statutory death benefit for a law enforcement officer who 'is killed or dies in the performance of duties' was payable even if…
Did Texas Medicaid and adult protective services records become public after the person named in them died?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the statutory confidentiality provisions continued after death because the statutes contained no lifetime limit. The Department of Human Resources therefore had…
Did Texas's ten-percent single-risk exposure limit apply to a casualty or surety insurer authorized to write fire insurance but not actually writing it?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that authorization to write fire and allied lines triggered the limit, whether or not the company had used that authority. The ten-percent cap applied to single-ris…
Could Maine condemn an unsafe or unreliable private rail line and transfer its operation to another railroad?
The AG found no general federal constitutional barrier to Maine condemning an unsafe, unreliable, or inefficient rail line. To reduce Fifth Amendment public-use concerns, the opinion suggested that th…
Can dealers at a charity casino night legally keep tips from players in Maryland?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that dealers and other attendants at nonprofit-run casino nights in Prince George's County could not accept tips from patrons, because doing so…
Did Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 45 and its pleading paper-size requirement apply to criminal cases?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Rule 45 applied only to civil actions. Criminal pleadings were governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure rather than the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Must a proposed Maine Public Utilities Commission member recuse from cases in which he previously worked as a utility consultant?
Yes, for proceedings tied directly to his prior consulting work. The AG concluded that the proposed commissioner had to recuse from the pending Hydro-Quebec and telephone-cost matters, plus certain re…
Can a state agency adopt a technical handbook as a regulation without printing the whole document in the Maryland Register?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a technical handbook adopted to set soil-erosion and sediment-control standards was itself a 'regulation' under the Administrative Procedu…
Could E-1 visa holders or NATO Status of Forces personnel establish Texas residency for in-state university tuition?
Not based solely on those statuses. The Attorney General modified JM-241 after federal immigration officials concluded that E-1 traders and investors and NATO Status of Forces personnel were not permi…
How these opinions are useful
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