State AG Opinions
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Could a county commissioner use county money, paid staff, or courthouse space to collect donations for foreign earthquake victims?
The commissioner could not use county funds or paid staff for the collection. JM-431 allowed incidental courthouse space and volunteer assistance by county personnel on their own time.
Could a county department head raise an employee's salary without a new commissioners-court vote, and could county employee pay change outside the annual budget hearing?
Only if the commissioners court had already approved staffing and budget terms authorizing the promotion and raise. The court could amend pay outside the regular budget hearing, but not retroactively.
Did a school district have to pay the state's retirement contribution on a teacher's pay for a separate extra job, such as driving a school bus?
No. JM-429 concluded that the district paid the state contribution only on pay above the statutory minimum for the minimum-salary job, not compensation for a wholly separate job.
Could counties reduce a district attorney's local budget by the amount of state Professional Prosecutors Act funds or control how those state funds were spent?
No. JM-428 concluded that counties had to maintain their required funding level, while the district attorney controlled the separate state expense funds and could use them for authorized contingencies…
If a North Carolina county denies, terminates, or reduces a public-assistance or social-services benefit, does the appeal follow the regular state Administrative Procedure Act, or does the special Chapter 108A appeal statute govern?
Chapter 108A's § 108A-79 controls the appeal. Article 3 of the APA fills in only the procedural details (hearing-officer powers, notice, conduct of the hearing) that are not already in § 108A-79 and t…
Did the General Appropriations Act's per-diem limits apply when Employees Retirement System trustees were paid from membership fees and investment earnings held in trust?
No. JM-427 concluded that those retirement-system assets were trust funds rather than appropriated funds, so the appropriation rider's per-diem limits did not apply to payments from them.
Could Maryland's medical licensing board require physician's assistants to register or be licensed through the board, or could it only regulate what duties doctors delegated to them?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's Board of Medical Examiners had authority under the delegation statute to regulate which duties a physician could delegate to a phys…
Can a North Carolina home school recognized by the Office of Non-Public Schools 'validate' another family's home school in a different location as a 'satellite,' allowing the satellite family to comply with the compulsory attendance law without separately registering?
No. Each home school must independently meet the Article 39 requirements, register with the Office of Non-Public Schools, and submit to inspection. The Supreme Court's Delconte v. North Carolina decis…
Do North Carolina businesses that install or service retail storefront anti-theft alarms (the kind that beep when tagged merchandise passes the sensor) need a license under the Alarm Systems Licensing Act?
Yes for businesses that install or service the alarms for retail customers. No for retailers who buy and install their devices themselves; no for in-house employees who respond to the alarm. The Act c…
Could members of the Texas veterinary licensing board receive reimbursement for meals and lodging incurred on official business?
Yes. JM-426 concluded that article 6813f and the General Appropriations Act superseded the board statute's conflicting meals-and-lodging restriction.
Could Montague County pay for a resident indigent child's liver transplant when the child lived outside any public-hospital or hospital-district service area?
Yes. JM-425 concluded that the commissioners court had authority to pay for the resident child's medical services even though no public hospital or hospital district served her area.
If two-thirds of the states petition for a constitutional convention to propose a balanced budget amendment, can that convention legally be limited to only that one amendment?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the validity of Maryland's petition limited to a single balanced budget amendment was questionable, and that even if valid, neither the conven…
Could an MHMR community-center board contract with a nonprofit that employed one of its trustees, and what conflict-of-interest rules applied?
Yes, if article 988b's disclosure and recusal rules were followed. JM-424 treated the nonprofit as a business entity, the trustee as a local public official, and the statute as replacing the older abs…
Could Maryland move money out of the Transportation Trust Fund to bail out savings and loan depositors without the legislature passing a new law first?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Governor could transfer certain unanticipated Transportation Trust Fund money to the state's Deposit Insurance Fund Corporation using the …
When a South Dakota county or town buys heavy equipment using 'total cost' bidding (purchase price plus guaranteed maximum repairs minus guaranteed buyback), can it just add and subtract the face value of those dollars? Or does it have to discount the future numbers to present value? And does the contract need a real performance bond, or is a corporate guarantee enough?
Total cost bidding was legal, but only if it was done right. The AG concluded that adding present-day dollars to future repair costs and then subtracting a future repurchase price at face value violat…
When a North Carolina couple has been separated for a year and then the defendant spouse becomes incompetent from an injury that happened after the separation, can the plaintiff still get a no-fault divorce under § 50-6, or is the only path the longer three-year incurable-insanity statute under § 50-5.1?
The plaintiff should be able to proceed under § 50-6 (one-year separation). § 50-5.1 only applies when the separation was 'by reason of' the defendant's incurable insanity. Here the parties separated …
Can a North Carolina district health department charge fares for a public transit service it operates as part of its health care mission, without first creating a separate transportation authority under § 160-496?
Yes, for transportation operated in conjunction with the department's health care responsibilities. G.S. § 62-260(a)(1) exempts political subdivisions from Utilities Commission regulation, and a distr…
Does the Governor of North Carolina have authority to declare a moratorium on issuing permits for new hazardous waste facilities?
No. The General Assembly's elaborate hazardous waste scheme directs the Department of Human Resources, the Commission for Health Services, the Governor's Waste Management Board, and the Hazardous Wast…
Could Idaho legally bar unlicensed people from calling themselves 'accountant' or 'auditor' on advertising or business cards?
Yes. The AG concluded the legislature could restrict the title 'accountant' (and similar terms) to licensed CPAs and PAs without violating due process, equal protection, or commercial-speech rights. T…
Does a company that leases cars with a purchase option, or a broker who arranges vehicle leases, need a Maryland motor vehicle dealer or salesman license?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that a vehicle lessor must obtain a Motor Vehicle Administration dealer's license only if the lessor's leases are legally "intended as security" (t…
What happened to a dental-board member's votes and expense payments after the Texas Senate rejected her recess appointment?
After rejection, she was neither a holdover nor a de facto officer. Her later actions were void and potentially affected cases where her vote mattered, and she was not entitled to later travel reimbur…
Can one person in Texas be both a constable and a city police chief, or both a justice of the peace and a city judge?
No. The Texas AG concluded both office pairs are legally incompatible, so taking the second office automatically vacates the first. A constable who becomes police chief loses the constable office, but…
Can a Texas public agency provide physical therapy without hiring a licensed physical therapist, if a doctor supervises?
Yes, within limits. A licensed physician can perform physical-therapy acts under a medical license, and can delegate those acts to unlicensed staff working under the physician's supervision, as long a…
Is it illegal in Maryland to use glue traps to kill rats and mice under the state's animal cruelty law?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that using commercially sold glueboards to kill rats and mice does not necessarily violate Maryland's Cruelty to Animals Law, because the statute o…
Did Idaho's Open Meeting Law require the Commission of Pardons and Parole to hold its parole and pardon hearings in public, and did it allow voting in private?
Yes to public hearings; no to private voting. The AG concluded the Commission was a 'public agency' under Idaho Code § 67-2341 and had to open all meetings except those properly conducted in executive…
Were Idaho cities, counties, school districts, and other political subdivisions required to carry mandatory automobile liability insurance under Idaho Code § 49-233?
No. The AG concluded that political subdivisions were exempt from the mandatory auto liability insurance laws because § 49-1533 expressly exempts state and local government vehicles from the financial…
Did Idaho's Department of Labor and Industrial Services need legislative appropriations each year before spending money in its dedicated electrical, plumbing, and building code fund accounts?
Yes. Even though the statutes creating the dedicated accounts contained 'perpetually appropriated' language, the AG concluded that chapter 35 of title 67 required annual budgeting and appropriation. T…
Could Idaho enforce its Relative Responsibility law (requiring adult children, spouses, and parents to repay Medicaid nursing home costs) consistent with the federal Social Security Act?
Only with a federal waiver, and even then with significant collection limits. The AG concluded a § 1115 waiver could authorize a demonstration project but that Idaho still could not reach non-resident…
Can Texas dental hygienists smooth roughened root surfaces (root planing) if a dentist delegates the task?
Yes. After a 1985 amendment, the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners may adopt a rule letting dentists delegate root planing (smoothing roughened root surfaces) to hygienists working under the denti…
Could a Texas physician be liable for giving a patient a medical exemption from the seat-belt requirement, and would a release prevent liability?
The statute did not give physicians express immunity. Any claim still depended on proving negligence, and whether a signed release was valid depended on the circumstances of that release.
After the Supreme Court's 1983 abortion trilogy, which of Maryland's abortion laws on parental notice, hospitalization, and recordkeeping were still constitutional?
In this 1985 opinion, applying the Supreme Court's 1983 abortion decisions in Akron, Ashcroft, and Simopoulos, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Maryland's parental notification statute and…
Should Maryland's driver's license penalty points be dated to when a traffic violation happened, or to when the driver was actually convicted?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Motor Vehicle Administration's long-standing practice of dating a driver's license points to the date of the underlying violation was inco…
If a Maryland legislator switches political parties and then resigns, which party's central committee picks their replacement?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that under Article III, §13(a) of the Maryland Constitution, the central committee entitled to submit a successor's name to the Governor when a mem…
Does a Texas hospital district lose its property tax exemption if it rents out a building it owns?
No. The Texas AG concluded that collecting rent does not, by itself, strip a hospital district of tax-exempt status on property it owns, as long as the property is used for public purposes. Whether it…
Can Texas public officials be personally sued for damages under the state antitrust law for actions they take in office?
It depends on the office. Judges and legislators have absolute immunity from damage suits under the Texas antitrust act. Other officials with discretionary duties have qualified immunity and can be he…
Can a Texas district judge run for another office mid-term without automatically resigning the bench?
Yes. The Texas AG concluded that the state's automatic resign-to-run rule (article XVI, section 65) lists many county and precinct offices but not district judges, so a sitting district judge could ru…
Will a court-appointed lawyer get paid for representing an indigent parent jailed for not paying child support in Texas?
Not under the criminal-case fee statute. The Texas AG concluded that article 26.05 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which pays appointed lawyers in criminal and habeas cases, does not cover a civil …
Can Texas exclude short-appointment university faculty from the sick-leave benefit other state employees receive?
Yes, mostly. The Texas AG concluded that a 1985 appropriations-act rider excluding faculty with appointments under 12 months from the state sick-leave benefit did not conflict with general law or viol…
If a town incorporates inside an existing Texas rural fire prevention district, does it escape the district's taxes?
No. The Texas AG concluded that a town that incorporated within the boundaries of an already-established rural fire prevention district stayed part of the district, so its property remained subject to…
Can Texas prorate the annual license fee or tax on coin-operated amusement machines when the license covers less than a full year?
No. The Texas AG concluded that the Amusement Machine Commission could not prorate the fee for an initial license or registration certificate, or the annual occupation tax on coin-operated machines, b…
If a jail inmate's money is stolen by an escaping prisoner, who has to pay it back?
The county. The Texas AG concluded that a county is responsible for repaying money a jail holds in safekeeping for its inmates, even when an escaping prisoner takes it, because holding and returning t…
How soon must a Texas county officer hand collected funds to the county treasurer, and what does the deadline mean?
The Texas AG read the 1985 version of article 1709a to require county officers to deposit funds with the county treasurer by the next business day when possible, but they did not violate a clear statu…
What court fees can a Texas district clerk charge in child-custody and support cases, and can they charge when the attorney general represents a parent?
The Texas AG concluded that a district clerk could not charge an extra filing fee for a motion to modify or enforce a custody or support order, because the initial filing fee already covered those mot…
Does a Texas justice of the peace automatically resign by running for city council?
Yes. The Texas AG concluded that a general-law city council seat is an 'office of trust' under the state constitution's resign-to-run rule (article XVI, section 65), so a justice of the peace who anno…
Can a Texas city give land to the state for a public college, and can the college condemn land it needs?
A city can convey land to the state for a technical institute, but a conveyance exempt from bid procedures still cannot be for less than fair market value, and the questions about whether a binding co…
Does a state budget grandfather clause for probation-department car allowances cover paid trainees, not just probation officers?
Assuming the rider was valid, the Attorney General read the grandfather clause to protect anyone employed by a local probation department on May 31, 1985, not just probation officers. Because anyone w…
When the state files an elder-abuse report in a guardianship case, who pays the court filing fee?
The county clerk must collect a filing fee, but the Attorney General treated it as a cost of the guardianship proceeding. That means the ward's estate pays the fee, and the county pays if the estate c…
When New Jersey passed its 1985 law requiring the state pension funds to divest from companies doing business in South Africa, which companies and which funds were actually covered, and how was the Division of Investment supposed to apply the law in practice?
A company is 'engaged in business with or in South Africa' only if it has a physical presence there (offices, plants, factories) or operates there through controlled subsidiaries or affiliates; mere t…
Can a state agency put its vending-machine and pay-phone income into an employee fund for flowers and gifts?
No. The Attorney General concluded that vending-machine and pay-phone income from a building occupied by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission is public money that must go into the state treasury, unles…
Was it constitutional for Maryland to exempt only trucks already titled and registered in the state from its new, stricter truck weight limits?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that §24-109(a) of the Transportation Article, which exempted vehicles titled and registered in Maryland before December 31, 1983 from the state's …
Can a Maryland licensing board refuse to let someone take a professional licensing exam just because they live out of state?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators lacked the statutory authority to refuse an application to sit for its licensing examina…
Can a special state law strip one county of its power to borrow against its road fund and punish commissioners who vote for debt?
The Attorney General concluded that the parts of the 1947 Limestone County road law barring the county from creating debt against its road-and-bridge fund, and imposing civil and criminal penalties on…
After Maryland cracked down on lenders disguising abusive home-secured loans as "commercial" loans, which lenders had to give borrowers a written reason when they turned down a credit application?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that a borrower must be given a genuine, meaningful right to postpone a balloon payment under the new Chapter 115 commercial loan protections, and …
Can a home rule city shorten its park board members' terms or fire them at will?
No. Galveston could not shorten the two-year terms of its Park Board of Trustees, because the state statute that created the board fixes a two-year term running from the date of appointment and overri…
Does being a Texas Rehabilitation Commission client disqualify a disabled veteran from the Hinson-Hazelwood college fee waiver?
No. The Attorney General concluded a person is not automatically ineligible for the Hinson-Hazelwood Act's college fee exemption just because he is a client of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. The…
Can a bill about big-city development plats be struck down because its title doesn't mention extraterritorial jurisdiction?
No. The Attorney General concluded the title of the 1985 plat-approval law (chapter 568) adequately expressed its subject and did not violate the single-subject and title rule in article III, section …
Can a city council member in a general-law city also serve on the city's police reserve?
No. The Attorney General concluded the common law doctrine of incompatibility bars an alderman on a general-law city council from also serving on that city's police reserve. The council has broad supe…
Could a Texas county award a janitorial contract to a nonprofit serving blind or severely disabled people without making that nonprofit submit a competitive bid?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the specific Human Resources Code provision controlled over the general County Purchasing Act, so the nonprofit agency did not have to enter the competitive bi…
Could a Texas district clerk charge separate fees for filing each order and judgment after collecting the initial civil-case filing fee?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the $75 initial filing fee then set by section 51.317 covered the district clerk's services throughout the case unless another statute expressly authorized an a…
Who is legally allowed to witness someone signing a living will in Maryland, and can the lawyer handling their estate be one of the witnesses?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's new living will law required at least two witnesses who personally knew the person signing the declaration, and that anyone who kne…
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