State AG Opinions
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Could a Texas county buy land and build an office solely for its county appraisal district under a lease-purchase agreement?
No. JM-191 concluded that a county lacked authority to buy land and construct a building solely for an appraisal district, even if the district compensated the county. The county could lease unused sp…
Which Harris County justice precinct had venue over a bad-check charge, and did the justice have to reject it at filing?
JM-190 said the charge belonged in the precinct where the offense occurred, regardless of the defendant's residence. JM-1036 later clarified that a justice did not violate the venue law by failing to …
Could a Texas city label a tourist-development area in its extraterritorial jurisdiction an industrial district?
No. JM-189 concluded that an area primarily used for hotels, condominiums, vacation homes, and recreation was commercial rather than industrial in the customary sense required by the Municipal Annexat…
Could the Texas human-resources agency stop child-protective workers from doing paid court-ordered custody studies after hours?
Yes, when the outside work created a conflict by competing with the department for court appointments and fees or otherwise harmed departmental operations. JM-188 said conflicts ordinarily required fa…
Could a Texas life insurer pay its wholly owned service subsidiary a fee based on net premiums?
Yes. JM-187 concluded that article 3.68 did not automatically bar a premium-based service fee paid to a wholly owned subsidiary, so long as the arrangement met the fairness, propriety, and reasonablen…
Did every Texas county bid need article 2367's notarized anti-collusion affidavit, and could it be notarized after opening?
No. JM-186 said the affidavit applied only to county printing and stationery bids governed by articles 2358 through 2367. When required, it had to be signed under oath and notarized when submitted and…
Could a Texas House of Representatives committee accept donations from private organizations?
No. JM-185 concluded that a House committee lacked statutory authority to accept private donations. A general appropriations provision covering gifts already accepted by authorized agencies did not it…
Could a Maryland health club refuse membership to a blind or deaf person in the 1980s?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a health club open to the general public is a "public facility" under the White Cane Law, so it could not deny blind or deaf people f…
Could El Paso County spend county hotel occupancy tax revenue on golf carts or general improvements at its golf course?
No. JM-184 concluded that the county hotel-tax statute limited spending to qualifying public improvements that attracted visitors and tourists, and a county golf course did not fit the listed spectato…
Did the Open Meetings Act cover an advisory council for a major resource system of Texas public libraries?
No. JM-183 concluded that the locally selected, multi-jurisdictional library advisory council did not fit the statute's definition of a governmental body, state executive entity, local department, pol…
Could a Texas commissioners court require independently elected county officials to keep specified office hours, including lunch?
No. JM-182 concluded that the Lampasas County Commissioners Court lacked authority to impose enforceable office hours on other independently elected county officials. It distinguished statutes allowin…
Could the Greater Texoma Utility Authority promise not to serve areas claimed by Denison without the city's consent?
No. JM-181 said the authority could not contract away its governmental duty to decide whom it served and on what terms. Denison's existing utility certificate already prevented the authority from rece…
Could a Texas home-rule city give four-year terms to council members elected from single-member districts?
Yes. JM-179 concluded that article XI, section 11 allowed four-year terms for officials elected from single-member districts. The provision required a majority vote of the qualified voters in the rele…
Did a Texas county auxiliary courthouse inside a city have to follow municipal zoning, building, and fire codes?
Partly. JM-180 said city zoning could apply only if it did not prevent the county from reasonably locating the auxiliary courthouse within the county seat. The county still had to comply with municipa…
Could a higher-education-authority board member vote on student-loan matters benefiting a bank in which the member had a substantial interest?
No, when the member knowingly participated and could reasonably foresee interest income or another economic benefit to the bank. JM-178 also concluded that a higher education authority director was a …
Could a Texas state agency exclude assignments, evaluations, salary schedules, terminations, or other job matters from its employee grievance process?
No. JM-177 said agencies could not narrow 'conditions of work' to exclude parts of the employment relationship from grievance protection. The term covered wages, hours, employment conditions, and othe…
Who prosecuted a Texas child-support probation revocation, and did an indigent parent have rights to counsel, bail, and notice?
JM-176 said the district attorney or equivalent state prosecutor handled revocation under Family Code section 14.12. An indigent probationer was entitled to appointed counsel, and the bail and notice …
Could a city require every owner selling or transferring a municipal cemetery lot to convey it back to the city at the original price?
No. JM-175 concluded that a city-only transfer rule at a fixed original price and with no time limit was an unreasonable restraint on alienation. The opinion distinguished a limited right of first ref…
Did a Texas justice precinct containing a city with more than 18,000 residents have to elect two justices of the peace?
Yes. JM-174 concluded that once the commissioners court determined a city in the precinct exceeded 18,000 residents, article V, section 18 required two justices of the peace. The court retained discre…
How could a Texas physician delegate nursing or medical acts to an unlicensed person, and what could the medical board regulate?
JM-173 said physicians remained responsible for delegated medical acts and had to satisfy the Medical Practice Act even when the task was a nursing act. A good-faith unlicensed delegate was protected …
Could city officials or electric-cooperative officers serve on the Lower Colorado River Authority board?
JM-172 said recent officers and employees of wholesale electric cooperatives were statutorily ineligible for LCRA appointment. City officials and employees were not barred by that statute, but accepti…
Could a Giddings council member remain in office while serving as vice-president of a corporation that subcontracted on a city project?
JM-171 said the member did not automatically vacate office. But the city contract was void if the general contractor and the member's firm already had a subcontracting agreement when the city awarded …
Could a county reimburse a commissioner who personally repaid road-equipment operators for traffic fines they incurred during county road work?
No. JM-170 said the drivers were personally liable for their fines, and the commissioner's voluntary repayments were neither necessary nor legal county expenses.
Could Dickinson repeal its adoption of the general-law city statutes and return directly to its former village status?
No. JM-169 said Dickinson could regain village status only by dissolving its existing municipal corporation and reincorporating as a village.
What filing fees applied to an ancillary probate action and later instruments filed in that action?
JM-168 required a $25 initiating fee and also allowed per-page fees for later instruments, but JM-346 overruled the latter conclusion and said no fee beyond the initial $25 was authorized for adverse …
Could the State Commission for the Blind contract with public or private organizations to provide rehabilitation training for older blind adults?
Yes, in its discretion. JM-167 said general law authorized such contracts, but an appropriations rider could not make the otherwise discretionary contract mandatory.
How did Tax Code section 6.03 govern selection of appraisal-district directors, including deadlines, submissions, candidate qualifications, and off-ballot votes?
JM-166 said the process was an appointment rather than an Election Code election; deadlines were directory, submissions had to be written, clerks could not investigate qualifications, and off-ballot v…
After deferred-adjudication supervision expired without revocation or guilt proceedings, could a court use a capias pro fine or execution to collect an unpaid fine imposed as a probation condition?
No. JM-165 said the fine was a condition of probation rather than part of a sentence, and the defendant had to be discharged when supervision expired without proceedings to adjudicate guilt.
Was a Texas Water Development Board feasibility order on a proposed federal water or flood-control project subject to APTRA's contested-case hearing procedures?
No. JM-164 said the board's order was a recommendation that did not finally determine anyone's legal rights, duties, or privileges, so it was not a contested case or final APTRA order.
Could Texas agencies pay a company owned by a legislator when the contract was authorized during that legislator's term?
No. The Attorney General concluded that article III, section 18 made the contract illegal and unenforceable when legislation and appropriations enacted during the legislator's term authorized it, so t…
Could El Paso district judges require every local lawyer to take civil cases for indigent clients through a bar-run pro bono program?
No. JM-161 said article 1917 let an individual district judge appoint counsel for an indigent party in a particular case, but did not authorize a group of judges to create a countywide program or dele…
Could the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport Board use Texas article 999b to provide extra law-enforcement officers to Dallas?
No. JM-160 said article 999b authorized temporary law-enforcement assistance only between counties and municipalities, and the regional airport board was neither.
Did a Texas child need a Social Security number before a court could enter a divorce or child-support decree?
No. JM-159 said the decree had to include each party's and child's Social Security number only if the number had already been obtained; parents did not have to get a new number or card before entry of…
If a North Carolina law enforcement officer reasonably suspects welfare fraud (AFDC, Food Stamps, Medicaid, State County Special Assistance), can the officer get the confidential public assistance records without a search warrant, subpoena, or the applicant's consent?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that the 'administration of the program' exception in North Carolina's confidentiality statute, and the parallel 'directly connected with program administration' language in…
Could a Baltimore City ordinance banning sexual-orientation discrimination coexist with Maryland's 1980s criminal sexual conduct laws?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General advised that a proposed Baltimore City ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation did not conflict with state criminal laws prohib…
Can DC claim the contents of unclaimed safe deposit boxes that the federal Comptroller of the Currency took over from defunct national banks?
Yes. Under the 1982 Garn-St. Germain Act, states (including DC) can claim contents of safe deposit boxes from closed national banks held by the Comptroller of the Currency. DC's Uniform Disposition of…
Can a Maryland bill be struck down just because its title describes the opposite of what the bill's text actually does?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General declined to approve House Bill 1541 for constitutionality because its title said the bill would include certain sickness and accident disability pay…
Could a state-funded historic preservation trust rent out a former church for weddings and other religious events without violating the ban on using bond money for religious purposes?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a nonprofit trust that received a state construction bond to preserve a historic former church could rent the hall for occasional wed…
Could Maryland constitutionally bar the state treasury from depositing funds in banks that lent money to apartheid-era South Africa?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a bill barring the State Treasurer from depositing state funds in financial institutions with loans to the South African government w…
Did Maryland workers' compensation cover seasonal and migrant farm laborers in the 1980s?
In this 1984 bill-review opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Senate Bill 869 would extend workers' compensation coverage to most seasonal and migratory farm workers, but would still …
Under G.S. 148-4.1(c) and the 1983 Acceleration Act, when the Secretary of Correction directs parole acceleration, does the Parole Commission have to release every Fair Sentence inmate within the eligibility window, or can it choose which inmates to release?
The Parole Commission has unfettered discretion to choose which otherwise-eligible inmates to include in the pool released under G.S. 148-4.1(a). The (c) provision does not vest any individual inmate …
Could Harris County spend county money to encourage voter registration and hire a nonprofit organization to help?
Yes. JM-157 said county funds could support voter-registration promotion, and the commissioners court and voter registrar could act together to contract with a nonprofit for services within their auth…
Could a Texas community college meet with a public-employee union about general working conditions without engaging in prohibited collective bargaining?
Yes. JM-156 said a community college could consult with a union about general employment conditions without a formal grievance, so long as the discussion did not seek a binding agreement and the trust…
Could a Texas agency ask architects and engineers what fee they considered fair without violating the Professional Services Procurement Act?
Yes. JM-155 said the Act barred selecting architects or engineers through competitive bids, but required agencies to consider fair and reasonable prices along with demonstrated competence and qualific…
Could a private Texas high school withhold a student's academic records or transcript because the family owed tuition?
JM-154 said the Texas Open Records Act did not apply to the privately funded school. Federal law required a federally funded school to let parents inspect and review records, but did not require an of…
Was a Texas county liable when a justice of the peace collected state court costs but failed to deposit them in the county treasury?
No, unless the county itself received and appropriated the money. JM-153 said the comptroller could pursue the individual who misappropriated the funds, officials could not waive mandatory costs, and …
Could the Texas comptroller cap state board members' meal and lodging reimbursement at $75 per day under the 1983 appropriations act?
No. JM-152 said the appropriations language supplied no clear objective standards for a $75 cap, so the limit was unenforceable and each board's specific reimbursement law remained controlling.
Did Bexar County Jail have to accept people arrested by city police for state-law violations before a magistrate committed them to the sheriff?
No. JM-151 said the jail's duty began after magistrate warnings and commitment to county custody. Before then, the county could charge the city only under an interlocal contract, and no prosecutor had…
Were a pipeline company's sales of natural gas to industrial customers inside Houston subject to Texas's city utility gross-receipts tax?
Yes. JM-150 treated the metered lateral-line operation as local gas distribution rather than mere transmission, so receipts from sales to more than twenty Houston industrial consumers were taxable und…
Can a school let a county social services worker interview a child suspected of being abused or neglected at school without telling the parents first or having them present?
Yes. The AG concluded school officials may cooperate with DSS protective services workers and allow them to interview a reported child abuse or neglect victim at school without parental notice or pres…
How was authority divided between the Texas Employment Commission and its agency administrator after the 1983 amendments?
JM-149 said the administrator handled routine day-to-day operations, but the commission retained final administrative authority, controlled special-fund expenditures, and had to execute the specifical…
Could the Railroad Commission investigate a pipeline-to-pipeline gas rate when that rate would affect a later city-gate sale to a distribution utility?
Yes. JM-147 said the special presumption for negotiated large-volume rates did not prevent full review when the rate directly or indirectly affected a city-gate sale for resale to a gas distribution u…
Can Maryland restrict its own legislative staff from campaigning or donating to political campaigns more strictly than other state employees?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a rule banning legislative staff from partisan and nonpartisan campaign activity and candidacy was constitutional on its face and as …
Can a North Carolina hospital require its nurses, doctors, and other staff who work around pregnant women to show that they're immune to rubella, or be tested for it, or get the vaccine?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility may, as a reasonable condition of employment, require personnel in contact with pregnant women to document rubella immunit…
Did defendants convicted of drug trafficking under the first version of G.S. 90-95 (offenses between July 1, 1980 and June 30, 1981) qualify for good time and gained time credits, and were they eligible for parole after serving the statutory minimum?
Yes on all counts. The AG concluded that prisoners sentenced under the first version of G.S. 90-95 were eligible for good time and gained time under DOC regulations, and were eligible for parole, but …
Could a court grant deferred adjudication after January 1, 1984, for a misdemeanor DWI offense charged before that date?
Yes. JM-146 said the former law remained controlling for pre-1984 DWI offenses, so the later amendment excluding DWI defendants from deferred adjudication did not apply.
Could Texas acquire the land designated for Gateway State Park through multiple conveyances, and could it accept disconnected parcels?
JM-145 said the authorized parkland could be conveyed in separate instruments at different times, but accepted parcels had to be physically connected as the statute specified, except for roadway or ri…
Was the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission allowed to require juvenile probation officer salary scales to be at least as high as adult probation officer salary scales?
Yes. JM-144 found the salary standard authorized by statute and constitutional; juvenile boards fixed salaries under state standards, subject to commissioners-court consultation and review for clear a…
Did a Texas community college have authority in 1984 to establish an employee cafeteria plan using life, accident, health, and disability insurance benefits?
JM-143 said yes under the law it reviewed, but the official Texas AG page marks it overruled by JM-543, which said federal amendments changed cafeteria plans and JM-143 should be disregarded.
Could a water district use surplus taxes collected for a bond interest-and-sinking fund on a different water or environmental project?
No. JM-142 said the fund could be used only for statutory bond-related purposes while bonds remained. After retirement, the surplus could be refunded to taxpayers or, if impracticable, transferred to …
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