State AG Opinions
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Can a South Carolina county council tell the sheriff's deputies what to do at council meetings, and can deputies use force to enforce public comment rules?
Probably not, on both counts. The Attorney General concluded a court would likely find a county council's limited authority over elected officials does not extend to giving direct orders to the sherif…
In Arkansas, can a city council force the city's Advertising and Promotion Commission to keep funding the convention center, or does the commission have sole authority over how A&P tax dollars are spent?
An Arkansas city's Advertising and Promotion Commission has sole authority over how A&P tax revenue is spent. The commission can choose among several uses listed in A.C.A. § 26-75-606 (advertising, co…
Can an Arkansas state agency contract with a private business that requires a COVID-19 vaccine or face mask to receive its services?
Generally yes. Arkansas's COVID-19 vaccine ban (A.C.A. § 20-7-146(c)) and mask ban (A.C.A. § 20-7-144(c)) restrict state agencies, not private businesses they contract with. But if a state agency inte…
Can a charter city in Arizona schedule a special election to amend its city charter and authorize a sales tax on a date other than the November general election, even though state law says transaction privilege tax elections must happen in November?
Yes. The Arizona Supreme Court has consistently held that the timing of municipal elections is a matter of purely local concern, and a city's charter controls. State law setting election dates for tax…
Do I need to take an in-person firearms course again to renew my Virginia concealed handgun permit?
No. The Virginia AG concluded that an existing concealed handgun permit, by itself, satisfies the in-person firearms competence requirement at renewal. You do not need to take another training class t…
How do the two-term limit and holdover rules work for South Carolina Commission on Higher Education appointments?
The Attorney General concluded the two-consecutive-term limit in S.C. Code § 59-103-10(1) applies to all ten Commission on Higher Education members the Governor appoints under that subsection, both co…
Does federal law let a military spouse keep using an out-of-state professional license in South Carolina without meeting state licensing requirements?
Likely yes where the laws conflict, but the Attorney General would not formally bless any specific approach. It explained that Section 19 of the federal VAEIA (50 U.S.C. § 4025a) requires recognizing …
When an Arkansas county treasurer resigns mid-term, who declares the vacancy, who appoints a replacement, how long does the appointee serve, and can the resigning treasurer run for another county office?
When an Arkansas county elective office becomes vacant, the quorum court (not the Governor) declares the vacancy and appoints a successor. The appointee serves until the next general election if the v…
Can a California county pass ordinances limiting how pesticides are used in the coastal zone, even when its Local Coastal Program calls for those limits?
No, not as ordinances of general application: Food & Agricultural Code § 11501.1 preempts local pesticide-use rules without Department of Pesticide Regulation approval. But counties can use site-speci…
What changes did the Arkansas Attorney General make to the proposed ballot title for the 2024 amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license and required local voter approval for new casinos?
The AG substituted and certified a revised popular name and ballot title for an initiated constitutional amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license under Amendment 100 and requi…
Can a Mississippi mayor appoint his son to the school board if the son refuses any pay?
Yes, but only with a complete waiver. The mayor's appointment of his son to the school board would otherwise violate § 25-1-53 (father and son are within third degree, mayor is the appointing authorit…
How does the Colorado House of Representatives impeach a state official, and what conduct can get an official removed from office?
Colorado has no specific impeachment procedure in statute. Historically the House has started impeachment with a House resolution, governed by House Rule 26. To impeach for malfeasance in office, the …
Is there a mandatory 24-hour holding period for someone arrested on a domestic violence charge in Mississippi before they can bond out?
No. The 'twenty-four-hour cooling-off period' previously authorized in Miss. Code Ann. § 99-5-37 was removed by a 2012 amendment. Under the current law, a judge may, upon setting bail, impose a holdin…
Can the wife of a Mississippi county hospital trustee be hired as a social worker for the hospital?
Yes. Mississippi's general nepotism statute (Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-53) is not violated because the board of trustees is not the appointing authority for the hospital and nursing home (the director an…
Can an Arkansas city sign a 25-year lease with a financial institution for a building, then sublease most of it to a private college, without violating the Arkansas Constitution's restrictions on aid to private entities and on multi-year debt?
Generally yes, with caveats. An Arkansas city's 25-year lease with a financial institution combined with a sublease to a private college does not automatically violate the constitution if the lease is…
Can the West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety & Training require coal mine operators to inspect electric water pumps located in non-working areas of the mine on a pre-shift or on-shift basis?
Only weekly. The Office can require weekly inspection of all pumps under W. Va. Code § 22A-2-40(20), including those in non-working areas. But the more-frequent pre-shift or on-shift inspection requir…
Can a Tennessee constable arrest someone outside their own county?
No. A constable's official jurisdiction is county-wide only. Outside their county, a constable has no more arrest authority than any private citizen, and they have no authority to serve process outsid…
Can a Kentucky state agency define 'underrepresented minority' purely by race and tie university funding to race-based enrollment targets?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Council on Postsecondary Education's race-only definition of 'underrepresented minority,' which forces public colleges to hit race-based enrollment and grad…
Does a South Carolina city have to give public notice before annexing land by petition, and who checks the petitions?
The Attorney General would not rule on whether the City of Chester's specific annexation was legal, because that turns on facts it cannot resolve. As a matter of general law, it explained that the two…
Does North Dakota's military pay tax exemption cover National Guard Active Guard Reserve, dual-status technicians, and ADOS service?
Yes. Pay received by a North Dakota Guard or reserve member for service in Active Guard Reserve (AGR), Dual-Status Technician (DST), Dual-Status State Employee (DSSE), or Active Duty for Operational S…
Can a Mississippi sheriff rehire his brother as chief deputy after the brother retires and returns?
No. Mississippi's nepotism statute (§ 25-1-53) bars a sheriff from hiring his brother as chief deputy. Brothers are within the third degree, the sheriff is the appointing authority for the sheriff's d…
Can a Mississippi defendant 'sit out' or work off the mandatory $1,000 human trafficking fund assessment in jail?
No. There is no authority for a Mississippi judge to allow a defendant to 'sit out' or work off the mandatory $1,000 Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund assessment under § 99-19-…
Can a Mississippi defendant in a domestic violence case 'sit out' the mandatory $1000 human trafficking assessment in jail?
No. There is no authority for a judge to allow a defendant to 'sit out' the mandatory $1000 state assessment under Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-75. The statute uses 'shall,' which is mandatory under *Pital…
If a Louisiana waterworks district commissioner loses his seat after missing four straight meetings, can the police jury just reappoint him to the same seat?
Yes. Louisiana law treats four consecutive missed meetings as creating a vacancy on a waterworks district board, but nothing in the statute or the parish code prevents the police jury from filling tha…
Can a South Carolina county extend a local sales tax past its 20-year limit on its own, or does it need the Legislature?
It needs the Legislature. The Attorney General concluded that Clarendon County's 1% sales and use tax, authorized by Act 355 of 2004 for its school districts, is capped by the Act's plain language at …
Does the University of Idaho Board of Regents have the constitutional power to acquire and operate a private university like the University of Phoenix through a separate non-profit corporation?
No. The Board's constitutional charter is limited to governing the University of Idaho itself. Setting up a separate non-profit (Four Three Education, Inc.) to acquire and run the University of Phoeni…
Can a South Dakota State's Attorney who is now a full-time county employee still do private legal work on the side, as long as it's not in state court?
Yes. SDCL 7-16-19 only bars a full-time state's attorney from representing private clients in cases pending in South Dakota state courts. Other private practice (transactional work, federal court matt…
Can a nonprofit give free cybersecurity tools and training to Virginia political campaigns without triggering campaign finance reporting?
Yes, if the goods and services are offered on a nonpartisan basis and are not provided for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a specific candidate, they are not 'contributio…
If someone trespasses on my property or creates a nuisance, can I sue for the annoyance and inconvenience, or only for the dollar damage to the property?
In a private nuisance or trespass case in New Mexico, you can recover damages for annoyance, discomfort, and inconvenience even without proving the property lost market value. Pure emotional distress …
Can convenience stores, smoke shops, and other unlicensed retailers in Arizona legally sell delta-8 THC gummies, vapes, and similar hemp-derived intoxicating products?
No. Arizona law treats delta-8 and other hemp-synthesized intoxicants as Schedule 1 controlled substances. Only retailers licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services to sell cannabis product…
How much of a Texas hospital district's sales-tax revenue can it spend on economic development under a 'one-fourth of one percent' cap?
A small slice, not a quarter. The AG concluded Special District Local Laws Code section 1069.211 lets the Nacogdoches County Hospital District allocate for economic development up to one-fourth of one…
Are court-cost refunds to mental health facilities under Texas law limited to patients who were actually committed?
No, the AG concluded the refunds are not limited to committed patients. Health and Safety Code subsection 571.018(j) makes a judge order a refund of court costs paid or advanced by certain inpatient m…
Can a Texas water control and improvement district use surplus debt-service (interest and sinking) fund money to reduce a future bond issuance?
No, the AG concluded it cannot. A water control and improvement district has only the powers a statute gives it. Water Code subsection 51.436(b) lists the only permitted uses of interest and sinking (…
If a Washington superior court judge is sitting as a visiting judge in another county, can they hold the hearing in their own home courthouse, appear remotely, and bring along their own court commissioner?
The default answer is no, with two real exceptions. AGO 2024 No. 1 says that a visiting superior court judge ordinarily must travel to the county being visited and hold the hearing there, and that the…
Could Tennessee legally pass a law letting the state nullify federal laws, executive orders, or court decisions it considers unconstitutional?
No. Senate Bill 1092 is constitutionally infirm. Tennessee's separation-of-powers doctrine bars the legislature and governor from declaring federal action unconstitutional (that's a judicial function)…
Can a memorandum about why a county prosecutor's employee resigned be released under Arkansas FOIA, especially when the former employee says she resigned voluntarily and is now running for the same county prosecutor's office?
Whether a memorandum describing a Benton County Prosecutor's Office employee's departure can be released depends on whether her resignation was forced (a 'constructive termination') or voluntary. If f…
Can Arkansas release a fired forensic chemist's termination letters and personnel records, and what personal information must be redacted before disclosure?
An Arkansas records custodian can release the termination letters of a fired Arkansas State Crime Lab forensic chemist, plus the rest of the personnel file with appropriate redactions. Termination let…
When a Delaware municipality holds a 'special meeting' less than seven days after deciding to schedule it, what does the agenda have to say about why notice came late?
It must explain why seven days' notice could not be given. The Village of Arden's Advisory Committee scheduled a February 13, 2024 special meeting on January 31. The notice and agenda were posted on F…
When can an Arkansas city release records about a police officer's termination, including the termination letter, written reprimands, and internal affairs files?
Under the Arkansas FOIA's employee-evaluation exception, a police termination letter cannot be released while the employee's grievance is still pending (no administrative finality). A written repriman…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the first version of the proposed amendment that would have repealed the Pope County casino license and required local voter approval for new casinos?
The AG rejected the first version of the proposed Pope County casino-repeal amendment because it incorporated state statutes (A.C.A. §§ 7-11-201 et seq. and 7-11-301 et seq.) into the constitution by …
Can a Texas deputy sheriff run a fixed weigh station that directs every commercial truck off the highway to be weighed?
Likely not, at least not for an Aransas County deputy under the scenario described. Transportation Code section 621.402 lets a 'weight enforcement officer' (which includes a deputy sheriff) weigh a lo…
Can Kansas ban a campaign yard sign on private property near a polling place on election day?
Yes, most likely. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 25-2430's ban on electioneering within 250 feet of a polling place entrance on election day is facially constitutional even as applied to p…
Can a Kansas county raise its hotel tax rate above the state cap using its home-rule power?
Yes, mostly. The Attorney General concluded that because the Transient Guest Tax Act does not apply uniformly to all counties (it blocks a county from taxing if a city within it already has), Sherman …
Can I visit, maintain, or be buried in a family cemetery on someone else's property in Virginia?
Descendants in Virginia have a statutory right under § 57-27.1 to enter private property by foot to visit and maintain a family cemetery, but the statute does not give them a right to be buried there,…
What does the certified 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' ballot title say about how voucher schools must meet the same standards as public schools?
After two prior rejections (Opinions 2023-131 and 2024-019), the AG substituted and certified a popular name 'The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' and a detailed ballot title. The amendm…
Who decides whether a police recruit has a valid South Carolina driver's license, and does part-time living in another state break residency?
The Attorney General would not decide whether the specific living arrangement described in the request established South Carolina residency, because residency is a fact question the office cannot reso…
Can a private group sue a charter school CEO in quo warranto to remove him from the Sacramento County Board of Education on the theory that running a charter network and serving on the county board are incompatible offices?
Yes, the suit can proceed. The AG granted leave to sue Paul Keefer (CEO of Pacific Charter Institute, a charter management organization, and elected Trustee on Sacramento County Board of Education) in…
Does California's Brown Act apply to a county-level legislative-advocacy group that pools school-district funds to lobby on behalf of those districts?
Yes. SANDABS is an entity created by elected school boards to exercise authority those boards could lawfully delegate, so its Executive Committee is a 'legislative body' under Government Code § 54952(…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the third version of the proposed 2024 medical marijuana amendment that would have expanded Amendment 98 with health-care-practitioner certification, home cultivation, and contingent adult-use authority?
After two prior reviews (Opinions 2024-014 and 2024-028), the AG certified the third version of the proposed 'Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024' as submitted, with no further substitutions.…
If a Mississippi city cleans up a neglected perpetual care cemetery, can it lien the property or charge penalties to recover the cost?
No to liens and judgments; only reimbursement from the perpetual-care trust fund via the Secretary of State is allowed. § 21-19-11(7) provides that the city's actual cost of cleaning a perpetual care …
If a Mississippi city closed a street years ago and now wants it back, can the city just rescind the closure or does it have to use eminent domain?
It depends on whether the street was actually closed and who owns the underlying fee. If the City truly closed the street under § 21-37-7 and the abutting property owner now owns the underlying fee, t…
Can a school district release records about a teacher and assistant principal terminated after a complaint of inappropriate communication with a student, including interview notes, text messages, and the parent's complaint letter?
Russellville School District's decision to release interview notes, text messages, and the student's mother's complaint letter related to the termination of an assistant principal/teacher for alleged …
Can one person serve simultaneously as Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, Executive Director of ODOT, and Executive Director of the Turnpike Authority?
No. Each of those three positions is a separate 'office' under Oklahoma's dual office holding ban (51 O.S. § 6), and serving in any two simultaneously violates the statute. Accepting a second office a…
Did the Oklahoma legislature unconstitutionally encroach on the governor's executive power when it changed how members of the Turnpike Authority are appointed?
No. HB 2263 (2023) split appointments to the seven-member Oklahoma Turnpike Authority among the Governor, Senate Pro Tempore, and Speaker of the House (two each, plus the Governor as ex officio). Unde…
If a Mississippi city's alderman is sued and the city's insurer already provided counsel, can the city pay for separate, independent legal representation for the alderman?
Yes, in the discretion of the Board of Aldermen. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-1-47(1) authorizes Mississippi municipalities to provide legal counsel and pay all costs of defense for any municipal officer sued…
Is committing a new misdemeanor while on parole a 'technical violation,' or does it count as a more serious violation?
It depends on the parolee's specific conditions. Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-2(q) defines a 'technical violation' as 'an act or omission by the probationer that violates a condition or conditions of probat…
Should a Mississippi county distribute privilege tax revenue under § 27-19-11 to municipal school districts within the county?
No. Highway privilege tax revenue under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-19-11 must be distributed only to the county and the county school district. Counties have no authority to levy ad valorem taxes for the su…
Can a Mississippi school district pay principals or other administrators an extra monthly stipend after they qualify as School Safety Guardians?
Yes. Miss. Code Ann. § 45-9-181(6) requires school districts to pay a monthly stipend of $100 to $500 to employees who complete the School Safety Guardian training. The 'shall' in the statute is manda…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed ballot title to repeal additional tobacco excise taxes beyond the Tobacco Products Act of 1977?
The AG rejected David Dinwiddie's proposed initiated act to repeal additional tobacco excise taxes (beyond those imposed by the 1977 Tobacco Products Act). The 'ballot title' was identical to the popu…
Can someone connected to a Delaware criminal case use FOIA to get state-police policy manuals and warrant records about that case?
No. Erin Frederick, who had a connection to a 2023 bank-robbery investigation in which her Dodge Durango was towed, asked DSP for ethics manuals, warrant procedures, ALPR policies, body-cam policies, …
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