State AG Opinions
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Can the Finance Cabinet make Kentucky's Fish and Wildlife department get three vendor quotes before using a statewide contract?
No to the first, and the agency has its own cap on the second. The Attorney General concluded the Finance and Administration Cabinet cannot require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to obtain three …
In a South Dakota road district, if I own three parcels of land in the district, do I get three votes? And can I vote absentee in road district elections?
One vote per landowner, no matter how many parcels. Absentee voting is available in formation elections, in initial trustee elections in districts with over 1,000 voters, and in referendum elections. …
Can a Virginia deputy sheriff also sit on the county board of supervisors at the same time?
Yes. Virginia's dual office-holding rules in Article VII, § 6 of the state constitution and Va. Code § 15.2-1534(A) only forbid simultaneous service in offices that are expressly listed in Article VII…
Can a South Carolina state representative serve on the Palmetto College Board of Visitors without breaking dual-office-holding rules?
Yes. The AG concluded that membership on the Palmetto College Board of Visitors is not a public 'office' for dual-office-holding purposes, because the Board is advisory, not created by statute, and ex…
Can a sheriff's deputy who also moonlights as a town police officer write a town traffic ticket while on duty as deputy sheriff?
No. A sheriff's deputy on duty as deputy sheriff has no authority to issue a municipal traffic citation returnable to municipal court, even if the same person also moonlights as a town police officer.…
Does the 2023 ban on prone restraint and compressive restraint in Minnesota schools restrict school resource officers and other peace officers when they're carrying out arrests, enforcing court orders, or otherwise doing their police job at a school?
No. The AG's September 20, 2023 supplement to the August 22 opinion confirms that the prohibitions in Minn. Stat. § 121A.58 do not apply to peace officers, including school resource officers and contr…
Can a South Carolina city make its nuisance ordinance enforceable only when three 'responsible citizens' report a violation to the municipal judge?
The AG raised serious doubts but stopped short of striking it down. A city can choose whether to enforce its ordinances, but the office flagged that conditioning a nuisance ordinance on a report by th…
Can a university release an employee's discrimination complaint while withholding the outcome letter from FOIA?
Partly. The retaliation complaint is a mixed personnel record and was correctly released under the personnel-records balancing test. The outcome letter is also a mixed record: an evaluation of the com…
Is a city's minority or disadvantaged small-business contracting program legal after the Supreme Court's affirmative-action ruling?
The AG would not decide it (only a court can, on the facts), but warned the program is 'fraught with risk.' Because a race-conscious program must survive strict scrutiny under Croson, Adarand, and the…
Can a Florida university presidential search committee use a search firm to anonymously survey its members and rank candidates outside of a public meeting?
No. Florida's Sunshine Law applies to university presidential search committees, and using an outside firm to anonymously rank candidates is an 'evasive device' that circumvents public deliberation. A…
Can a Louisiana doctor get a Delaware zoo's necropsy report on a pudu (small deer) that died at the Brandywine Zoo?
No. Delaware FOIA only guarantees access to citizens of Delaware (Op. 16-IB20). Dr. Heiligman, a Louisiana resident, asked DNREC for a necropsy report on Haechan, a pudu (small South American deer) th…
If a pro se plaintiff sues Wilmington over policing tactics and quotes an ACLU report in the complaint, can the City refuse to give the ACLU records about those tactics?
Yes. The ACLU of Delaware filed a 20-part FOIA seeking Operation Safe Streets and Governor's Task Force records. A week before the request, a pro se federal civil rights plaintiff had sued the City ov…
Should a city redact a public employee's net pay (after withholdings) from FOIA-released payment records?
Yes. Net salary payments must be redacted before release. Net pay reveals deductions that touch personal financial information (tax withholdings, retirement contributions, insurance elections, banking…
Can a city in Arkansas use prepared-food sales tax revenue for police salaries instead of tourism promotion?
No general public-safety funding. Arkansas prepared-food sales tax proceeds are statutorily restricted to promoting tourism and conventions (advertising the city, convention center operations, parks, …
If a Virginia primary candidate withdraws after their name appears on the primary ballot and absentee voting has begun, are they barred by the 'sore loser' law from running as an independent in the general election?
No. Section 24.2-520 keeps the names of candidates who are 'defeated in the primary' off the general election ballot. The AG concludes that 'defeated' means losing on the basis of votes cast while sti…
Can a Mississippi city and county jointly pave roads using the county's existing paving contractor without violating purchasing laws?
Yes. The Mississippi Interlocal Cooperation Act (§§ 17-13-1 et seq.) lets a city and county act jointly through a lawful interlocal agreement, including for road paving, even though a city cannot dire…
In a Mississippi mayor-council city, who controls and evaluates the civil service commission's secretary, the mayor or the commission?
For commission work, the civil service commission controls. The commission appoints the secretary under § 21-31-7, can suspend or discharge them under the same procedure used for commissioners under §…
Can a Mississippi city give its share of jointly owned surplus property to the county for free so the county can pass it to a nonprofit?
Not as a donation. Mississippi cities are generally prohibited from donating real property without statutory authority. The only practical path here is for Batesville's governing authority to make a f…
Can a Mississippi city's board of aldermen reverse an earlier ordinance making the police chief an appointed position and switch back to electing the chief?
Yes. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-3-3 and §§ 21-13-1 et seq., a code charter municipality has full authority to pass, amend, or repeal ordinances. Brookhaven's Board of Aldermen can amend, repeal, or re…
Can a city pay a newly elected councilmember retroactively for work done before being sworn in?
Probably not. The AG concluded a court would likely hold a municipality is not authorized to pay retroactive compensation to a councilmember for services rendered before qualification and being sworn …
Who can enforce South Carolina's waste-tire disposal law, and is the penalty criminal or civil?
The AG concluded that section 44-96-170(H) can be enforced by state, county, or municipal law enforcement officials, including county code enforcement and litter control officers, as well as by DHEC, …
Does a South Carolina county have to use an ordinance, not just a resolution, to buy real property?
An ordinance. The AG concluded that the statutes governing counties contemplate transferring interests in real property by ordinance, and that this reasoning applies to a county's purchase of a fee-si…
Can an Arkansas excavator start digging if utilities haven't responded through One Call within the legal time frame?
No. Under the Arkansas Underground Facilities Damages Prevention Act, an excavator cannot dig until ALL operators have responded through the One Call Center's electronic positive response system. Ther…
If a Kansas county clerk forgets to mail the revenue neutral rate notice on time, can the taxing district still raise taxes above that rate?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 79-2988(b)(2)'s requirement that the county clerk mail each affected taxpayer a notice at least 10 days before the public hearing is mandatory, not optio…
Does a town housing authority commissioner have to live inside the town, or can they live within five miles of the town?
Yes. Mississippi housing authority commissioners must reside within the housing authority's territorial jurisdiction, but that jurisdiction extends beyond the town limits. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 43-3…
Can a habitual offender in a Mississippi prison get conditional medical release if they're terminally ill, even though habitual offenders aren't eligible for parole?
Yes. Conditional medical release under Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-4 is a separate and distinct program from parole under § 47-7-3. The habitual-offender exclusion in § 47-7-3 does not apply to § 47-7-4. A…
Can an Arkansas school district donate land to a nonprofit for affordable teacher housing?
Yes, likely. Bentonville School District's proposal to donate nine acres of district-owned land to Excellerate Foundation (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit) for affordable teacher and community housing plus a co…
Can a Kansan use a bank certificate of deposit as their official first-time home buyer savings account?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a certificate of deposit (CD) at a financial institution qualified to do business in Kansas can be designated as a first-time home buyer savings account under …
Is a list of suspensions and disciplinary actions against Arkansas State Troopers a personnel record or an employee-evaluation record?
The classification was wrong. A list of Arkansas State Troopers showing names, suspension grounds, and disciplinary details is an employee-evaluation record (not a personnel record), because it contai…
Is Kentucky's race-restricted Governor's Minority Management Trainee Program legal after the Supreme Court's 2023 affirmative-action ruling?
No, in the Attorney General's view. The opinion concluded that the Governor's Minority Management Trainee Program, which limits eligibility to employees of certain races, discriminates on the basis of…
How many members make a quorum on a South Carolina county election board, and who sets the board's size and fills vacancies?
The AG concluded (though not free from doubt) that a county legislative delegation sets and can change the size of its county board of voter registration and elections within the statutory range of fi…
Can a South Carolina coroner use Child Fatality Fund money to buy a vehicle for a deputy coroner?
No. South Carolina Code Section 17-5-140(B) lets a county coroner spend Child Fatality Fund money, once the statutory minimum salary is paid, on hiring a deputy coroner or other personnel, or on an of…
Can a California DA force a court to impanel a criminal grand jury, and do Brady disclosure rules apply to grand jury materials?
On the first question, no. Penal Code § 904.6 says a court 'may' impanel a second grand jury upon a DA's request; it does not require impanelment. The statute's mix of 'may' and 'shall' usage and its …
When designing a school storm shelter in Arkansas, do you use the building code's occupant load formula or the Department of Education's class size rules?
The 2021 Arkansas Fire Prevention Code (incorporating IBC 2021) controls. Occupant load uses 20 net square feet per person for educational classrooms (giving ~42 people in an 850 sq ft classroom). The…
Are Arkansas billboards advertising recreational marijuana from neighboring states legal?
The AG declined to answer. Pending litigation in Pulaski County Circuit Court (Good Day Farm Arkansas, LLC v. State of Arkansas, No. 60CV-22-931) directly bears on the question. The AG's long-standing…
Does South Dakota's Athletic Commission have legal authority to regulate slap fighting contests (where two competitors trade open-hand blows to the face)?
No. The Athletic Commission's jurisdiction is limited by statute to boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. Slap fighting does not fit any of those definitions (no gloves, no fists, no kicks, no w…
Does Mississippi's Department of Mental Health have to certify any county jail or county hospital that holds someone awaiting transfer to a state mental health facility?
Yes. Mississippi's Department of Mental Health (DMH) is required to certify any county facility (including jails and hospitals) actually used to house, maintain, and provide medical treatment for invo…
Can a city redact allegations from a non-disciplinary administrative suspension letter and withhold investigator notes about a resigned employee?
Partially. The administrative suspension letter (which expressly states the suspension is non-disciplinary and pending investigation) is a personnel record, not an evaluation record. The personnel-rec…
Do the 2023 Virginia Department of Education model policies on athletics, parental information, pronoun usage, and bathroom and locker room access for transgender students violate the Equal Protection Clause, Title IX, or the Virginia Human Rights Act, and must local school boards adopt them?
Per the Attorney General, no and yes. The opinion concludes that Model Policies H (sex-based athletics), D (parental information and default pronoun rule), and G (sex-based facilities) do not violate …
Can a Mississippi county use Emergency Road and Bridge Repair grant money to pay off a loan it took out for the bridge project before the grant was awarded?
It depends on timing. Yalobusha County can use Emergency Road and Bridge Repair (ERBR) grant funds to make payments on its bridge-project note that come due after the grant award, treating each paymen…
Can an Arkansas FOIA custodian use whiteout to redact, and is redacting an entire driver's license image proper?
The custodian's release of the personnel file was partially consistent with FOIA. The whiteout redaction method is wrong (FOIA requires the redaction to show where and how much was deleted, which usua…
Did the 2023 amendment that banned prone restraint and chest/throat-pressure holds in Minnesota schools also ban those holds when a school staffer has to physically prevent a student from hurting someone or themselves?
No. The 2023 Amendment added a sentence to Minn. Stat. § 121A.58, subd. 3 saying that nothing in the prohibited-restraints section precludes use of reasonable force under Minn. Stat. § 121A.582, which…
If a majority of county commissioners show up to an internal department meeting and listen to county business, does that count as a Commission meeting requiring public notice?
Yes. The ND AG held the Wells County Commission violated open meetings law when three of its five members attended a 'Departments Meeting' on February 24, 2022, that included discussion of county busi…
Can the West Bolivar Consolidated School District board move its central office from Rosedale to Benoit without going back to the Mississippi Legislature?
No. Miss. Code Ann. § 37-7-104.1(1) requires the West Bolivar Consolidated School District's central administrative office to be located in Rosedale, Mississippi. Neither the full office nor any part …
Can a Mississippi city's fire chief temporarily close a fire station and reassign firefighters when there isn't enough staff, or does the mayor have to approve each closure?
Yes, with the right ordinance. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-3(1), a Mississippi city can pass an ordinance giving its fire chief authority to temporarily close a station and reassign firefighters whe…
When a Mississippi town cleans up junk on private property, can it haul off dilapidated vehicles and sell them, or does it have to throw them away?
Yes, dilapidated vehicles count as 'personal property' a Mississippi town can remove during a § 21-19-11 cleanup. But the town cannot just sell them under the lost-property statute. To sell or dispose…
Can a Mississippi convention and visitors bureau pay a nonprofit foundation to operate a tourism welcome center?
Yes. The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, created by 2011 House Bill 1552, may provide funding to the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation for the operation of the Tennessee Williams …
Does a Mississippi YMCA or Boys and Girls Club lose its child care licensing exemption if it accepts payment from the state's Child Care Payment Program?
If a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, or similar national-affiliate organization receives 'monthly, weekly or daily payments' from a subsidy program like Mississippi's Child Care Payment Program, it doesn't…
Are workplace harassment complaint forms and exit questionnaires personnel records or evaluation records under Arkansas FOIA?
The custodian's release decision was only partly consistent with FOIA. Discrimination/harassment complaint forms are mixed records: evaluation records of the accused (must be withheld absent suspensio…
Does Arkansas's funding of party primaries change the constitutional analysis of closed primaries that exclude non-members?
State funding of party primaries does not change the constitutional analysis. A political party can still set its own rules for who may vote in its primary, and the use of public money to administer a…
In an Arkansas city administrator city, can the mayor's veto force a measure the board never passed, or unilaterally authorize spending?
A mayor in a city administrator form of government cannot use a veto to overturn a measure the board of directors never passed (the measure is already a nullity), and cannot authorize municipal spendi…
Can a former employee block release of her Arkansas personnel file by saying she does not know the requester's motive?
No. The requester's identity and motive are irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. The subject of personnel records cannot block disclosure simply because she does not know who requested the file or what the…
Does an Arizona school's web-based emoji feature that asks 'How are you feeling?' count as a 'survey' that requires written parental consent under A.R.S. § 15-117?
No. Attorney General Kris Mayes concluded that an emoji-based 'How are you feeling?' check-in is not a 'survey' soliciting 'mental health information' under A.R.S. § 15-117. The statute's mental-healt…
Must a Delaware municipality post meeting minutes online, and can the AG review the merits of a council's vote?
No. The City of Delaware City did not violate FOIA by failing to post meeting minutes on its website; § 10004(f) does not require online posting. The AG also cannot review the petition's other claims …
Can a South Carolina sewer district charge the same property tax rate on land that has no access to the sewer line?
Yes. The Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District's enabling legislation requires its elected commission to levy an ad valorem tax on all taxable property within the district to cover bond payments and ope…
Did South Carolina's 2023 tobacco law ban all vending machine cigarette sales, or just sales to minors?
A court would likely conclude that Act 38 of 2023's provision stating 'it is unlawful to sell a tobacco product through a vending machine' was not intended to ban all vending machine tobacco sales to …
Can a Delaware agency keep asking for 15 more business days every time my FOIA request is voluminous, instead of giving me a real estimate?
No. The Department of Health and Social Services repeatedly told reporter Meredith Newman it needed another 15 business days, then another, then another. The AG ruled that 29 Del. C. § 10003(h) requir…
Does Delaware FOIA make a city compile a list of properties whose water has been shut off, or only hand over a list it already keeps?
Dover did not violate FOIA. FOIA only requires public bodies to give access to records they actually keep. The City does not maintain a list of properties whose water has been shut off, and FOIA does …
Can a former Arkansas deputy block release of his 2014 misconduct investigation records nine years after termination?
The custodian's decision to release the records is consistent with FOIA. Investigative records of police misconduct meet the four-part test for evaluation records: the deputy was terminated, the termi…
Can a North Dakota law enforcement agency refuse to release 911 transcripts because they're part of an active criminal investigation?
Refusing to release a 911 transcript outright violates open records law. The ND AG concluded the Highway Patrol and State Radio violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 when they refused The Forum's request for a…
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