State AG Opinions
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Can a Mississippi state agency contribute to a federal Section 530A 'Trump account' for an employee's child as part of the employee's benefits package?
No, not under current state law. There is no statute authorizing Mississippi state agencies to make contributions to Trump accounts as a benefit. State agencies can only offer benefits the legislature…
After a Delaware AG opinion ordered the City of Dover to re-review its withholdings of records about the police chief and the FOP, was the City's later use of attorney-client privilege and the personnel file exemption proper, and did the City have to file an affidavit with its supplemental production?
Yes, the privilege calls were proper, and no, the City did not have to file an affidavit with the supplemental production. The attorney-client privilege exists independently of the prior pending-litig…
When a Delaware county uses code enforcement against a homeowner over multiple years, can the homeowner FOIA the search warrant materials, hearing recordings, and internal communications, or are those covered by the investigatory files exemption?
The county must produce administrative hearing recordings and ordinary code enforcement records (notices, officer assignments) but can withhold search warrant applications, affidavits, and supporting …
Which of the new misdemeanor crimes the Georgia legislature created in 2025 should require fingerprinting at arrest?
The AG designated all 7 reviewed misdemeanors as fingerprintable: roadside transfer of dogs, cats, or domestic rabbits (§ 4-11-10.1(b)); operating a drone within 400 feet of a ticketed entertainment e…
Can my child's doctor refuse to give me my minor child's medical records in Arkansas?
Usually no, but there are two exceptions and one foster-care wrinkle. AG Tim Griffin concluded that under HIPAA and Arkansas law, parents and legal guardians normally have the right to access a minor …
May a Kansas pharmacist fill a prescription from an out-of-state physician assistant or APRN who lacks a Kansas license?
Only if the physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse holds the required Kansas license. The opinion says Kansas pharmacists may fill prescriptions from PAs licensed by the Kansas Boar…
When a North Dakota newspaper asks for the police report and body-camera footage from a state legislator's DUI arrest, can the police department withhold the records as 'active' even though the legislator has been arrested and the case is moving through the courts?
Yes, until the prosecution is complete. Under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.7, criminal investigative information is 'active' as long as the investigation continues with a reasonable good-faith anticipation of …
If a North Dakota city has officially blocked someone's email address (after notifying them and offering alternative methods to make records requests), and the person sends a records request via that blocked email anyway, does the city violate the open records law by not responding?
No. North Dakota's open records law does not require a public entity to accept email records requests, as long as the entity has provided notice that email is not an accepted method and has offered re…
When a South Carolina special purpose district sells services outside its statutory boundary in competition with private companies, can it shield its customer list from a FOIA request as a 'trade secret'?
Probably not. The trade secrets exemption in S.C. Code § 30-4-40(a)(1) is narrowly construed because FOIA is a remedial statute meant to favor disclosure. The Court of Appeals' Campbell decision and f…
When a Tennessee school district has to cut teaching positions, how does the law treat tenured versus non-tenured teachers, and who gets put on the rehire list?
Tennessee's reduction-in-force statute treats tenured and non-tenured teachers the same. Both groups get the same statutory protections, both can be cut based on effectiveness ratings, and both can be…
Does an Arkansas sheriff's deputy's forced resignation count as a 'termination' for FOIA disclosure of misconduct records?
Yes. AG Tim Griffin concluded that a forced or coerced resignation, where the employee resigns 'in the face of certain, impending termination,' is treated as a 'constructive termination' that satisfie…
Are leave balances, vacation accruals, and PTO records of an Arkansas city fire department employee subject to release under FOIA?
Yes. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Fayetteville's records custodian was right to release the leave-balance and accrual records for a fire department employee with one redaction. Payroll re…
Can my Arkansas city legally refuse a FOIA request for citizen complaints filed against a police officer who was not disciplined?
Mostly no. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Bryant's refusal to release the complaint files was only partially correct. The internal investigation memorandums must be withheld as employee-eva…
After Arkansas Act 314 of 2025 ended extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, can a city still appoint planning commissioners who live outside the city limits?
Yes, but only when the older boundary still controls. AG Tim Griffin concluded that a municipality may still appoint up to one-third of its planning commission from electors who live outside city limi…
Who can legally use blue lights and sirens to escort an oversize truck load on a Mississippi state highway?
Only police vehicles used for emergency work can display blue lights. For superloads (the largest oversize loads), escorts must be done by a police officer, a Department of Public Safety officer, or a…
Does West Virginia's small-county finance statute really require the County Commission president and county clerk to hand-sign every check or pay order, even though signature stamps and e-signatures are now standard in business and government?
Yes, in counties with populations under 50,000. West Virginia Code § 7-5-4(a) requires the president of the county commission and the county clerk (or alternative signatories under subsection (b)) to …
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed ballot title for changing justice-of-the-peace and constable terms from two years to four?
Because the ballot title described a December 31, 2026 cutoff date that was nowhere in the actual amendment text. AG Tim Griffin rejected the popular name and ballot title for David Dinwiddie's propos…
Can my city release a police officer's termination letter and internal affairs file to a FOIA requester in Arkansas?
Yes, in this case. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Cabot's records custodian was right to classify Officer Son Le's termination letter, letter of reprimand, and internal affairs investigatio…
In a Tennessee K-8 school, who counts as an 'elementary school student' for the 40-minutes-a-day physical activity rule, and can a school take recess away as punishment?
Students in grades K-4 always count as elementary school students. Fifth graders in a K-8 school can be classified either way; the local school board decides. And no, schools cannot withhold unstructu…
Can an Arkansas public school excuse a student during the school day to attend off-campus religious instruction with parental permission?
Yes, but with limits. AG Tim Griffin concluded that Arkansas school districts already have the authority under A.C.A. § 6-18-209(a) to adopt attendance policies allowing released time for off-campus r…
When a Delaware public body needs more than 15 business days to respond to a FOIA request, what does it actually have to tell the requester, and can it require prepayment of search fees?
The public body must say two things: an authorized reason for the delay (the records are voluminous, in storage, archived, or need legal review) AND a good faith estimate of how much extra time it nee…
When the Mississippi Department of Education has both a State Superintendent and a State Board of Education, which one is the 'agency head' for purposes of the Internal Audit Act?
The State Board of Education. The Mississippi Internal Audit Act defines 'agency head' as either an elected agency head, an executive director, or a governing board responsible for heading an agency. …
When a city arrests a person and that person is bound over to the grand jury, does the city or the county pay the jail housing bill?
The county. Once a municipal prisoner is bound over to a grand jury after a preliminary hearing (or after the prisoner waives that hearing), the prisoner becomes a county prisoner for cost purposes. T…
Can a Mississippi county that helps fund a community college reduce its yearly tax levy to the college based on its own changing budget?
No, with one narrow exception. Section 37-29-141(1) prohibits a member county from levying a smaller millage for a junior college district than it did the previous year unless the college's board of t…
Is a construction project on leased public land that is funded entirely by a private nonprofit a 'public work' under Washington law, requiring competitive bidding and prevailing wages?
Maybe. The Washington AG concluded that the public-works classification is highly fact-specific. A privately funded project on leased public land is *very likely* a public work if the private entity r…
What can a city release when someone FOIAs the file of a recently fired employee, including the termination letter, internal emails, and a social worker's note?
Most of the file comes out, but not all. Routine grievance correspondence, supervisor statements, signed workplace policies, and similar documents are personnel records and must be released (with pers…
If a deer farmer in Oklahoma breeds white-tailed deer under the Chronic Wasting Disease Genetic Improvement Act pilot program, where, when, and to whom can those deer actually be released?
Pilot Program deer can only be released by ODAFF-licensed cervid farmers, only between February 1 and April 15 each year, only onto private land, and only if the deer were born and raised in Oklahoma,…
If a Virginia school division refuses to fix a special-ed problem after the state Department of Education tells them to, what can the state actually do about it?
School divisions are legally required to fully implement any corrective action VDOE orders after a finding that a student was denied a free appropriate public education, and they have to do it within …
Did South Carolina's 2010 and 2013 permit extension resolutions, which tolled development approval deadlines after the Great Recession, also extend a 1995 water and sewer infrastructure agreement between a private trust and a municipal utility?
Yes, a court would likely find the resolutions apply. The AG concluded that the 2010 and 2013 Joint Resolutions, which tolled vested development rights to ease the Great Recession's impact, are broad …
Does a postage-meter date stamp count as the postmark for proving an Arkansas property tax payment was mailed by the October 15 deadline?
No. Only an actual U.S. Postal Service postmark counts. A postage-meter date stamp shows when your office ran the envelope through the meter, not when USPS took custody. If your envelope reaches the c…
Can a Virginia city council or board of supervisors block early in-person voting from starting on the 45-day mark?
No. State law makes the 45-day in-person absentee voting window mandatory for every election, and neither registrars, electoral boards, nor local governing bodies have any discretion to delay it. A bo…
Can a South Carolina county add the local option sales tax (LOST) on top of the transportation tax and educational capital improvements tax it already collects, when a city inside the county is also charging the tourism development fee?
Yes, if voters approve. The AG concluded there is no statutory bar to a county imposing LOST while it already collects the transportation tax and the educational capital improvements tax, and while a …
Can the North Dakota State Auditor audit the state's Protection and Advocacy agency, including records that are confidential under federal disability-rights laws and state attorney-client privilege rules?
Yes. North Dakota's audit-access statute (N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1) starts with 'notwithstanding any other specific sections of law,' giving the State Auditor access to confidential records during audits…
Can an Arkansas district court issue a writ of execution? Does a district court judgment automatically become a lien? Can a sheriff execute a writ from a court in another county or another state?
Yes, sometimes, and yes with conditions. District courts are courts of record in Arkansas and can issue writs of execution to enforce their own judgments. A district court judgment does NOT automatica…
In Texas, can a Secretary of State election inspector take photos or video at a polling place, and can poll watchers watch the handling and counting of mail-in ballots?
Yes to both. State inspectors are exempt from the polling-place recording ban while doing their official duties, and they're explicitly authorized to gather 'evidence,' which includes photos and video…
Can a Florida county require building permits for temporary lodging used during agritourism events on a working farm?
No. If the lodging is part of a bona fide agritourism activity (such as equestrian competitions on a working farm), Florida law preempts counties from imposing building permits or site plan requiremen…
If I'm a Texas-licensed psychologist, counselor, social worker, or marriage and family therapist, am I covered by SB 14's restrictions on gender-transition care for minors, even though I can't perform surgeries or write prescriptions?
Yes, according to AG Paxton. The Behavioral Health Executive Council's licensees (psychologists, LPCs, MFTs, social workers) are 'health care providers' under Tex. Health & Safety Code § 161.701(2). T…
If I ask a North Dakota county for records and the records are actually held by a separate housing authority that the county appoints board members for, does the county have to track down those records for me?
No. North Dakota's open records law only requires a public entity to provide records that it actually possesses or has custody of. A housing authority is a separate public entity under N.D.C.C. § 23-1…
When North Dakota residents invite city commissioners to a public meeting and only two of five commissioners actually show up, has the city commission violated the open meetings law if no special meeting notice was issued?
No. The open meetings law applies to a 'meeting,' which under North Dakota statute requires either a quorum of the governing body or a smaller-than-quorum gathering held to evade the open-meeting rule…
Can a Virginia local electoral board buy and install third-party software (like 'Ballot Verifier') that scans ballots and posts ballot images and cast vote records online for the public to inspect?
No. Attorney General Jay Jones concluded that local electoral boards have no statutory authority to add software to their voting systems without State Board of Elections approval, and the comprehensiv…
Can the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice charge counties a $50 per-day fee for keeping juveniles in custody after they have been adjudicated and committed?
No. The AG concluded that DJJ's per-diem authority under Section 63-19-360(4) is limited to pre-adjudication detention. Once a juvenile has been adjudicated and committed, the State must bear the cost…
When a Washington juvenile court clerk gets a request from the Office of Public Defense or the Office of Civil Legal Aid for dependency or termination case records, does the clerk have to provide them, and can the clerk require those agencies to file a notice of appearance first?
Yes to providing the records, no to the notice-of-appearance requirement. The Washington AG concluded that RCW 13.50.010(13) and (14) obligate court clerks (as the actual custodians of court records) …
Can a Delaware citizen get body-camera footage, dash-cam video, and police reports from a traffic incident the citizen was personally involved in once the investigation is closed?
No, not under FOIA. The investigatory files exemption in 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3) covers records compiled for civil or criminal law enforcement purposes, including body-cam footage, incident reports, …
After Congress passed and the President signed a late disapproval resolution against DC's 2025 tax-conformity legislation, did DC taxpayers have to refile their 2025 returns under the older, less-favorable rules?
No. House Joint Resolution 142 (signed February 18, 2026) did not retroactively alter 2025 tax liabilities and did not repeal the underlying DC tax laws. Two reasons. First, the federal saving statute…
Are emails sent by a justice of the peace or other elected county official public records under Arkansas FOIA, who is the custodian, and how long must they be kept?
Yes, generally. Emails between elected officials acting in their official capacity (such as justices of the peace) are typically public records subject to FOIA, but each email must be evaluated case b…
Does a Kansas county hospital board have to get its annual budget approved by the county commission even if it isn't asking for tax money?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a non-elected county hospital board must submit its proposed budget to the county commission for approval every year under K.S.A. 19-4607(c), even when the hos…
Can anyone (county collector, county court, or circuit court) waive the late penalty when a property tax payment arrives postmarked after October 15?
No. The 10% delinquency penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory and cannot be waived. The county tax collector has no discretion. Neither the county court (which has original jurisdiction over c…
Once a Delaware public body has invoked the pending-litigation FOIA exemption to refuse a request, can the requester get around the exemption by re-submitting essentially the same request with a different topic label?
Not entirely, but the public body still has to do work. Sussex County had previously denied an offshore-wind-related records request; the requester then filed a new request with the topic changed to '…
If a Delaware public body's hybrid (in-person plus virtual) meeting cuts off a remote attendee in the middle of public comment, has the public body broken the open-meeting law?
It can. Section 10006A(d)(4) says a tech glitch does not by itself invalidate a virtual meeting or the actions taken at it. But the public body still has to demonstrate compliance with FOIA. When the …
Can a Virginia county that doesn't use a county-executive or county-manager form of government make homeowners retrofit existing outdoor lights to protect the night sky?
No for retrofits, yes for new development. Under Dillon's Rule, the only counties with express statutory authority to regulate residential exterior lighting are those operating under the county-execut…
If a property owner owes delinquent taxes that are a lien on the land, can a Virginia county treasurer override the locality's refusal to consider a rezoning or land-use application from that owner?
Yes. Attorney General Jay Jones concluded that the 2017 amendment to Va. Code § 15.2-2286(B) gives county and city treasurers binding authority to waive the unpaid-tax bar, and that authority applies …
Did Virginia's 1972-1973 overhaul of the district court system automatically repeal the parts of the Virginia Beach city charter that set up its own municipal courts and clerks?
Yes, mostly. Attorney General Jay Jones concluded that the comprehensive district court system created by Va. Code § 16.1-69.1 et seq. repealed any inconsistent municipal charter provisions, including…
After a Pennsylvania ATV crash where a closer West Virginia EMS unit could have helped but couldn't because the two counties weren't bordering, can Morgan County (WV) sign a mutual-aid EMS agreement with Fulton County, Pennsylvania, even though they're separated by Maryland?
No, neither the Morgan County Commission nor the local EMS provider can sign that agreement. The relevant West Virginia statutes (Sections 7-1-3i, 15-5-9, and 16-4C-20) all require the out-of-state co…
When a servicemember or military spouse with a professional license moves to Georgia under military orders, do they have to pass Georgia's licensing exams again, or does federal law let them practice immediately?
Federal law lets them practice immediately on submission of the required application. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, as amended in December 2024, provides that a 'covered license' held by a serv…
If an associate district judge in Oklahoma resigns, is removed, or otherwise leaves office, can the presiding judge of the judicial administrative district appoint a special judge to fill in until the vacancy is permanently filled?
Yes. A special judge may be appointed to temporarily fill an associate-district-judge vacancy under 20 O.S. § 122(3), regardless of whether the cause is permanent (death, resignation, removal, disqual…
Can a city council in Arkansas pass an ordinance the council had no legal power to pass, and if so, must the mayor still sign (authenticate) it? Can the council strip the mayor of authority to fire department heads?
Yes a council can pass an ultra vires ordinance, and the law treats it as 'de facto' (effective until a court strikes it down). The mayor still has to authenticate it: the authentication signature is …
Why did the Missouri attorney general reject Jasmine Miller's 2026 initiative petition?
The attorney general rejected the petition because it failed to comply with the form requirements in Section 116.050. The opinion did not decide whether the proposal was sufficient as a matter of subs…
If an Oklahoma county jail inmate needs urgent medical care and the closest qualified hospital is across the state line, can the sheriff drive the inmate there, and can the sheriff be sued for choosing an in-state hospital instead?
No, the sheriff cannot drive the inmate across the state line. The sheriff's custodial authority ends at the Oklahoma border. Choosing an in-state hospital instead of a closer out-of-state hospital is…
When a Delaware public body says it has no records responsive to a FOIA request but the requester sees evidence the records exist, what kind of evidence does the public body have to put forward to prove its search was adequate?
A sworn statement is required. Generalized denials in a lawyer's response don't satisfy the burden. The public body has to file a sworn affidavit describing who was consulted, what systems were search…
Can someone use a quo warranto lawsuit to remove a California school district superintendent who never had an administrative or teaching credential?
No, the Attorney General denied leave to sue. Education Code section 35029 lets a local school board waive credential requirements for the district superintendent (the 'chief administrative officer'),…
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