State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas county commissioner also work as the general manager of a water authority?
Yes, on the facts presented. The Nueces County Attorney asked whether the common-law incompatibility doctrine or conflict-of-interest laws stop a county commissioner from also serving as general manag…
Can a Mississippi municipal court establish a veterans misdemeanor treatment court?
No. Section 9-25-1 grants circuit court judges, and only circuit court judges, the authority to establish Veterans Treatment Court programs. The court can be standalone or a component of an existing i…
If four members of a thirteen-member city council meet at a councilmember's house, is that a 'meeting' under Delaware's open-meetings law?
No prima facie violation. Wilmington City Council requires seven members for a quorum, not three. The Petition only showed meetings of up to four councilmembers, which by itself does not establish a F…
Can Washington's Commission on Judicial Conduct adopt a rule letting it ask the state Supreme Court to temporarily suspend a judge who's been charged with a felony or has a serious disability, before completing the full disciplinary process?
Probably not. AGO 2022 No. 4 says the Commission on Judicial Conduct most likely lacks the authority to write a rule allowing it to recommend a judge's interim suspension before completing the article…
Can a Delaware city charge a journalist a $45-per-hour fee to find ten years of grant records?
Yes, after correction. The AG ruled the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA on its 10-year contract/grant request once it corrected its initial $45 hourly rate to $22.45, the rate of the lowest-pa…
If a city council settled a Voting Rights Act case and the settlement said members get 2-year terms, but the city later relied on its 4-year-term ordinance and skipped the next election, can voters force a court to decide whether those members have lawfully stayed in office?
Substantial questions of law and fact exist about whether Mission Viejo councilmembers Ed Sachs, Wendy Bucknum, and Greg Raths lawfully held office past December 2020. The city's 2018 stipulated judgm…
Can a city councilmember bring their personal staff into a Brown Act closed session, or share what was discussed there with that staff afterward?
1) No. As a general rule, a councilmember's individual legislative aides cannot attend Brown Act closed sessions. They can attend only if they have an official role (assigned by statute) or an essenti…
Can investment managers for Kentucky public pensions use ESG or stakeholder-capitalism strategies under their fiduciary duties?
No, in the Attorney General's view. The opinion concluded that 'stakeholder capitalism' and 'environmental, social, and governance' (ESG) investment practices, which bring mixed motives into investmen…
Can a Mississippi school district treat an online shopping cart printout as a competitive bid for purchases between $5,000 and $50,000?
No. Section 31-7-13(b) requires competitive written bids on the buying agency's bid form or vendor's letterhead/identifiable bid form, signed by authorized vendor personnel. A printed online shopping-…
Can a school board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination be withheld from a FOIA request as an unresolved personnel matter?
Yes, while it remains pending. The Sheridan School Board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination is an 'employee evaluation or job performance record' under Arkansas FOIA. Until there i…
If someone has a residential-burglary conviction from before 2015 and a new violent-felony conviction after April 1, 2015, are they parole-ineligible in Arkansas?
Yes. An offender with a pre-2015 residential-burglary conviction who commits another violent-felony offense on or after April 1, 2015, is not eligible for parole under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-93-609. The …
In Washington, when does a building plan have to be stamped by an architect, when can an engineer stamp it, and who decides?
There is no bright-line rule. AGO 2022 No. 3 says Washington law lets engineers stamp design documents that draw on engineering education and the mathematical and physical sciences, and lets architect…
Can an Arkansas volunteer fire department raise its dues collected on property tax bills without going back to voters?
Yes, in most cases. If the ballot voters approved did not list a specific rate, a volunteer fire department organized as a private, nonprofit corporation can raise its dues without going back to the b…
Can a California school district use bond sale premium to pay underwriter fees or bond issuance costs instead of putting it in the debt service fund?
No. All premium from a school general obligation bond sale must go into the district's interest and sinking fund. Diverting premium to pay underwriter discount, issuance costs, or interest on prior bo…
If a North Dakota board calls a special meeting, does it have to say on the notice that an executive session will happen?
Yes. If a special meeting will include an executive session, the notice must specifically list it and describe the general subject matter. Posting only the open-meeting topic and then going into a two…
If a North Dakota licensing board discussed me in executive session, can I get a copy of that recording?
Generally no. The executive-session recording stays closed under § 44-04-19.2(5). The protection covers the board's discussion of confidential records, not just the records themselves, and the subject…
Was the Rivian Automotive megasite in Georgia exempt from local county zoning ordinances because it was leased on land owned by the State?
Yes. Both the State, as owner of the Rivian Project Site, and Rivian Automotive, LLC, as the developer and operator of the Project, were exempt from local zoning ordinances. State-owned real property …
If Bristol adds apartments to The Falls retail development, will it lose the special state sales tax revenues it gets from the development?
Yes. The City of Bristol can authorize residential construction within The Falls, a 'development of regional impact' under Va. Code § 58.1-608.3(B), and still receive the special sales tax revenues au…
Can a Texas school district keep a child's medical or health information from the parents under Title IX?
No. Representative Briscoe Cain asked whether a school district may withhold medical or health information about a minor from the child's parent or legal guardian, after parents and teachers reported …
Can a Delaware city redact the resumes of people nominated to volunteer boards under FOIA?
Mostly no. The AG ruled the City of Newark failed to justify heavy redactions on volunteer board nominees' resumes; volunteer board members are more like candidates for public office than job applican…
Can a Delaware school board discuss substitute teacher pay rates in executive session under the personnel exception?
No. The Sussex County Vo-Tech Board violated FOIA when it discussed raising substitute compensation (Class A from $116 to $179, Class B from $99 to $143, Class C from $74 to $113 per day) in executive…
Is it enough for a North Dakota board to cite the executive-session statute on the agenda, or does the chair have to say the legal basis out loud?
Both. The agenda needs the general topic, and the chair must announce the specific legal authority (such as 'attorney consultation') in open meeting before going into executive session. Citing the sta…
Can a third-party app or service in California legally buy state lottery tickets for me and charge me a fee for the convenience?
No. A person, company, or app that buys California State Lottery tickets for another person and charges a fee for the service violates Penal Code section 337a, which prohibits receiving, holding, or f…
Can an Arkansas county close a criminal justice coordinating committee meeting to the public by calling it 'advisory'?
No. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-109, every county-created body, committee, or subordinate entity must meet publicly, regardless of whether it is labeled 'advisory' or 'governing.' The Washington Coun…
Can a South Dakota city with a home rule charter, like Sioux Falls, switch its municipal elections to ranked choice voting or approval voting instead of a traditional one-vote-per-person plurality system?
Approval voting yes, ranked choice voting no. Chief Deputy McGuigan concluded that approval voting, where voters can mark approval of multiple candidates, fits within SDCL 9-13-25's framework (a runof…
Can a Mississippi county pay to elevate private homes that don't meet flood-zone elevation requirements?
No. A Mississippi county cannot use public funds to perform or pay for elevation work on privately owned homes, even to maintain National Flood Insurance Program eligibility. That would be an unlawful…
How can a Mississippi community college dispose of confiscated firearms when ownership records are lost?
Not by simple application or county auction. Section 97-37-3 forfeiture requires a conviction tied to the firearm. Without conviction records, ICC cannot use that statute. ICC also cannot unilaterally…
Can a public university release names, ranks, and salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas State University System's plan to release names, ranks, employment status, departments, and current salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination is consi…
Can a Delaware agency refuse to release records about how it killed a bird flu flock by claiming veterinary privilege and a federal Privacy Act exemption?
Not without specifics. The Department of Agriculture pointed at the federal Privacy Act, the Delaware veterinary-confidentiality statute, the FOIA investigatory-files exemption, and the working-draft …
Do West Virginia municipal court technology and administrative fees, adopted by Home Rule cities, run afoul of the statutory rule that home-rule ordinances may not be 'contrary to' state criminal law?
No, on the facts presented. Reasonable court technology, court maintenance, and administrative fees in the $1 to $65 range that municipalities use to fund judicial-system operations are not 'contrary …
How long can a Mississippi school board contract last when board members serve staggered five-year terms?
Three years. Without specific statutory authority, contracts cannot extend beyond the term of a majority of current board members. With five members on staggered five-year terms, a majority of three c…
Can a Mississippi city use a quitclaim deed to release old use restrictions and a right of first refusal on property it sold years ago?
Yes. Section 89-1-25 lets the city execute a quitclaim deed releasing the use restriction and option of first refusal without consideration and without re-bidding, after entering an order on the minut…
Does serving on a California county board of education and a city council inside that county at the same time count as holding two incompatible offices?
Substantial legal questions exist about whether sitting on the Orange County Board of Education and the Tustin City Council at the same time violates the incompatible-offices rule in Government Code s…
Does a Delaware Budget Committee violate FOIA when a quorum meets without public notice to discuss employee bonuses?
Yes. The City of Harrington's Budget Committee violated FOIA's open meeting requirements when a quorum (two of three members) met privately on February 22, 2022 with the City Manager, Chief of Police,…
If a candidate loses a primary for one division of a Tennessee circuit court, can they still appear on the general election ballot for a different division of the same circuit court?
It depends on which party label they want. They cannot appear on the general election ballot as an independent or as a different party's nominee for the other division (Tennessee's sore-loser law, Ten…
Can a journalist get use-of-force data, prison reports, and video-retention policies from the Delaware Department of Correction under FOIA?
DOC properly withheld the use-of-force data and reports because they pertain to pending federal litigation against DOC employees (Davis v. Neal). DOC failed on its statutory and investigatory-file def…
Did Arkansas's Act 714 of 2021 take away an Arkansas city council's authority to set policies for its police department?
Yes, generally. A first-class city council in Arkansas retains the authority to set internal policies for its municipal police department, even after Act 714 of 2021. Other statutes and the city's gen…
Can the Arkansas legislature force counties to give sheriff's deputies the same vacation as municipal police?
No. Amendment 55 to the Arkansas Constitution gives each county's quorum court authority to fix the compensation of county employees. The legislature cannot amend Ark. Code Ann. § 14-14-805 to require…
Can a Delaware state office shield audit working papers from a FOIA request just by calling them confidential?
No. The AG ruled the Delaware Office of the Auditor of Accounts violated FOIA by redacting audit working papers without citing any Delaware statute or case law that recognizes a working-papers privile…
Can a Tennessee community oversight board take political stances on legislation or audit a police department's finances?
No to both. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-312, a community oversight board's authority is limited to reviewing matters reported to it and issuing advisory reports and recommendations. Taking formal sta…
When did laws passed in Kentucky's 2022 regular legislative session take effect?
July 14, 2022. The Attorney General concluded that, under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, legislation passed during the 2022 Regular Session, other than general appropriation bills and acts w…
Can a Delaware town split a public comment period across two meetings and still meet open-meeting rules?
No clear violation. The AG could not find a FOIA violation by Fenwick Island when its public comment period for a low-speed vehicle ordinance was split between a hearing and the next Council meeting, …
Can a Delaware lawyer get police accident reports for officer-involved crashes through FOIA, or are uniform traffic collision reports exempt?
Wilmington did not violate FOIA. Uniform traffic collision reports are statutorily exempt under 21 Del. C. § 313(b) (incorporated into FOIA through § 10002(o)(6)), and they also fall within the invest…
When a Delaware agency claims it produced everything responsive to a FOIA request, what proof must it provide?
Yes. The Office of the Auditor of Accounts (AOA) violated FOIA by failing to include a sworn affidavit describing its search efforts. AOA produced two statements of work in response to a contracts/RFP…
Can a Delaware village resident FOIA the home addresses and phone numbers of all eligible voters in the village?
The AG declined to decide. Whether voter home addresses and phone numbers are public typically turns on whether they are made publicly available through other Delaware election laws (like 15 Del. C. §…
Can a West Virginia legislative rule continue to require county executive committee chairperson consent to early voting locations after the Legislature amended the underlying statute in 2011 to drop that requirement?
No, not for the consent piece. W. Va. Code of State Rules § 153-13-3.5, which gives the chairs of the county executive committees veto power over early voting locations, conflicts with the post-2011 W…
How much can a Mississippi city regulate medical cannabis dispensaries through zoning if it doesn't opt out?
A Mississippi city that hasn't opted out can use zoning to control where dispensaries, research facilities, and testing facilities can locate, can create a special 'medical commercial zone,' and can r…
Did a large Texas county have to share its direct CARES Act COVID relief money with smaller cities inside it?
No, the federal law didn't require it. Senator Brandon Creighton asked about Montgomery County's handling of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) money under the CARES Act. The CRF sent direct payments from …
Can a Texas judge who is 74 on election day but turns 75 before the term starts run for another term?
No. The Jackson County Criminal District Attorney asked whether a district judge who is 74 on election day, but who turns 75 between election day and the start of the new term, may serve the four-year…
Could a Texas school district give extra COVID paid leave only to vaccinated employees?
Not the way Houston ISD did it. Senator Paul Bettencourt asked whether HISD's policy of offering up to 10 extra days of COVID-19 paid leave only to employees who showed proof of vaccination or a medic…
Can a Delaware village hold a fully virtual public meeting during the COVID emergency, and is an agenda that just lists 'officer reports' and 'old business' enough to satisfy FOIA?
Two of the three FOIA claims succeeded. The Village was allowed to hold a fully virtual meeting in March 2022 because Delaware was still under a public-health state of emergency. But it failed to prov…
Are cotton gins, grain elevators, slaughterhouses, processing plants, and milk bottling plants automatically exempt from Tennessee county zoning rules because they handle agricultural products?
No. The county-zoning agricultural exemption in Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114 does not give those operations a blanket exemption. The structure must be located on land devoted to agricultural use AND be …
Are conspiracy, attempt, or accomplice-liability convictions for serious crimes excluded from Virginia's enhanced earned sentence credits, the same as the underlying offenses?
Convictions for conspiracy, attempt, solicitation, accessory before the fact, and principal in the second degree to crimes listed in § 53.1-202.3(A) are excluded from Virginia's enhanced earned senten…
Which Arkansas statute controls how an Arkansas county uses sales-tax proceeds to fund a public economic-development corporation?
It depends on which statute the county used to levy the tax. If Clark County levied its sales tax under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-174-101 et seq. (the older county-economic-development authority), then the …
Can a California school board member resign their seat and then be reappointed by the same board to fill the vacancy they just created?
Substantial questions of law exist about whether Tim Shaw's reappointment to the Orange County Board of Education seat he had just resigned violates Government Code section 1752(a)'s ban on appointing…
Can a Delaware agency satisfy a FOIA request by sending a link to the source webpage instead of attaching the records?
Yes. The AG ruled the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services did not violate FOIA when it answered a request for records supporting a COVID-19 booster effectiveness claim by providing links…
What happens in North Dakota if a city forgets to post notice of a city council meeting?
The meeting itself is not automatically void, but the city violated § 44-04-20 and must remedy it by publishing detailed minutes and providing copies free to anyone who asks. Personal liability and at…
When DMV's database can't easily search 2.5 million records, can DelDOT charge me for a DTI programmer to write a custom search?
Yes. DelDOT's DMV runs on a 20-year-old DOS-based system. Without a custom DTI program, manually finding salvage-certificate records would have cost $9 million and taken one employee 200 years. DelDOT…
Can a Delaware agency withhold all PFAS test results and internal emails about a statutorily required drinking-water survey by labeling everything a 'working draft'?
No. Delaware's working-draft exemption protects actual draft documents and emails proposing specific revisions to those drafts, but it does not cover raw test data or internal communications that aren…
Are members of California's Fair Political Practices Commission banned from donating to presidential and congressional campaigns?
Yes. The Government Code section 83105 contribution ban applies to all elections held in California, which includes federal elections for President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives.
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