State AG Opinions
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Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Deirdre Hirner's recreational marijuana initiative version 2020-128?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334. This Hirner petition (2020-128) proposed amending Article XIV of the Missouri…
Does Little Rock have to release a list of every city employee's name, salary, job title, and full/part-time status if a citizen asks for it?
Yes. Basic public employment information (name, salary, job title, department, full/part-time status, hours) is a personnel record and is open to inspection under FOIA. The AG had said this many times…
When both the Washington governor and lieutenant governor are out of state at the same time, who has the legal authority to act as governor?
The elected governor still does. The constitution and statutes line up the lieutenant governor as acting governor when only the governor is gone, but neither extends the line of succession to other of…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Deirdre Hirner's recreational marijuana legalization initiative (2020-127)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.334. The Hirner petition (2020-127) proposed amending Article XIV of the Missouri …
Are the salaries of city employees public information that anyone can request?
Yes. Public employee base salary is a personnel record under FOIA, and the AG has consistently said its release rarely meets the 'clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy' threshold. Tax withh…
Can the City of Beebe release a year's worth of suspension and termination records under FOIA without running afoul of personnel record privacy?
On the face of the records, yes. The AG could not verify each underlying determination but said the decision to release the suspension/termination records appeared not inconsistent with FOIA. One hand…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Winston Apple's initiative petition 2020-141?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The summary projected that costs would equal savings for state entities, with poss…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Winston Apple's initiative petition 2020-140?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the cost proj…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-139?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe what the initiative would do; it reproduces only the …
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-138?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe what the initiative would do; it reproduces only the …
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's proposed Article VIII constitutional initiative (petition 2020-137)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under § 116.175.4. The approval was a narrow statutory check on form, not an endorsement of the petition or a judgme…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's proposed Article VIII constitutional initiative (petition 2020-136)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under § 116.175.4. The approval was a narrow statutory check on form, not an endorsement of the petition or a judgme…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's proposed Article VIII constitutional initiative (petition 2020-135)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under § 116.175.4. The approval was a narrow statutory check on form, not an endorsement of the petition or a judgme…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's proposed Article VIII constitutional initiative (petition 2020-134)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under § 116.175.4. The approval was a narrow statutory check on form, not an endorsement of the petition or a judgme…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's proposed Article VIII constitutional initiative (petition 2020-133)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under § 116.175.4. The approval was a narrow statutory check on form, not an endorsement of the petition or a judgme…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-132?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-131?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-130?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Mary Ann Sedey's initiative petition 2020-129?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Can Virginia cap private day special education tuition increases at 2% without violating federal law that guarantees a free, appropriate public education?
Yes, the cap itself is legal, but it does not relieve school divisions of their IDEA obligation. If the child's IEP requires a private day program and all qualifying providers have raised rates more t…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2020-128?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Can a for-profit company run a whole-body (willed-body) donation program in Texas?
Partly, the AG advised, and only with the Anatomical Board of Texas in the loop. The chairman of the Anatomical Board asked whether a commercial company like Science Care Corporation could run a wille…
Can a Texas county sheriff impound stray livestock in an open-range county?
Yes, the AG advised. A state representative asked, on behalf of the Presidio County Sheriff, whether the estray laws (the rules for handling stray livestock) apply in an open-range county, where lives…
Could the City of Canton, Georgia, ban retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats and require them to use rescue groups instead?
No, not as drafted. Sections 18-354, 18-355, and 18-356 of the City of Canton Code (which prohibited the sale of dogs and cats by pet shops, limited adoptions to those obtained from animal care facili…
What did the Missouri AG approve as the official ballot question for the 2020 Hirner marijuana legalization initiative (petition 2020-126)?
AG Schmitt approved the form of Secretary of State Ashcroft's proposed ballot summary statement for petition 2020-126. The statement asked voters whether to amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize…
Can a Minnesota-based third-party claims administrator force a Delaware city to hand over a contractor's certificate of insurance under FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the City of Wilmington properly denied Richard Stifter's request for a contractor's certificate of insurance because Stifter, a Minnesota-based third-party claims admini…
Can an urban renewal agency tear down a building the city has condemned, even if the agency does not own the property?
Probably only if the agency is acting in concert with the city through some cooperative arrangement. The agency itself has no independent power to order or carry out demolition. Cities have that power…
Can a Delaware county refuse to give me employee internet-usage records because my husband is fighting his county termination?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled Sussex County properly denied Stephanie Lynch's FOIA requests for employee internet-usage reports under the pending or potential litigation exemption. Lynch's husband, a rec…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Winston Apple's 2019 initiative petition to amend Chapter 192 RSMo (petition 2020-141)?
Yes, but only as to legal form. AG Eric Schmitt approved petition 2020-141 (Winston Apple's proposal to amend Chapter 192 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, the state's public-health-and-senior-serv…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Winston Apple's 2019 initiative petition to amend Article III of the Missouri Constitution (petition 2020-140)?
Yes, but only as to legal form. AG Eric Schmitt approved petition 2020-140 (Winston Apple's proposal to amend Article III, the legislative branch article of the Missouri Constitution) under § 116.332 …
Is Florida's Education Practices Commission, which disciplines teachers and school administrators, treated as a 'state agency' for purposes of the public records law, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the open-meetings rules?
Yes. The AG read the EPC as a state agency for purposes of chapter 119 (public records), chapter 120 (APA), and chapter 286 (open meetings).
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2020-127?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Deirdre Hirner's 2019 recreational marijuana initiative petition (2020-125)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's draft summary statement for Hirner's Article XIV petition (2020-125), which would have legalized personal recreational m…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2020-126?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 11, file 2020-139)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-139 (version 11) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it d…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 10, file 2020-138)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-138 (version 10) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it d…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 9, file 2020-137)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-137 (version 9) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 8, file 2020-136)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-136 (version 8) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 7, file 2020-135)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-135 (version 7) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 6, file 2020-134)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-134 (version 6) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 5, file 2020-133)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-133 (version 5) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 4, file 2020-132)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-132 (version 4) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 3, file 2020-131)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-131 (version 3) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 2, file 2020-130)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-130 (version 2) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 elections-article initiative petition (version 1, file 2020-129)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's petition 2020-129 (version 1) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is procedural; it do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Deirdre Hirner's 2019 Article XIV initiative petition (file 2020-128)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Hirner's petition 2020-128 to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution (the article dealing with marijuana). Form approval under § 116.332 …
Does changing the bottler or importer name on a Virginia wine label create a new 'brand' that has to be re-registered with ABC?
Not automatically. The Virginia AG concluded that a change in the name or address of the manufacturer, bottler, or importer is not, by itself, a change in the wine's 'brand' as defined by Va. Code § 4…
Can an Idaho state agency agree to indemnify the federal government in a permit, name the United States as an additional insured under Idaho's self-insurance program, or otherwise commit Idaho funds to private-insurance-style coverage limits?
No to all three. The AG concluded a state agency cannot agree to a contractual indemnity unless the legislature has both authorized it and appropriated funds for it; the Idaho retained risk program is…
Did the Idaho AG identify legal problems with the July 2019 medical marijuana initiative (proposed Chapter 96 of title 39, Idaho Code)?
Yes. AG Wasden flagged that the proposed chapter number (96) was already taken by a 2019 'Maternal Mortality Review' chapter, identified several drafting and vagueness issues (including a 'must not be…
Did the Idaho AG flag legal problems with the April 8, 2019 minimum wage initiative that would have raised Idaho's minimum wage to $12, raised tipped wages to $8.10, struck the youth subminimum, and authorized counties and cities to set higher local minimums?
No, with several drafting comments. AG Wasden's review concluded all four substantive components, including the home-rule grant authorizing counties and cities to enact higher minimum wages, were prop…
Did the Idaho AG flag legal problems with the April 2019 medical marijuana plus hemp legalization initiative (proposed Chapter 92 of title 39, Idaho Code)?
Yes, in three big areas. AG Wasden warned that bundling a medical marijuana program with hemp legalization likely violated Idaho's single-subject rule under art. XX, § 2 and would be subject to challe…
Did the Idaho AG flag legal problems with the April 12, 2019 minimum wage initiative that would have raised Idaho's minimum wage to $12, authorized counties and cities to set higher local minimums, and struck the youth subminimum (without changing the tipped employees' rate)?
No. AG Wasden's review concluded all three substantive components were proper subjects of state legislation. The FLSA's savings clause permits state minimums above the federal floor; the Idaho Constit…
Did the Idaho AG flag legal problems with the April 11, 2019 minimum wage initiative that would have raised Idaho's minimum wage to $12, raised tipped wages to $8.10, and added CPI indexing?
No, with two minor drafting comments. AG Wasden's review concluded the substantive provisions were within the legislative power of Idaho. The FLSA's savings clause at 29 U.S.C. § 218(a) explicitly per…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2020-125?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175.4. The letter does not describe the initiative's subject; it reproduces the projectio…
Can the Tennessee House of Representatives expel a member for conduct that happened more than two decades before he took office and that voters knew about when they re-elected him?
It can, but the AG counseled that historical practice, sound policy, and constitutional limits all weigh against doing so. The expulsion power should be used only in extreme circumstances and with gre…
If a Delaware school board's vice president emails individual members for interview-question suggestions, is that a 'meeting' under FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Christina School District Board did not violate FOIA when its Vice President individually invited members to email interview questions for board-vacancy candidates. …
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Deirdre Hirner's 2019 Article XIV initiative petition (file 2020-127)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Hirner's petition 2020-127 to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution (the article dealing with marijuana). Form approval under § 116.332 …
Can a Delaware school board fill a vacant seat by secret-ballot vote in open session?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Christina School District Board violated FOIA on October 8, 2019 by voting on its board vacancy by secret ballot in open session. FOIA requires minutes to record eac…
Does the Virginia State Bar's 60-day suspension for unpaid dues conflict with the statutory two-year forfeiture rule, and is the Supreme Court's rule unconstitutional?
No. The Virginia AG concluded the 60-day administrative suspension in the Rules of the Supreme Court is a permissible exercise of the Court's rulemaking authority under § 54.1-3912 and does not confli…
When my personnel file gets requested under FOIA, can the records custodian forget to redact things like my employee ID number?
The custodian's redactions were mostly correct, but the AG flagged at least two pages where the employee personnel number was missed. Personnel numbers function as computer-security identifiers and ar…
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