State AG Opinions
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Did the Missouri AG approve the official ballot summary for the 2019 proposal to end daylight saving time?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the summary statement for initiative petition 2020-055 (submitted by Steven Reed): 'Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to elimin…
Can a city in Arkansas tell its employees they cannot keep a firearm in their locked car parked at city hall?
No. State law preempts a city from regulating firearms beyond what state law allows. Concealed-carry license holders may keep their handguns in locked, unattended vehicles in publicly owned parking lo…
Does Arkansas's 100% disabled veteran property tax exemption cover fees and assessments charged by a suburban improvement district?
No. The exemption in Ark. Code Ann. § 26-3-306 covers "state taxes" on the homestead, not special assessments for local improvements. The Arkansas Supreme Court drew the line in *Bensberg v. Parker* (…
Can a local Arkansas K-12 school administrator or employee also serve on the board of trustees of a state university?
A qualified yes. The Arkansas Constitution, statutes, and the common-law doctrine of incompatibility do not generally bar local school employees from serving on a state college or university board of …
Can someone with an enhanced concealed-carry license bring a handgun into a city park or state office building in Arkansas?
Yes, without criminal liability under § 5-73-122. But the entity that controls the property can post no-weapons entryway signs under § 5-73-306(18) to bar even enhanced license holders, except for sta…
What does the Arkansas Attorney General have to find before approving an interlocal agreement under the Arkansas Interlocal Cooperation Act?
The AG approved an interlocal cooperation agreement between the Arkansas Department of Information Systems and the Oklahoma Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Ser…
What does it take to clear the Missouri AG's check on the form of an initiative petition amending the state constitution?
Compliance with § 116.040, RSMo's formal requirements. The AG rejected initiative petition 2020-062 (submitted by Heidi Miller to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution) for failing those requi…
Can Connecticut eliminate the religious exemption from mandatory school vaccinations without violating the Constitution?
The Connecticut AG concluded in 2019 that state law let the legislature create, eliminate, or suspend the religious exemption to mandatory school immunizations without violating the federal or state c…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note saying the Hayes Chapter 558 initiative could create state savings with no local cost?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for the Shetova Hayes initiative petition (20-056), which proposed amending Chapter 558 of …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary that said the Reed Article I initiative would have no state or local cost or savings?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for the Steven Reed initiative petition (20-055), which proposed amending Article I of the …
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the 2020 Steven Reed initiative petition to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the sufficiency as to form of the Steven Reed initiative petition (2020-061), which proposed to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution, because it did not…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for the 2020 Medicaid expansion initiative petition?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for the Heidi Miller initiative petition (2020-053), which proposed to amend Ch…
Can the subject of an Arkansas FOIA request for police-internal-affairs records block their release based on requester noncitizenship, requester motive, or a record-keeping statute?
The AG could not opine definitively on the merits because she had not seen the records. But she said the reasons Mr. Arthur (a former police chief) gave for objecting to release of three Springdale Po…
Can an Arkansas state legislator earn income from a contract with a Metropolitan Planning Organization that is funded by an Arkansas Economic Development District?
Yes, with caveats. The AG concluded that Article 5, section 10 of the Arkansas Constitution did not bar the arrangement because an MPO is not a 'civil office under this State,' and the state-agency co…
If a Delaware agency lets a journalist view a video at its office but refuses to let her copy it (including via her own laptop or phone), does Delaware FOIA require the agency to allow copying?
Yes. The AG concluded the Department of State violated FOIA by allowing the journalist to view, but not copy, a video of an inmate's collapse that had already been played in a public licensing hearing…
Are quality-assurance reports about Delaware prison healthcare contractor Connections CSP available under FOIA, or are they confidential peer-review records?
Confidential. The AG accepted DOC's representation that the Health Services Reports it received from Connections function as peer-review records under 24 Del. C. § 1768 and so are not 'public records'…
Can a Delaware news outlet obtain crash data from DelDOT's Crash Analysis Reporting System if victim information is anonymized?
No. The AG concluded the CARS data was exempt on two grounds: 21 Del. C. § 313 makes the accident reports DSHS tabulates not open to public inspection (so § 10002(l)(6) removes them from FOIA), and th…
When a Delaware city's staff meets with a developer applicant outside of any public meeting, must the city create and produce agendas and minutes for those staff meetings?
No. The AG concluded the gatherings did not constitute meetings of a public body under FOIA's two-part test, so the City of Rehoboth Beach was not required to create agendas or minutes. Two Commission…
Do Federal Protective Service officers still have arrest powers under Texas law after Congress repealed the old federal statute they were appointed under?
Yes, the AG advised. An El Paso district attorney asked whether Congress's repeal of 40 U.S.C. section 318 stripped Federal Protective Service officers of the arrest and search-and-seizure authority T…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for the 2020 initiative to tax capital gains and dividends to fund renewable energy?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for the Winston Apple initiative petition (2020-049), which proposed to tax lon…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Hurth petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the form of the Charles Hurth initiative petition (2020-060), which proposed to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution, because the petition did not bra…
Can a city release a former police chief's personnel and disciplinary records under the Arkansas FOIA when the chief objects on the ground that the file was already produced to the press?
The AG concluded the City of Tontitown's custodian had correctly applied the FOIA to a request for former police chief Kris Arthur's personnel file. The records were properly classified as personnel o…
Can the mayor of a California general law city also serve on the local fire protection district's board of directors?
Only as the city's designated appointee. The Riverbank mayor can simultaneously sit on the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District board if Riverbank itself appoints her under Health & Saf. C…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for the Pieper Article VI petition affecting St. Louis County municipal revenues?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for the Christopher Pieper initiative petition (20-054), which proposed to amend Article VI of the Missouri Constitution.…
Did the Idaho AG's Certificate of Review flag legal problems with a 2019 citizen initiative that would have rewritten Idaho's initiative-and-referendum statute?
Yes, on several points. AG Wasden's Certificate of Review identified drafting ambiguities (effective-date conflict between proposed §§ 34-1801A and 34-1813, typos in signature timeline), flagged that …
Does the Hardy County 911 Center have to send copies of every initial computer-aided dispatch (CAD) to the prosecuting attorney's office on request?
The AG concluded that under W. Va. Code § 24-6-13 the 911 Center has discretion (not a duty) to send all CADs. Two narrower statutes can create mandatory disclosure: § 49-4-410 requires production for…
Can a West Virginia deputy sheriff who works in one county run for sheriff in a different county where he lives?
The AG concluded that the plain text of W. Va. Code § 7-14-15(a)(4) only forbids deputy sheriffs from being a candidate or holding office 'in the county in which he or she is employed.' A Hardy County…
When out-of-state organizers run a one-weekend drag racing event filmed by Discovery Channel, do they and their food and merchandise vendors need West Virginia business licenses, and is it legal for spectators to bet on the races?
The AG concluded that event organizers and merchandise/food vendors all need a West Virginia business registration certificate under W. Va. Code § 11-12-3, food vendors additionally need a permit from…
Can a city release a former employee's disciplinary records under the Arkansas FOIA when the employee objects?
The AG concluded the City of Marianna's custodian could release two disciplinary records of a former employee in response to a FOIA request. The four-part test for employee-evaluation records was met:…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Miller petition to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the form of the Heidi Miller initiative petition (2020-059), which proposed to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution, because the petition was not in the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Auditor's fiscal note summary for Heidi Miller's initiative petition (20-053) amending Chapter 208 (Medicaid)?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Heidi Miller's initiative petition 20-053, a proposed amendment to Chapter 208 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (t…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Pauly Lentz initiative petition to amend Chapter 128, RSMo?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the form of the Pauly Lentz initiative petition (2020-058), which proposed to amend Chapter 128 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. The petition did not bracket…
Can the same person serve on a California school district board and a local utility district board at the same time?
Probably not. The California Attorney General granted leave to sue under quo warranto, finding a substantial issue that the offices are incompatible because the utility district has authority to suppl…
Can losing candidates challenge a California county retirement board election when ballots were mishandled and county resources were used for campaigning?
Yes, in part. The California Attorney General granted leave to sue in quo warranto against two of three Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association trustees, finding substantial questions about do…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary for Winston Apple's initiative petition (20-049) amending Chapters 286 and 143?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Winston Apple's initiative petition (20-049), a proposed amendment to Chapter 286 (Labor and Industrial Relations) an…
Would Tennessee's proposed Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which directs schools and universities to use a specific definition of 'anti-Semitism' in discrimination investigations, violate free speech?
No. HB 600/SB 1250 (2019) would have given Tennessee schools and universities a State Department definition of 'anti-Semitism' to use when investigating whether discriminatory conduct was motivated by…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for the Apple capital-gains-tax petition funding 90% wind and solar electricity?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for the Winston Apple initiative petition (2020-048), which proposed amending Chapters 143 and 286 of the Revised Stat…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Mark Pedersen petition to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the form of the Mark Pedersen initiative petition (2020-057), which proposed to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution, because the petition did not brac…
When someone asks a South Dakota county coroner for a copy of an autopsy report (where the requester is not law enforcement and not the deceased person's next of kin), is the autopsy report a public record that the coroner has to release?
No. Autopsy reports are exempt from the SD open records law under three independent exemptions: SDCL 1-27-1.5(2) (medical records), SDCL 1-27-1.5(5) (law enforcement / investigatory body records), and…
In a South Dakota county that has combined the offices of County Auditor and Register of Deeds into one office under one elected official, when does that official's term begin, the first Monday in January (the Register of Deeds date) or the first Monday in March (the Auditor date)?
The first Monday in January. SDCL 7-7-1.3 specifies that the term of office for a combined county position begins on the first Monday in January following the election. The Buffalo County official ele…
Does Delaware FOIA force an agency to answer my questions or just to produce existing records?
The Delaware AG concluded that the Auditor of Accounts FOIA petition was moot. The Auditor had responded (one day late, blamed on a FOIA Coordinator transition) by sending the requested annual financi…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Shetova Hayes initiative petition to amend Chapter 558 of the Revised Statutes?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the form of the Shetova Hayes initiative petition (2020-056), which proposed to amend Chapter 558 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (criminal sentencing). § 11…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Steven Reed initiative petition to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the form of the Steven Reed initiative petition (2020-055), which proposed to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution (Bill of Rights). § 116.332 leaves fin…
Does an ICE detainer with a Form I-200 warrant require a Virginia sheriff or jail to keep someone in custody after they would otherwise be released?
No. The Virginia AG concluded that an I-247A ICE detainer, even when accompanied by a Form I-200 administrative warrant, does not obligate or authorize Virginia law enforcement to hold someone for a c…
Can Virginia local police arrest someone solely for a civil immigration violation, and what risks come with signing a § 287(g) agreement with ICE?
The AG concluded prior opinions (2007 and 2010) holding that state and local officers may not arrest individuals for civil immigration violations without express federal authorization remained valid, …
Can a California city council reverse its earlier appointment of one of its members to a regional joint powers board, and can a voter challenge that reversal in quo warranto?
Yes, the council can. The Santa Barbara City Council's at-pleasure appointee to the SBCAG governing board could be replaced by majority vote at any time. The Attorney General denied a voter's quo warr…
Can a Texas groundwater district define 'agricultural crop' narrowly to charge turf growers a higher water fee?
Probably not, the AG advised. The Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District defined 'agricultural crop' as 'food or fiber commodities grown for resale of commercial purposes that provide food, …
Does a Texas county have to take competitive bids before signing a contract to run its municipal airport?
Maybe not, the AG advised, but it depends on the facts and the AG would not rule on the specific contract. A Presidio County attorney asked whether the county could accept a $108,000 contract (three $…
Can a California city or county charge a developer a public benefit fee that applies only to the bonus units it earned for providing affordable housing?
No. The state Density Bonus Law preempts a local ordinance that conditions a density bonus on payment of a public benefit fee imposed only on the bonus units. Such a fee taxes the very incentive the s…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for the Winston Apple initiative on Chapters 286 and 143?
Yes. The Missouri AG approved the legal content and form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Winston Apple's initiative petition (20-048), which proposed amendments to Chapter 286 (Labor an…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's ballot summary for the Winston Apple petition to shrink the House and adopt party-list voting?
Yes. The Missouri AG approved the legal content and form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Winston Apple's initiative petition (2020-046, version 2), which would have amended Article I…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of the Christopher Pieper initiative petition to amend Article VI (2020-054)?
Yes. The Missouri AG approved the form of Christopher Pieper's initiative petition (2020-054), which proposed to amend Article VI of the Missouri Constitution. Article VI covers local government, coun…
Could Tennessee constitutionally shrink drug-free school zones from 1000 feet to 500 feet only in counties with populations over 300,000 (Shelby, Davidson, Knox, Hamilton)?
It depends on whether population is a rational basis for the variation. Tennessee's drug-free school zone statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-432) creates an enhanced-penalty zone of 1,000 feet around sc…
Can a California water district contribute to its directors' retirement plans or pensions without violating the Water Code's caps on director compensation?
Yes. Water Code sections 20201 and 20202 cap daily stipend amounts for water district directors, but they were enacted to spare the Legislature from approving every stipend bump, not to override the v…
Can a non-Delaware resident obtain presentence investigation reports of executed Delaware inmates through a FOIA request?
No. The AG concluded that presentence investigation reports were protected on two independent grounds: as investigatory files under § 10002(l)(3), where privacy is not a factor, and as records that 11…
When a Delaware mayor asks two commissioners and the town manager during a public meeting to look into a FOIA complaint, does that trigger a new round of open-meeting requirements?
No. The AG found no FOIA violation: there was no evidence the individuals had met or were about to meet, a preliminary research request need not be on the meeting agenda, and the Town confirmed the ma…
When a Delaware city goes into executive session to discuss its draft response to a citizen's pending FOIA petition, which executive session exemption actually applies?
The pending-or-potential-litigation exemption in 29 Del. C. § 10004(b)(4) applied, because the FOIA petition process is a quasi-judicial proceeding that qualifies as litigation. The City's separate ci…
If Tennessee's Healthy Workplace Act is extended to private employers, what immunity, burdens, and definitions would apply to workplace-bullying claims?
Extending the Healthy Workplace Act to private employers (HB 856/SB 815, 2019) would give private employers the same suit immunity public employers already had if they adopted the TACIR model anti-bul…
Does Delaware FOIA make a complaint moot if the agency provides the records after the petition is filed?
The Delaware AG concluded that the FOIA petition against the Department of Safety and Homeland Security was moot. By the time the petition reached the AG, the Department had already responded to the r…
Can the Arkansas General Assembly move functions, divisions, or revenue from the Department of Transportation to a different agency?
It depends. The AG concluded that the General Assembly is constitutionally barred by Amendment 42 from transferring the Highway Commission's administrative control over the Arkansas Department of Tran…
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