State AG Opinions
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Can a Dumas city clerk-treasurer combine prior city-employee service to qualify for the half-salary retirement under § 24-12-121, and can she also draw a separate city pension for earlier service?
Yes to all three. With city-council approval, prior city service can be combined to satisfy the 10-year vesting under § 24-12-121. The half-salary benefit is based on clerk-treasurer salary alone. § 1…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the 2018 Arkansas Marijuana Legalization Amendment ballot title that would have earmarked tax revenue for K-12 schools?
The AG rejected the entire submission. The popular name added 'for School Funding' to lend partisan coloring; the ballot title was wholly inadequate to summarize the proposal's substantive changes; an…
Can Tennessee's POST Commission charge retired officers a fee for the firearm certification that lets them carry under LEOSA?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded the POST Commission has express authority to set a reasonable fee for the in-state retired-officer firearm certification, and general rulemaking authority to set a fee …
Is a Tennessee General Sessions Court with separate civil and criminal dockets and multiple judges one court or many for the clerk's pay calculation?
One court. The Tennessee AG concluded the General Sessions Court of a county is a single unified court for purposes of § 8-24-102, so the clerk does not get the 10% pay supplement reserved for clerks …
Can a former Arkansas Department of Human Services employee block release of her personnel file by arguing the requester wants it 'for personal gain'?
No. The custodian's analysis cannot be based on the requester's subjective motive. The FOIA personnel-records test is objective. Without seeing the actual records, the AG could not opine on individual…
Can Tennessee require U.S. citizenship for funeral director, embalmer, polygraph, or security licenses, and does federal law allow it?
No to citizen-only requirements (preempted and unconstitutional under Equal Protection); preempted in part for citizen-or-resident-alien requirements. The Tennessee AG instructed the Department of Com…
Can a Little Rock firefighter use Arkansas FOIA to obtain the internal affairs investigation file resulting from his complaint against another employee, plus the Civil Service Commission appeal transcript?
The complaining employee is entitled to his own statement and submissions because employees can always access their own personnel records. The internal investigation file is an employee-evaluation rec…
In Arkansas, can a qualified retired law enforcement officer carry a concealed handgun in publicly owned buildings without an enhanced carry license?
Yes under Arkansas law. A retired law enforcement officer who satisfies Ark. Code Ann. section 12-15-202(b) is exempt from the licensing requirements of subchapter 5-73-3, including the 'enhanced' lic…
Can an Arkansas public school require students to pay for private lessons or summer camps as a condition of participating in extracurriculars or graded courses?
It depends on whether the activity is integral to a free public education. Fees for elective, non-credit activities are generally permissible. Fees that condition a student's right to a graduation-req…
When two close-in-age minors engage in sexual conduct, does an Oregon mandatory reporter (such as a teacher) have to report that conduct to DHS as child abuse?
Not always. The 2018 AG opinion concluded that the mandatory child abuse reporting statutes did not require every instance of sexual conduct between minors to be reported, where Oregon's age-gap defen…
Do the limits in RCW 54.28 on city utility taxes (including the carve-out from 'gross revenue') restrict a First Class city's authority under RCW 35.22.280(32) to tax investor-owned utilities?
No for investor-owned utilities, yes for public utility districts. The AG concluded that a First Class city's general business-licensing authority in RCW 35.22.280(32) supports a utility tax on invest…
Can a Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney revert his office to part-time status after a predecessor elected full-time status?
No. Once a part-time Commonwealth's Attorney elects full-time status under Code § 15.2-1629 with Compensation Board consent, the election is binding on the office, and successors cannot revert to part…
Are the monthly volume and price reports that Delaware alcohol importers file with the Division of Revenue accessible under FOIA, or are they confidential tax records?
The AG concluded the reports were tax records and exempt from FOIA. Because 30 Del. C. § 368 made it unlawful to disclose the contents of any report required under Title 30, and the Rule 401 monthly r…
When a Delaware town council goes into executive session about a complaint against an appointed official, what makes that closed-door discussion legal under FOIA?
The AG concluded that Frankford Town Council properly used the personnel exception under 29 Del. C. § 10004(b)(9) because the executive session in-camera record showed an individual employee's compete…
If a quorum of a town council shows up at a properly noticed committee meeting but does not discuss public business among themselves, is that a separate open-meeting violation under Delaware FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG concluded that mere attendance by a quorum at another body's public meeting was not a separate Council meeting, because there was no discussion or deliberation among the attending …
Should an Arkansas school district release an unverified anonymous email accusing a former employee in response to a FOIA request?
The custodian's classification was correct, but the disclosure decision was questionable. The AG concluded that the anonymous email was a personnel record, but warned that releasing an unsolicited, un…
Can a public employee under internal investigation get the full investigation file under Arkansas FOIA, even when other employees are named in it?
Yes. The Arkansas FOIA gave the requesting employee a right to his own personnel and evaluation records under section 25-19-105(c)(2). Portions also qualifying as other employees' personnel records we…
Could a Washington city, county, or school district let 17-year-olds vote in local elections, and could the legislature authorize that by statute?
No to both. The AG concluded that Article VI, section 1 of the Washington Constitution sets mandatory qualifications for voting in 'all elections,' including a minimum age of 18. A local measure or a …
If a Tennessee county rescinds a GO bond resolution to avoid a forced referendum, can it then use a different financing method without an election?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded that rescinding the GO bond resolution removes the trigger for a referendum, even if a protest petition was already filed. The county can then adopt a different financi…
Can a school district use its own resources to send a cease-and-desist letter to a political candidate using the district's logo without permission?
Probably yes, if four conditions are met: the logo is non-descriptive with secondary meaning; the district has a content-neutral, uniformly-applied takedown policy; the letter applies that policy impa…
Why was the proposed Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020 ballot title rejected by the Attorney General?
The Attorney General rejected the popular name, ballot title, and entire submission. The proposal recycled multiple earlier rejected recreational-marijuana submissions, and its convoluted decriminaliz…
Will the Arkansas Attorney General decide whether a school district employee was misclassified as exempt under the FLSA administrative exemption?
The Attorney General declined to render an opinion. The FLSA administrative-exemption analysis is intensely factual and turns on federal labor law, both of which fall outside the scope of an AG opinio…
Does an Arkansas town selling its water system have to follow both the water-system-specific statutes and the general municipal property sale rules, including competitive bidding?
Yes. The town's sale was governed by both Ark. Code Ann. section 14-199-302 et seq. (water-system-specific preconditions like the council resolution and ratepayer petition) and section 14-54-302 (gene…
Do non-state-agency Arkansas entities like the General Assembly and the courts have to provide a catastrophic leave program for their employees?
No. The entities listed in Ark. Code Ann. section 21-4-214(a)(2)(B), including the General Assembly, BLR, Legislative Audit, AHTD, Game and Fish, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, AOC, constitution…
When a Tennessee county adds local funding for the DA's 'office expense,' does that include big-ticket capital assets, or only small supplies?
It includes both. The Tennessee AG concluded 'office expense' in § 16-2-518 covers all authorized costs, including capital assets like equipment, that the DA's office needs to do its work, which means…
Can a California elected official be ousted in quo warranto for running under her married name when she still uses her birth name on payroll records?
No. The Attorney General denied leave to sue Trinity County Supervisor Judy Morris in quo warranto. Under California's common law right of name change, a person can adopt a name through general usage …
Does Washington have to enforce a domestic violence protection order issued by another state's court or by an Indian tribal court, and does the order have to be registered first?
Yes to enforcement and no to registration. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2265) and the Washington Foreign Protection Order Full Faith and Credit Act (RCW 26.52) require Washington courts and police to hono…
Can a Virginia school board arm teachers by getting them appointed as special conservators of the peace?
No. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) cannot lawfully issue a temporary or valid registration to teachers or other school personnel seeking appointment as armed special conse…
Can a Texas presiding election judge carry a handgun at the polling place on election day?
While on duty, yes in many places, the AG concluded, but with real limits. A state representative asked whether Penal Code sections 46.02 and 46.03, which bar carrying firearms at a polling place, app…
Does a town building committee have to hold a public meeting before approving a building permit?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Fenwick Island Building Committee is a public body and violated FOIA by approving a building permit application without holding a public meeting, though a separate info…
Why was the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title rejected for failing to clearly explain its effect on the existing medical marijuana amendment?
The Attorney General rejected the popular name, ballot title, and proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment. The ballot title left voters unable to understand how the proposal would interact with the exist…
Can a California school board trustee be removed for not living in the trustee area she was elected to represent?
Yes, when there's a substantial question of fact about residency. The Attorney General granted the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District leave to sue trustee Patricia Kelley in quo warranto. K…
Can the same person serve on a California city council and as the county superintendent of schools at the same time?
No, where the city sits inside the county. The Concord City Council member and the Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools positions are incompatible offices under Government Code section 1099. …
If only one person files for a California water district seat and the appointment to fill the seat would create incompatible-office issues, can the county board of supervisors decline to appoint?
No. Elections Code section 10515(a) requires the board of supervisors to appoint the unopposed candidate. The mandatory language admits no incompatibility-based discretion at the appointment stage. Bu…
Would letting Arizona racetracks offer historical horse race wagering machines blow up the state's tribal gaming compact?
Yes. Historical horse race wagering on player terminals was not legal in Arizona on May 1, 2002 (the cutoff date the Tribal-State Gaming Compact uses), so legalizing it now would risk triggering the C…
Can a city release redacted Residency Incentive Program applications under Arkansas FOIA, and what redactions are required?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. Little Rock's classification of Residency Incentive Program applications as personnel records and its decision to release them with redactions was consistent with the Act,…
Could the Oregon Health Authority hand local law enforcement a complete list of every medical marijuana grow site address in their jurisdiction?
No. The AG concluded that ORS 475B.882(1)(b) makes grow site addresses confidential, and the law-enforcement disclosure exception in ORS 475B.882(2)(b) is limited to verifying specific addresses or sp…
Can advanced practice nurses and physician assistants in Illinois dispense the abortion drug mifepristone under a physician's supervision?
Yes. The AG concluded in 2018 that recent amendments to the Medical Practice Act, Physician Assistant Practice Act, and Nurse Practice Act did not change the answer reached in 2009 opinion 09-002: a s…
Does Tennessee's ban on hospitals employing radiologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists, and ER doctors violate those doctors' rights?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded there is no state or federal constitutional right to be employed by anyone, so the statute barring direct hospital employment of these four specialties does not violate …
Does a Delaware county council have to disclose a property's purchase price in its public meeting minutes while still negotiating the deal?
No, based on this opinion. FOIA requires public bodies to keep minutes of meetings and record votes, but it doesn't require minutes to include a summary of everything discussed, so Sussex County Counc…
Can Tennessee's Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund pay for a DUI defendant's GPS ankle monitor?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded the Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund covers only transdermal or other alcohol/drug-monitoring devices. GPS location monitors are governed by a separate statute, and …
Can a Delaware school district refuse a FOIA request by saying it doesn't have a report broken down at the school-building level?
Yes, based on this opinion. FOIA does not require a public body to create a new record, compile data from other existing records, or reformat information into a report that doesn't already exist, so C…
If a South Dakota city signed a ten-year contract for water tower and tank painting in year one plus annual inspections and maintenance in following years at total cost exceeding $150,000, was the city required to put the contract out to competitive bid as a public improvement, or could it skip bidding under either the professional services exemption or the equipment repair contract exemption?
Bidding was required. The AG concluded that painting and maintaining a city-owned water tower is a public improvement under SDCL 5-18A-1(22), so any contract over $50,000 had to be bid regardless of h…
If someone in Arkansas has a felony conviction (or one that has been expunged), can they still run for public office or become a certified police officer?
Felony convictions blocked Arkansas public office under Article 5, section 9, but a valid expungement under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act ordinarily restored eligibility. Law enforceme…
In Arkansas, which boards (county fair, library, RDA, soil conservation, etc.) count as 'civil offices' that legislators and certain elected county officials cannot also serve on?
It depends on the board. The AG concluded that county fair boards, county soil conservation boards, local museum boards/commissions, county library boards, and Rural Development Authority commissioner…
Do Tennessee's political ad disclaimer rules apply to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media posts?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded that paid political ads on social media count as a 'communication' and a form of 'general public political advertising' under § 2-19-120, so they need the same paid-for…
Is a Florida county property appraiser a 'public entity' that can operate a drone as a 'public aircraft' under federal law?
Yes. The AG confirmed the Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser as a public entity; the office's drone, used for non-commercial purposes, qualifies as a public aircraft under 49 U.S.C. § 40125.
Can a Florida city delegate forfeiture trust fund spending to its Police Chief through a 'grant program,' or must the city council approve each appropriation?
The city council must approve each appropriation. The Florida AG concluded in 2018 that section 932.7055 does not authorize a municipality to delegate forfeiture trust fund disbursement authority to t…
Does a Delaware public board violate open meetings law by voting on hiring a director without naming the position out loud?
Not a substantive violation, based on this opinion. The Wilmington Housing Authority committed only a technical FOIA violation by labeling its executive session agenda item a 'personnel matter' instea…
Can a Texas school employee who serves on the city council be paid for council service?
Only if the employee is a schoolteacher, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked whether three Eagle Pass school district employees who serve on the city council, a counselor, an assistant princip…
Are Texas PACE clean-energy assessments treated like property taxes?
Yes, in key respects, the AG concluded. A county attorney asked, on behalf of Williamson County's PACE program, whether the contractual assessments local governments impose under the Property Assessed…
Can Delaware's Governor withhold records about a policy decision by claiming executive privilege under FOIA?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Delaware Superior Court's Flowers decision requires only an affidavit from the Governor's counsel verifying a good-faith review, plus a detailed written explanation, no…
Can a right of reverter in a deed be enforced against a Texas state agency that owns the property?
Yes, the AG concluded. Texas State Technical College took a building and land from the Marshall Economic Development Corporation under a deed that gave the College a 'fee simple determinable,' meaning…
Is a nonprofit that a city created to run a housing program a 'public body' subject to Delaware's open records law?
Yes, based on this opinion. Because the City of Wilmington established the Wilmington Housing Partnership in 1989 and the nonprofit receives public funding, it met both parts of FOIA's two-part public…
Can the Arizona Legislature redirect Medical Marijuana Fund money to drug addiction treatment programs without putting it on the ballot?
Yes, the Legislature can redirect Medical Marijuana Fund money to drug addiction programs, but only with a three-fourths supermajority in each chamber, only if the Fund still has enough left to cover …
Can DF&A release an Arkansas Department of Emergency Management employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas FO…
Can DF&A release a state employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas FO…
Can DF&A release a state DHS physician's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas FO…
Can DF&A release a state employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas FO…
Can DF&A release a state Arkansas Health Center supervisor's name with the amount of his performance-review pay raise under the FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance review system was consistent with the Arkansas FO…
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