State AG Opinions
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Can Arkansas DF&A release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who got raises under the new performance review system in response to a FOIA request?
Yes. The AG concluded that the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance review system were personnel records subject to release under the Arkansas F…
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, did Colorado need a constitutional amendment, or just a statute, to legalize commercial sports betting?
Just a statute. The AG concluded sports betting is not a constitutional 'lottery' under Article XVIII, § 2, but it is criminal 'gambling' under § 18-10-102(2). Legalizing it required new legislation, …
Does Arkansas State Police Retirement System Tier II require thirty years of actual participation to enter the DROP, or can reciprocal service from another state retirement system count?
Yes. The AG concluded that Ark. Code Ann. section 24-6-502 required thirty years of actual participation in the ASPRS Tier II Benefit Plan to enter the Tier II Deferred Retirement Option Plan. Recipro…
Do members of Arkansas rural water boards, sewer-facility boards, airport commissions, the Fire Protection Service Board, county hospital boards, county or district boards of health, and levee boards hold a 'civil office' that would block sitting county elected officials or legislators from serving?
Yes for almost every board listed. The AG concluded that members of rural water boards, public sewer-facility boards, airport commissions, the Arkansas Fire Protection Service Board, county hospital b…
In Arkansas, are county election commissioners, parole board members, university trustees, school board members, sheriffs and deputies, city police officers, or county parks commissioners 'civil officers' that legislators or covered county officials cannot also hold?
Yes for all eight categories. The AG concluded that county election commissioners, members of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, Southern Arkansas University trustees, local school board members,…
Can an Arkansas county judge or county clerk also serve on the Workforce Development Board, an Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, or the Electronic Recording Commission without violating the dual-office rule in Amendment 95?
Mixed. The AG concluded that the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council and the Electronic Recording Commission imposed only additional duties on existing county offices, not separate civil offices. Se…
Can a West Virginia county development authority hand out matching grants to community colleges, scholarship programs, and recreational projects, even though the statute that creates the authority does not mention 'education' in its list of purposes?
Yes, in most cases. The statute gives county development authorities broad, liberally-construed power to do anything 'necessary or convenient' to advance the county's business prosperity and economic …
Do Tennessee charter commission members have to file a charter, and what can the county do if they don't?
Yes, a Tennessee charter commission has a mandatory duty to prepare and file a proposed charter. The county legislative body can extend the nine-month deadline as many times as it wants and may have i…
Can a Tennessee event accept money from a liquor company to be the exclusive product served?
It depends. The Tennessee AG concluded that an exclusive sponsorship agreement between a licensed alcohol industry member and a licensed retailer would generally violate tied-house rules for wine and …
How much authority does Tennessee's appointed State Board of Education have over locally elected school boards?
The Tennessee AG concluded the State Board of Education sets binding policies, guidelines, and minimum standards that every local school board must follow, even though local board members are elected …
Can Tennessee create a dedicated business court, and would its judges have to be elected?
Only the Tennessee Legislature can create a business court (an inferior court), the Supreme Court may instead create a business docket, and either way the judge must be elected, not appointed.
Can a Delaware state agency withhold a new hire's resume from a FOIA request as a private personnel record?
Not entirely, based on this opinion. The Department of Insurance had to provide a properly redacted copy of a newly hired deputy commissioner's resume because her employment history and education were…
What notice and participation rights do neighbors have when a property owner appeals a zoning administrator's decision to the local Board of Zoning Appeals?
When a BZA hears an appeal from a zoning administrator's determination, it must (1) publish public notice and give written notice of the hearing to adjacent property owners under Va. Code § 15.2-2204;…
Can a Little Rock police lieutenant block a FOIA request for his name, residence, race, education, rank, and pay history by claiming it is harassment and should go through litigation discovery instead?
The data is public. The AG concluded that the requested information about Little Rock Police Department lieutenants (name, residence, race, education, rank, pay, promotions, demotions, rehire status) …
Can the City of Gentry release a former police officer's application and training records under FOIA while withholding his performance evaluations, medical records, and crime-information-center reports?
Likely consistent with the FOIA. The AG concluded the City of Gentry's plan to release a former police officer's application, interview notes, training certificates, fingerprint verification, and simi…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the ballot title for a 2018 initiated constitutional amendment that would replace the Board of Apportionment with a Citizens' Redistricting Commission?
Certified. The AG approved the popular name and ballot title for 'The Arkansas Citizens' Redistricting Amendment' as submitted, but added a cautionary note that the proposal's length and complexity co…
Can the Arizona State Board of Education use 'floating weights' (variable indicator weighting per school) when assigning A through F school grades?
Yes. The Arizona State Board of Education can use 'floating weights' (different weights for growth vs. proficiency at different schools, depending on student characteristics) in its A through F School…
If the Bureau of Parks and Lands wants to lease part of Cold Stream Forest to Central Maine Power for a transmission line, does it need a 2/3 vote of the Legislature first?
Not necessarily. The designated lands statute (12 M.R.S.A. § 598-A) controls because it was a more recent and more comprehensive enactment than the Land for Maine's Future restriction in 5 M.R.S.A. § …
Does the Arkansas State Claims Commission have jurisdiction over a claim against APERS about who controls retirement-system investments?
The AG declined to opine. Decisions of the Arkansas State Claims Commission may be appealed only to the General Assembly under Ark. Code Ann. section 19-10-211(a). The matter at issue (a jurisdictiona…
If an Arkansas municipality enters into a court-approved consent order in a lawsuit, must it abide by all terms?
The AG declined to answer. Senator Alan Clark asked whether a municipality that signed a court-approved consent order had to abide by all of its terms. The AG concluded the question depended on the un…
Can an Independence County, Arkansas fire department use voter-approved sales tax revenues to buy land for a new station and to sell extra acreage to fund an ISO-rating improvement?
The AG declined to give a yes-or-no answer because the question depended on reading the specific ballot title and the levying ordinance, which is a fact-bound local determination outside the AG's role…
Can a Tennessee municipal airport authority charge a fuel flowage fee, and do nonprofits have to pay it?
Yes to both. The Tennessee AG concluded a municipal airport authority may impose a per-gallon fuel flowage fee through its lease and contract authority because the fee is not a tax, and nothing in the…
Does a California city councilmember automatically lose office for living a few months at a relative's home outside the city while searching for new housing?
No, on the facts presented. The Attorney General denied leave to sue Costa Mesa councilmember Allan Mansoor in quo warranto. Although he had stayed at his in-laws' Newport Beach home for about two mon…
Is the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District a 'political subdivision' of the state for purposes of FAA drone-authorization?
Yes. The AG confirmed that the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, created by special act and re-created in 2002, is a political subdivision; § 388.231(1) bars commercial drone use.
Can the Delaware Department of Justice withhold its internal exculpatory-evidence policy from a FOIA request as attorney work product?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Delaware Department of Justice's internal policies and procedures for handling exculpatory and culpatory evidence were prepared by DOJ attorneys in anticipation of liti…
If an inmate believes Delaware's Department of Justice must have a written policy on photo lineups, can the Attorney General force the department to prove no such policy exists?
No, according to this opinion. The AG accepted the Department of Justice's representation, after inquiries with the State Prosecutor and Chief of Staff, that it had no 1994 or 2017 written policy gove…
Can a city employee block the release of his personnel file and city ID photograph to a FOIA requester who he believes is harassing him?
No, the harassment claim does not block disclosure. The AG could not opine on the specific records because the custodian had not decided and she had not reviewed them, but she emphasized two points: p…
Can a West Virginia county commission collect overdue emergency ambulance service fees by filing a civil lawsuit or by referring the debt to a collections agency?
Yes, both methods are valid. The AG concluded that a county commission's express authority under W. Va. Code § 7-15-17 to 'collect' ambulance service fees through ordinance is supported by Randy Waugh…
Can the City of Little Rock release some records and withhold others in response to a city employee's FOIA request for the disposition of harassment complaints involving IT personnel and her own personnel file?
Mostly consistent with the FOIA, with one important correction. The City of Little Rock's HR department was correct that records the requesting employee already had access to as her personnel records …
Can a Florida city extend its existing audit-services contract for additional years if the original contract did not provide for those renewal periods?
No. The AG read § 218.391(8) to allow only those renewals the original contract specified. Once the written renewal periods are exhausted, the city must run the full competitive auditor-selection proc…
Should an Arkansas school district release a sexual harassment complainant's personnel records under the FOIA, and must the complainant's name be redacted?
AG Rutledge concluded that the Fayetteville Public School District properly classified a sexual harassment complaint as the complainant's personnel record subject to FOIA disclosure. But the complaina…
Can a school district release records from a sexual-harassment investigation that ended a superintendent's employment under the Arkansas FOIA, and what must be redacted?
Mostly consistent with the FOIA. The AG concluded that Fayetteville Public Schools District's decision to release nearly 200 pages of records relating to the sexual-harassment investigation that ended…
Can a Tennessee district attorney hire the daughter of a deputy DA as an assistant DA if they work in different divisions?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded that hiring a deputy district attorney's daughter as an assistant DA does not violate the state's anti-nepotism statute when the two work in different divisions and the…
Can a Tennessee county zone or regulate large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (factory farms) within its borders?
No. Tennessee's zoning statutes (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 13-7-101 to -119, especially § 13-7-114(a)) do not authorize counties to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) because CAFOs are a…
Could a Tennessee city like Nashville or Knoxville let 16- or 17-year-olds vote in municipal elections, and does adopting home rule change that?
The Tennessee Constitution does not prohibit voting by people under 18 in municipal elections. The state's suffrage clause, art. IV, § 1, has long been read not to apply to municipal elections (Vertre…
Does an out-of-state winery or alcoholic-beverage seller that holds a Tennessee nonresident seller permit or direct shipper license also have to register as a foreign corporation with the Tennessee Secretary of State?
Only if the company is transacting business in Tennessee under the standard test in Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-25-101 (corporations) or § 48-249-902 (LLCs). Holding a nonresident seller permit under § 57-3-…
When the 72-hour mental health detention clock under Virginia Code § 37.2-809 runs out, what counts as the 'court' being closed, and who is responsible for tracking the deadline?
For purposes of Virginia's 72-hour temporary detention order limit, 'court' means the general district court (not a special justice). If the general district court is open for any part of the day the …
When did Arkansas Acts from the 2018 second extraordinary session take effect if they had no emergency clause and no specified effective date?
AG Rutledge concluded that acts passed during the Second Extraordinary Session of the 91st Arkansas General Assembly (adjourning sine die March 15, 2018) that did not contain an emergency clause or sp…
When did Arkansas Acts from the 2018 fiscal session take effect if they had no emergency clause and no specified effective date?
AG Rutledge concluded that acts passed during the 2018 fiscal session of the 91st Arkansas General Assembly that did not contain an emergency clause or specified effective date became effective on Tue…
When a Florida city imposes its public service tax on metered natural gas, which charges on the customer's bill count toward the tax base, and which do not?
Charges for natural gas (and its transportation, delivery, transmission, and distribution) count. The state gross receipts tax and the pro rata franchise fee passed through to the customer also count.…
When a Florida county runs a self-insured health plan, what does 'premium cost' mean for retirees who continue coverage under section 112.0801?
It means the actuarially determined total cost of coverage (employer plus employee/retiree contribution combined), not just the employee share. Retirees and active employees in the same tier share tha…
Can a Florida city that adopted its local business tax before 1995 reclassify or restructure that tax today, given the statutory windows in section 205.0535?
No. The Florida AG concluded in 2018 that section 205.0535(1) does not permit St. Petersburg (which adopted its local business tax in 1994) to reclassify businesses or establish a new rate structure n…
Can a Florida town close meetings and records about security plans for school facilities under the security-system exemption to the Sunshine Law?
Records that directly reveal a security system plan (as defined in § 119.071(3)(a)) are confidential and exempt from public-records disclosure. Meetings are exempt only for the portions in which those…
Are Arizona's 500-year wait-and-see period and the perpetual-trust exception in A.R.S. § 14-2901 unconstitutional under the state constitution's ban on perpetuities and entailments?
Both A.R.S. § 14-2901(A)(2) (allowing future interests to vest within 500 years) and § 14-2901(A)(3) (allowing perpetual trusts when the trustee has the power of sale and someone alive at creation can…
Can the Tennessee judicial branch pay the annual $400 professional privilege tax for its judges, or would that violate the Tennessee Constitution's ban on increasing judicial compensation mid-term?
Yes. The judicial branch may remit the professional privilege tax under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-1709 on behalf of judges. That payment is not a constitutionally forbidden increase in judicial compensat…
Is a Delaware volunteer fire company that gets state grant funding and Fire Commission oversight a public body under FOIA?
No, according to this opinion. The AG ruled the Camden-Wyoming Fire Company, a private nonprofit corporation, is not a 'public body' subject to Delaware FOIA, even though it receives state grant-in-ai…
Can an Arkansas city council allow its committee members to attend committee meetings by phone if the public can hear them through a speakerphone?
AG Rutledge concluded that an Arkansas city's procedural rule letting city council members participate in committee meetings by conference call was lawful, so long as a speakerphone or similar setup l…
Can an Arkansas quorum court reduce a county treasurer's salary mid-term, and does extra pay for added duties also count as protected 'salary'?
AG Rutledge concluded that the salary of an elected Arkansas county officer cannot be reduced during the officer's current term. Any decrease takes effect only after the next general election that fil…
Are Arkansas school teachers, small-district superintendents, and similar non-sovereign positions considered 'civil offices' that block the holder from running for or holding county office?
AG Rutledge predicted that teachers, superintendents of small school districts, the Arkansas Burial Association Board auditor, Baxter Regional Medical Center advisory board members, and constitutional…
If federal coal-mining funds dry up, can Tennessee still apply for primacy and spend out of its coal mining protection fund?
The Governor's duty under § 44 of the Primacy and Reclamation Act to seek federal grant funding and apply for exclusive state jurisdiction over surface coal mining is not contingent on federal funds b…
Can a county attorney's anti-racketeering forfeiture fund pay the outside counsel hired by the board of supervisors to review the county attorney's spending requests?
Yes. After the 2017 amendments to A.R.S. § 13-2314.03, the county board of supervisors must review and approve a county attorney's spending of money from the county anti-racketeering revolving fund (R…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title submitted by John Wesley Hall in 2018?
AG Rutledge rejected John Wesley Hall's 2018 popular name and ballot title for the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment, citing three threshold defects: inadequate disclosure of continued federal ille…
What does the Arkansas AG's approval of an interlocal cooperation agreement for a regional crisis stabilization unit involve?
AG Rutledge approved an interlocal cooperation agreement among Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Scott, and Polk Counties and their incorporated municipalities for the joint funding and operation …
Can a county election commissioner in Arkansas urge someone to run for office, and do they have to recuse from running the election once that person becomes a candidate?
AG Rutledge concluded that an Arkansas county election commissioner may recruit or encourage someone to run for office, so long as that activity happens before the person is listed on the ballot or qu…
Is it a crime in Arkansas to carry a concealed handgun in public without a concealed-carry license?
AG Rutledge concluded that no Arkansas statute expressly imposed a penalty for merely carrying a concealed handgun without a concealed-carry license. But the AG warned that under existing Arkansas Sup…
Can a child qualify for an Arkansas Succeed Scholarship voucher with a document that mirrors an IEP but is not an actual IEP under the IDEA?
AG Rutledge concluded that only an actual 'individualized education program' as defined by federal IDEA satisfies the Succeed Scholarship eligibility requirement. A document that copies IEP-style cont…
When voters in a South Dakota civil township want to split their township into two new townships, what role does the county commission play, and can the county commission redraw the boundaries of the new townships?
The county commission's role is limited. The commission holds a hearing, notifies voters, and acts in a supervisory capacity. The voters of the affected township make the final decision on whether to …
If Delaware's Governor's office repeatedly extends a FOIA deadline and eventually produces the records, does the requester's complaint still succeed?
No, according to this opinion. The AG dismissed a bus-advocacy group's FOIA complaint against the Governor's office as moot because the office, after several consented-to extensions for legal review, …
Can a Virginia county supervisor also work as executive director of a public service authority whose members are appointed by the board of supervisors?
Yes, the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act does not prohibit a county supervisor from also serving as executive director of a public service authority. But the dual role creates con…
Do Virginia community services boards and behavioral health authorities pay state and local utility consumption taxes on electricity and natural gas?
No. As divisions or agencies of local government for purposes of Code §§ 58.1-2900 and 58.1-2904, community services boards and behavioral health authorities are exempt from both the state and local p…
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