State AG Opinions
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Does Tennessee's general definition of 'agriculture' apply to the word 'agriculture' in the property-tax statute that defines 'Farm Property'?
Yes. The AG concluded that the agriculture definitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(2)(A) and § 43-1-113(b)(1) both apply to the word 'agriculture' as used in Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-501(3)'s definitio…
Are funds a Texas state agency inherits from a dissolved state program 'public funds'?
The AG concluded a court would likely say yes. When the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool was abolished, the Legislature sent $5 million of its money to the Texas Health Services Authority to use for a…
Who appoints an associate judge for Texas court-ordered mental health cases?
The AG resolved an ambiguity over the words 'county judge.' Health and Safety Code section 574.0085(a) lets 'the county judge' appoint an associate judge to preside over court-ordered mental health pr…
Do Texas election judges have to take the constitutional oath of office?
The AG concluded a court would likely hold that election judges, alternate election judges, and early-voting clerks are public officers under the Aldine test, because they exercise sovereign election …
Does a Texas county attorney who also handles district attorney duties need a separate DA bond?
In Lee County the county attorney prosecutes all criminal cases, doing the work of both a county attorney and a district attorney. The AG concluded that because the Legislature left all of those prose…
Can someone with an out-of-state felony run for office in Texas if their rights were restored?
A former Texas mayor had pleaded guilty to a felony theft in Arkansas decades earlier, but an Arkansas court later terminated his probation under that state's First Offender Act and ordered him releas…
Must Oregon dedicate corporate minimum tax revenue from gas-station companies to the highway fund under Article IX, section 3a?
No. The AG concluded that the corporate minimum tax under ORS 317.090 is not a tax 'levied on, with respect to, or measured by' the sale of motor vehicle fuel. It is a flat tier-based tax for the priv…
In 2017, would Tennessee SB 1085/HB 1111's 'ordinary meaning' rule create a separation-of-powers problem or undermine Obergefell when courts read gender-specific terms in statutes?
Mostly no. The AG concluded that the bill codified an existing canon of statutory construction, so a separation-of-powers challenge was possible but unlikely. Gender-specific words read literally coul…
Does a company that supplies off-duty law enforcement officers for highway work-zone traffic control need to register as a private security company in Tennessee?
No. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-35-103(a)(15)(A) specifically exempts companies that use or provide certified law enforcement officers exclusively for traffic control in temporary work …
Would dividing Tennessee's property tax relief program into separate programs for the elderly/disabled and for disabled veterans/surviving spouses violate the state constitution?
No. The AG concluded that an administrative split of the tax-relief program into two components does not by itself violate Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution, as long as the substant…
Does Tennessee's firearms-preemption statute let someone manufacture guns in an area zoned residential?
No, but for a different reason than you might think. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1314's preemption of firearms regulation does not invalidate a generally-applicable zoning ordinance …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined certification of Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana proposal. Four ambiguities prevented certification: inconsistent use of 'business,' 'person,' and 'dri…
Can a Tennessee solar generating facility that sells power only to the property owners or tenants on the same or adjacent land avoid being treated as a regulated public utility?
Maybe. The AG concluded that whether such a solar facility is a regulated 'public electric system' or 'public utility' depends on whether its property is 'affected by and dedicated to public use.' Sel…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's first 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined certification of Mary Berry's first 2017 recreational-marijuana proposal. Section 4(f)(3) and Section 5(c) created ambiguity about whether design and packaging rules app…
Can a Virginia juvenile court order a local sheriff or police officer to transport a violent juvenile to a treatment facility in another state, and does the officer keep arrest authority on the trip?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 16.1-254 of the Code of Virginia let the chief judge of a juvenile and domestic relations district court designate local law enforcement (not state police) to transport vi…
Can a Virginia city avoid competitive bidding for Children's Services Act therapy contracts by buying services one child at a time instead of in bulk?
Sometimes. The AG concluded that § 2.2-4345(A)(14) of the VPPA exempts certain CSA personal services from formal competitive sealed bidding or negotiation when the services are for direct use by an in…
Does an Arkansas city violate the constitutional 'lending of credit' clause when it abates a nuisance, files a lien, and waits years to collect?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that a city's exercise of its statutory grass-cutting and nuisance-abatement authority does not 'loan its credit' under Article 12 § 5. The municipal lien recovers a fee for …
Can a West Virginia county commission pay an elected official's legal bills when the official successfully fights off an ethics complaint that didn't ask for any specific punishment?
Probably yes, if the official's conduct was tied to actual official duties and the official acted in good faith. The narrow indemnification statute (§ 11-8-31a) only covers actions seeking removal fro…
Can a Florida city amend its charter by referendum to require voter approval before development orders or comprehensive plan amendments take effect?
No. The opinion concluded that § 163.3167(8) bars initiative or referendum on any development order or local comprehensive plan amendment, and that prohibition cannot be overridden by a charter amendm…
If a school board president says "the majority of the board agrees," does that prove the board held an illegal secret meeting?
No, according to this opinion. A community member argued that a school board president's public statement that "the majority of the board also agrees" with a controversial decision proved an unnoticed…
In 2017, were Tennessee's proposed 20-week abortion ban and the proposed Tennessee Infants Protection Act constitutional?
Mostly no. The AG concluded HB 101/SB 766's 20-week ban was constitutionally infirm under controlling Roe/Casey precedent prohibiting pre-viability bans, and that HB 1189/SB 1180's post-viability ban …
Can a Tennessee county impose blanket random drug testing on all county employees and elected officials to lower insurance premiums and improve public confidence?
No. The AG concluded that a blanket random drug-testing policy targeting every county employee and elected official violates the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution…
When voters approve a special tax levy specifically to fund a named non-profit, and the county later cancels its contract with that non-profit, what happens to the leftover money: does it go to the non-profit, the county, or back to taxpayers?
Neither the non-profit nor the county can keep using the money for its own purposes. The voters approved the levy for one specific purpose, supporting the named Foundation, and that purpose can no lon…
Can Augusta County build a new courthouse next door to the current one in Staunton without a new voter referendum, after the 2016 relocation vote failed?
No. The AG concluded that under § 15.2-1644 Augusta County may not build a new courthouse on land contiguous to the current Staunton location without voter approval, because the contiguous-property ex…
If an Arkansas school-board ballot listed the wrong term length for an unopposed candidate, did he serve the listed term or the statutory term?
Statutory term controls. AG Rutledge concluded that an unopposed Crossett School Board candidate was elected to the established five-year term, even though the 2013 ballot mistakenly listed it as a fo…
Can the Tennessee commerce and insurance commissioner appoint multiple fire-investigation assistants for the same territory, and what happens when an assistant changes jobs?
Generally no. The AG concluded that fire-investigation assistants are designated by statute, not appointed; the commissioner can appoint only in three narrow circumstances. Status as an assistant flow…
Will the Arkansas AG opine on the validity of a private agreement between liquor stores and grocers?
No. AG Rutledge declined to opine on the validity or enforceability of an agreement between liquor stores and grocers because the AG's office is not permitted to interpret or evaluate contracts betwee…
If a public meeting agenda lists "public comments," does the board have to let anyone from the public speak?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A county Board of Adjustment listed "Public Comments" on its agenda but meant only a farewell tribute to a retiring county employee, then declined to let a …
Can Tennessee require all license plates to bear 'In God We Trust,' or only offer it as a chosen option?
Optional only. The AG concluded that requiring every Tennessee plate to display 'In God We Trust' would be constitutionally suspect under the First Amendment's Establishment, Free Exercise, and Free S…
Can a Jefferson County agency withhold a former employee's salary, termination letters, and personnel file from a FOIA request?
Mostly release. AG Rutledge could not opine without seeing the records, but laid out the standards: a former public employee's salary must be released, termination letters that only reflect the fact o…
Can a former public employee in Arkansas get a copy of the grievance file about her, including names of other employees mentioned?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge said the FOIA gave the subject of a grievance file a right of access, and disclosure of other employees' personnel-record portions did not invade their privacy under the Young …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's first 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined to certify the popular name and ballot title for Larry Morris's first 2017 recreational-marijuana amendment because of seven distinct ambiguities in the proposal text, r…
When does an Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission appointee have to take the constitutional oath of office?
At the commencement of service. AG Rutledge concluded that members of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission are public officers under Article 19 § 20 and must take the constitutio…
Does an Arkansas school district have to follow a student's do-not-resuscitate order?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that the Arkansas Emergency Medical Services Do-Not-Resuscitate Act applies to EMS personnel, not to school staff or districts. Schools have no statutory duty to honor a stud…
Does Tennessee's race-track insurance law apply only to automobile races, or to motorcycle and other motor-vehicle races too?
All of them. The AG concluded that 'motor vehicle race' under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-22-101 to -105 is broader than 'automobile race' and reaches any contest of speed among self-propelled wheeled conve…
Could the Washington legislature combine the independent Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials with another state agency, and could the Commission hold its required public meetings entirely by telephone conference call?
Yes to both, with conditions. Combination is allowed only if the Commission's constitutional 'independence' in setting salaries is preserved and any composition change passes by two-thirds vote. Telep…
Can Delaware state police redact purchase order details for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") surveillance equipment from a public records request?
Yes, largely, according to this opinion. The AG found Delaware State Police properly redacted FBI-designated proprietary details from purchase orders for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") equipment und…
Can an Arkansas agency redact other employees' names from a personnel file the subject is entitled to see?
AG Rutledge said the former employee was entitled to her own records, and redactions of other employees' information were not obviously justified on the face of the document. Without specific facts to…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Mary Berry's recreational marijuana ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the ballot title for Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2018. The underlying text contained five concrete ambiguities (field-tag …
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Barry Emigh's casino-and-alcohol ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title for Barry Emigh's Fairplay Holdings casino amendment. Even after Emigh trimmed his ballot title from about 3,000 words to 990, it was st…
Does a Texas district clerk have to file a grand jury report that isn't an indictment?
A district attorney asked whether grand jury reports prepared as part of investigations into official misconduct under article 2.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be filed with the district cle…
Who controls the unclassified (exempt) positions in a Washington county sheriff's office, the sheriff or the county commissioners, and who sets the salaries?
Authority is split. The county commissioners create positions, fund the sheriff's office, and set compensation. The sheriff selects which authorized positions are unclassified, sets job titles and job…
Did Washington's Initiative 200 (RCW 49.60.400) bar all race- or gender-conscious measures in state contracting?
No. The 2017 Washington AG opinion concluded that Initiative 200 prohibited only 'reverse discrimination' in which the State used race or gender to pick a less-qualified contractor over a more-qualifi…
When the Virginia Port Authority takes title to terminal assets under an installment-sale contract, do local property taxes still apply?
No local property tax. The AG concluded that assets transferred to the Virginia Port Authority under an installment-sale contract are owned by the Authority for taxation purposes and are exempt from l…
What happens to the money in a Virginia jail's inmate trust account when former inmates can't be located after release?
Send the funds to the State Treasurer. The AG concluded that under § 55-210.9, intangible property held by a governmental entity becomes presumed abandoned one year after it became payable to the owne…
Can a West Virginia public school keep a 'girls-only' softball team girls-only and exclude a male student who identifies with non-traditional gender expression, without violating Title IX?
The 2017 AG opinion concluded yes, in appropriate circumstances. Title IX regulations expressly allow separate-sex athletic teams for skill-based sports, and the AG read 'sex' in Title IX as referring…
Would NOAA's proposed Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary take fishing-regulation power away from Virginia and Maryland's joint Potomac River Fisheries Commission?
No. The AG concluded NOAA has authority under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to regulate fishing within marine sanctuaries, but is not proposing to do so for the Mallows Bay-Potomac River Sanctua…
Can the Achievement School District or the Tennessee education commissioner add grade levels to a school that has been placed in the ASD?
No. The AG concluded that while the Commissioner has authority to manage day-to-day operations of any school or grade configuration placed in the ASD as it existed at priority designation, no statute …
Can the Texas Long-Term Care Ombudsman testify for or against bills at the Legislature?
A House committee chair asked whether the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman may testify 'for' or 'against' legislation, or only 'on' it, given the ethics rules that limit state agencies from lobbying. Th…
Does a Washington county lose its eligibility for state Rural Arterial Program fuel-tax funds if it spends county road levy money on traffic prosecutions, court costs, indigent defense, jail, or coroner services?
Likely yes for all five categories. Incarceration and coroner activities are not 'highway purposes' under Article II, section 40 of the state constitution. Costs of traffic prosecution, defense, and a…
Can a government agency withhold emails about a possible environmental violation because there's already an investigation open?
Yes, according to this opinion. DNREC properly denied a News Journal reporter's request for emails about a possible crude-oil-shipment violation because the records fell within FOIA's investigatory-fi…
Did the Tennessee AG issue an opinion on the constitutionality of population-bracket exemptions in March 2017?
No. The opinion request was withdrawn, so no opinion was issued. The slot for Opinion No. 17-18 is preserved on the AG's website as a withdrawn record.
Can a Florida town consider price along with qualifications when selecting which firms it will negotiate a construction-manager-at-risk contract with?
No. The opinion concluded that sections 287.055, 255.20, and 255.103 do not allow a hybrid process where the town evaluates qualifications and price together to rank firms before negotiating; price co…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law require a special magistrate to let the public speak at code enforcement hearings, and must the magistrate announce the order in a public hearing?
The opinion concluded the public-comment requirement in § 286.0114 did not apply because the magistrate was acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, but § 162.07(4) still contemplated that the magistrate …
Does a private seller owe Virginia grantor's tax when conveying property to VDOT for a highway project?
No. The AG concluded that when VDOT purchases real property from a private seller for a highway project, § 58.1-811(C)(5) exempts the conveyance from grantor's tax because the Commonwealth is required…
Can a Texas county count an official's prior employee service toward longevity pay?
Houston County asked whether longevity pay for officials who used to be county employees, crediting their employee years, counts as forbidden retroactive pay. The AG concluded it does not, as long as …
Can a town be forced to answer a FOIA request asking where the money came from for an old land purchase if the records were destroyed years ago?
No, according to this opinion. The Town of Middletown didn't violate FOIA by failing to identify the funding source behind a 2002 real estate purchase, because FOIA doesn't require a public body to an…
In Arkansas, does the county judge or the quorum court decide which committee a proposed ordinance goes to?
The quorum court, not the county judge. AG Rutledge concluded that assigning proposed ordinances to committees is a procedural function of the legislative body. The county judge appoints committee mem…
Can an Arkansas contractor block disclosure of contract fees and rates under FOIA's 'competitive advantage' exemption?
AG Rutledge said the FOIA 'competitive advantage' exemption requires specific, evidentiary proof of likely substantial competitive injury, not conclusory claims. Contract pricing rarely qualifies, bec…
Can an Arkansas school district put separate millage components on the ballot for separate up-or-down votes?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that Article 14, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution refers to 'the tax' and 'a rate' in the singular, requiring a school district to present voters with one combined mill…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
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- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.