State AG Opinions
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Does Arkansas's statutory ban on recording deeds without a planning-commission-approved plat apply to every deed, or only to deeds that split an existing lot?
Probably only to deeds that split an existing lot. The AG concluded that while the statute's prohibition on recording a deed without an approved plat could be read broadly, its placement and context s…
Can an Arkansas for-profit corporation employ or contract with physicians, bill third parties as the medical provider, or hire advanced practice nurses, without being registered as a medical corporation with the Arkansas State Medical Board?
No, in every scenario. The AG concluded that a corporation that bills, or seeks to be paid, as the provider of medical services is 'opening, operating, and maintaining an establishment' under the Arka…
Can Tennessee let bail bondsmen charge a higher premium when the defendant lives out of state?
The 2015 opinion concluded a proposed 5% surcharge on bonds for nonresident defendants would probably survive equal protection challenge, but was vulnerable under the federal Privileges and Immunities…
What did Idaho's AG say about the 2015 four-part marijuana initiative covering medical use, decriminalization, drug paraphernalia, and industrial hemp?
The AG's biggest concern was the single-subject rule. The petition bundled four distinct policy programs (medical marijuana legalization, possession decriminalization, paraphernalia decriminalization,…
Can jurors donate their jury pay to programs other than juror counseling?
The AG concluded yes. Government Code section 61.003(a)(4) lets a juror donate the daily jury reimbursement to 'any other program approved by the commissioners court of the county, including' a juror …
Do I need a Social Security or VA disability rating to vote early by mail in Texas?
The AG concluded the only standard that matters is the Election Code's own. Section 82.002 lets a qualified voter cast a mail-in ballot if a sickness or physical condition prevents the voter from appe…
Can a Texas water district give public funds to a federal agency for a conservation program?
The AG concluded the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) likely may do all three things it asked about. First, Article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution bars granting public money to 'any individu…
Does a county have to keep paying a justice of the peace who retired and stopped doing the job?
The AG could not say the justice of the peace was entitled to the pay as a matter of law. Under the Texas Constitution's holdover provision (article XVI, section 17), an officer must keep performing t…
Can Confederate or pre-statehood veterans be inducted into the Florida Veterans' Hall of Fame?
The Attorney General's office advised that, as the law and criteria then stood, Florida's pre-statehood veterans and veterans who served the Confederate States of America would not qualify for the Flo…
Can a city put one of its council members on the municipal housing authority board?
The AG concluded no. Under Local Government Code section 392.031, a commissioner of a municipal housing authority 'may not be an officer or employee of the municipality,' and a city council member is …
Can a Virginia school board add 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' to its nondiscrimination policy, or does the Dillon Rule block it?
Yes. AG Herring overruled a 2002 opinion and concluded that Virginia school boards' constitutional supervisory power over their schools fairly implies authority to prohibit sexual-orientation and gend…
Can a competing (non-incumbent) Tennessee telecommunications carrier exercise eminent domain to lay fiber or other lines on private property?
Yes. Tennessee's telephone-line eminent-domain statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-21-204) applies to all telecommunications providers, including competing carriers certified after June 6, 1995.
Would Tennessee bills requiring assisted-living and adult-care homes to meet the same staffing and safety standards as nursing homes violate the federal ADA's integration mandate?
Possibly. The bills (HB 604/SB 567 and HB 413/SB 583) would raise costs and reduce the availability of community-based residential alternatives, increasing the risk of unjustified institutional placem…
Do you need a West Virginia auctioneer's license to sell a West Virginia estate's stuff through an online auction site, or to sell the contents of a delinquent storage unit at a live auction?
Online auctions: per the AG, no. The auctioneer-licensing statute (W. Va. Code §§ 19-2C-1, -2) governs auctions 'in this State,' the inspection requirement (§ 19-2C-5) and 'physically conduct' adverti…
Is the charter school bond guarantee limit a monthly cap or a cumulative cap?
The AG concluded it is a cumulative cap. Texas uses its permanent school fund to guarantee school district and charter district bonds through the Bond Guarantee Program, which lowers borrowing costs. …
Was the Arkansas Treasurer's planned release of a former employee's personnel file consistent with FOIA, and was the redaction of his remaining leave balance proper?
Mostly yes. The AG concluded the Treasurer's Office correctly classified the records as personnel records and correctly decided to release them, because disclosure does not constitute a clearly unwarr…
Can a Texas county use tax increment financing to fund a reinvestment zone?
The AG concluded that, absent a constitutional amendment, a county likely cannot. Tax increment financing freezes the taxable value of property in a zone and dedicates the taxes on the growth above th…
Can a city or county refuse to apply Arizona's charter-school zoning protections to a charter school that leases its building instead of owning it?
No. Under A.R.S. § 15-189.01, charter schools must be treated like district schools for zoning, regardless of whether they own or lease their facilities. A municipality cannot impose any zoning restri…
Did the Arkansas Department of Human Services correctly classify a current employee's records as personnel records, and were its redactions consistent with FOIA?
Mostly yes. The AG concluded the DHS records were properly classified as personnel records and had to be released because disclosure did not constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. Four …
Can the Florida Attorney General give a legal opinion to a private citizen?
No. The Attorney General's office explained that, by statute, it issues legal opinions only to certain public officials on questions about their own official duties, and it cannot give legal advice to…
Can a Texas county sheriff accept or solicit donations from the public?
The AG concluded that the commissioners court, not the sheriff, is the body the Legislature authorized to accept donations on a county's behalf, under section 81.032 of the Local Government Code. No s…
If two hospital district board candidates tie in the election, do they need a runoff or can both serve full terms?
The AG concluded that no tie-breaking election is required. The Election Code's runoff provision (section 2.002) only applies when candidates tie for an office that still needs to be filled, and here …
Did the Arkansas AG certify an initiated act that would lower the wet-dry election signature threshold from 38% of qualified electors to 25% of legal voters?
No. The AG rejected the ballot title because the term 'legal voters' in the proposed measure was undefined and ambiguous. The current Arkansas wet-dry statute uses 'qualified electors,' a defined term…
Can someone who got 'ordained' online by the Universal Life Church legally officiate a wedding in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee's marriage-solemnization statute requires ordination through a 'considered, deliberate, and responsible act' under a religious group's customs. Online ULC ordination, which requires only…
After Tennessee voters passed Amendment 1 in 2014, did the state's old abortion-restriction laws automatically come back into effect, and would re-enacted versions survive constitutional challenge?
Amendment 1 superseded the Tennessee Supreme Court's strict-scrutiny holding in Sundquist, but the struck-down statutes remained void unless re-enacted. Any re-enacted restrictions would still have to…
Can a Connecticut city satisfy a state-deed reverter clause requiring 'economic development use' by selling the land to a private developer who is contractually required to build on it?
Yes. The AG concluded that selling state-conveyed land to a private developer, with deed conditions requiring the developer to build improvements for economic development purposes, satisfies the use r…
How do Virginia's conflict-of-interest rules apply to the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission when so many board members might have to recuse themselves on the same vote?
AG Herring concluded the HRTAC is a state agency for COIA purposes, and that COIA's 'savings clause' lets the remaining un-recused members proceed by majority vote even when so many disqualifications …
Can a Virginia police officer at a traffic stop search a driver's phone without a warrant to prove the driver was texting while driving?
No. The opinion concluded that, under Riley v. California (2014), the Fourth Amendment prohibits a Virginia law-enforcement officer from conducting a warrantless search of a driver's cell phone or oth…
Is it illegal in Tennessee for a private citizen to mix Tannerite or similar binary exploding targets to shoot at the range?
Yes. Mixing the binary components creates an explosive under Tennessee law, and Tennessee, unlike federal law and some other states, has no personal-use exception. No state license is even available t…
If a Virginia city builds a convention center next to a privately owned hotel, can the city capture the sales tax from the hotel as if it were part of the public facility?
Yes, potentially. AG Herring concluded that under Va. Code § 58.1-608.3, an existing hotel can be part of a 'public facility' if it is 'attached' (including by a bridge or walkway) or 'adjacent' (even…
Does Virginia FOIA require sheriffs to release mug shots to news reporters even after the person has been released from jail?
Yes, with conditions. The opinion concluded that under Va. Code § 2.2-3706 (added to FOIA in 2013), local law-enforcement agencies must disclose adult arrestee mug shots in their own photographic data…
If a Tennessee school board and a city or county fight over liquor-by-the-drink tax money, can one side force binding arbitration with the Comptroller without the other side's agreement?
Yes, in narrow circumstances. If one party timely requested arbitration on or before December 31, 2014, and no party filed in Davidson County Chancery Court by that date, all parties are bound to bind…
Could the Colorado State Board of Education tell the Commissioner to grant school districts a waiver from the performance-based component of the state ELA and Math test?
No. State law expressly bars the Board from waiving § 22-7-409 testing requirements, and skipping one component of a two-part assessment would invalidate the entire test.
Can a Virginia defendant in general district court file a demurrer to challenge whether the plaintiff has even stated a legal claim, or is that only available in circuit court?
Yes. AG Herring concluded that Va. Code § 8.01-273 authorizes written demurrers in any civil action, including general district court, even though the older streamlined GDC procedure with form warrant…
Can a Virginia supervising physician prescribe medication based only on a nurse practitioner's or PA's follow-up visit, without seeing the patient again?
Yes, with conditions. The opinion concluded that a Virginia supervising physician may prescribe medication to a patient based on the recommendation of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant who s…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol statewide and repeal Arkansas's local-option election framework?
Yes. The AG certified the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment as submitted, popular name and ballot title both. The amendment would have made alcohol manufacture, sale, distribution, and transportat…
Can a Tennessee municipal school district charge students a fee to ride the school bus?
Yes. Tennessee statute prohibits transportation fees only at county boards of education (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-2103). Municipal school boards face no comparable statutory restriction.
Is filing for a Tennessee statutory writ of certiorari the same as bringing a 'cause of action' in court?
No. The writ of certiorari is a process for asking a superior court to review the decision of an inferior tribunal. It doesn't itself create or constitute a substantive cause of action.
Can a Virginia Industrial Development Authority run an airport, hire contractors to operate it, and rely on its lawyer's certification of authority?
No, with multiple layers. The opinion concluded that (1) the Louisa County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) lacks legal authority under the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act (Va. Code …
Can a Tennessee public hospital board meet in closed session under § 68-11-238 to discuss executive pay and bonuses?
No. The closed-session authority in § 68-11-238 only covers marketing strategies and strategic plans for the hospital's products and services, not executive compensation.
Can a Florida city change the size or membership of its community redevelopment agency board?
No. The Attorney General advised that once the City of Lauderdale Lakes appointed its city commission to serve as the board of its community redevelopment agency, it had no authority to change the boa…
Can a Florida city require a bond and refuse a contractor's alternative security like cash or a letter of credit?
No. The Attorney General advised that section 255.05(7), Florida Statutes, gives a contractor on a public construction project the right to file an alternative form of security (cash, a money order, a…
When does a closed litigation 'shade meeting' transcript become a public record under Florida's Sunshine Law?
The Attorney General advised that a dismissal with prejudice under a settlement agreement concludes the litigation for purposes of section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes, even when the court keeps juris…
Are the names of undercover police officers on a department roster a public record in Florida?
The Attorney General advised that the names of undercover officers, even when they appear on a general personnel roster that does not flag their undercover status, can be 'information revealing underc…
Does Florida law require redacting or distorting a 911 caller's voice before releasing the recording?
The Attorney General advised that section 365.171(12), Florida Statutes, makes confidential the identifying information in an E911 call (the caller's name, address, telephone number, and personal info…
When someone appeals a municipal court judgment to circuit court, does the city court clerk have to send the $250 appeal bond along with the case file?
Yes. The municipal court clerk must transmit the $250 appeal bond required under Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-307 along with the rest of the record to the circuit court clerk. Without it, the circuit court…
Could Tennessee adopt the Insure Tennessee Medicaid waiver, fund the state share with a hospital assessment, and back out later if federal funding changed?
Yes on each piece, with conditions. The AG concluded CMS could not unilaterally rewrite the waiver, hospital assessment revenues could fund Insure Tennessee under existing statutes, and Tennessee coul…
Can an Arkansas public employee block release of his personnel file by arguing that the FOIA requester is trying to harass him?
No. The AG concluded the records were properly classified as personnel records and had to be disclosed under FOIA, because none of them contained personal or intimate information that gave rise to a g…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the Campaign Finance Act of 2016 ballot title, requiring disclosure of campaign spending and donors above certain thresholds?
No. The AG rejected the proposed Campaign Finance Act of 2016 because the sponsor did not fix two critical problems flagged in the earlier rejection (Op. Att'y Gen. 2014-135). The term 'electioneering…
Should a Fayetteville police officer's middle initial, diploma, marital status, and views on alcohol be redacted from his personnel file under FOIA?
Partially. Middle initial and diploma are releasable. Marital status, partial SSN, and health insurance records must be redacted. Views on alcohol or drug use by a law enforcement officer must be rele…
Can a Texas school district use an estimated property value to set its tax rate after adopting its budget?
The AG concluded no. The shortcut that lets a school district use a certified estimate of property values, instead of the final certified appraisal roll, is available only to a district that elects to…
Can a West Virginia conservation district use its public funds to award scholarships, like a $500 scholarship to a supervisor's child or a school-tuition stipend tied to agricultural programs?
No. The AG concluded that nothing in the Conservation District Law gives a district the authority to award scholarships from public funds. Conservation districts have only the powers the Legislature e…
Can a city release police officer suspension records when the underlying misconduct was off-duty private conduct with no public impact?
No. The AG said Fayetteville's decision to release the suspension records was inconsistent with the FOIA. Because the off-duty incident involved no taxpayer misuse, no criminal conduct, no public safe…
Are a city employee's emails, expenses, travel records, and personnel file subject to FOIA disclosure?
Travel records, expenses, and dates of employment are clearly public records. Emails, letters, and memos depend on whether they document official functions. The AG could not opine on specific records …
To appeal a Tennessee general sessions court ruling to circuit court, do I have to post a surety bond, or will a cash bond work?
A bond with security is required, but it doesn't have to be a surety bond. After the Tennessee Supreme Court's Griffin v. Campbell Clinic decision, a cash bond satisfies § 27-5-103.
When a Colorado law enforcement officer asks the medical marijuana registry to confirm a patient is allowed to possess more than two ounces or six plants, does the registry have to answer?
No. The registry only confirms whether the cardholder is 'lawfully in possession' of the card itself. Anything above the default of six plants or two ounces depends on undefined 'medical necessity', w…
Do unopposed candidates appear on the ballot in a Florida municipal election?
The Attorney General's office advised that section 101.151(7), Florida Statutes, which keeps unopposed candidates off the ballot at a general election, did not apply to the Village of Estero's initial…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the ballot title for the Arkansas Privacy Protection Act?
The AG rejected the proposal because the ballot title did not summarize the act's provisions, and the act itself was riddled with ambiguities and grammatical errors. The proposal also lacked the const…
Is Tennessee's law banning beer brand names, prices, and pictures on outdoor signs at retail beer stores constitutional under the First Amendment?
Probably not. The statute restricts truthful commercial speech about a lawful product, and under the Supreme Court's Central Hudson test the restriction likely fails because it does not directly advan…
Is the Florida Department of Transportation a state agency and public entity of the state?
Yes. At the FAA's request, the Attorney General certified that the Florida Department of Transportation is a department of Florida state government and a public entity of the state. Chapter 20 organiz…
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.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.