State AG Opinions
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Does Tennessee's Department of Children's Services have any say in which attorney prospective adoptive parents use when seeking federal adoption-assistance reimbursement?
No. The Fostering Connections Act and Tennessee's DCS rules do not give DCS any role in the adoptive parents' choice of attorney. Eligibility for reimbursement of legal fees turns on whether the child…
Can Texas housing developments converting under HUD's RAD program qualify for the at-risk low-income housing tax credit set-aside?
Likely yes, if the agency finds the eligibility requirements met. The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) treating a public ho…
Can a Texas district attorney use asset forfeiture funds to buy a building and lease or sell it to the county?
Probably not. The AG concluded that a court would be unlikely to find it an 'official purpose' of a district attorney's office to use asset forfeiture funds under Code of Criminal Procedure article 59…
Did the Arkansas AG approve David Couch's May 19, 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment to make the entire state 'wet'?
Yes. The AG certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment' as submitted and substituted his own ballot title. The substitute clarifies that alcohol sales would be lawful in the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 'Willie Nelson Act' cannabis decriminalization initiated act submitted by Richard Morton in May 2014?
The AG rejected the Willie Nelson Act for fifteen separate ambiguities, including: trying to 'prohibit' future legislation (which Amendment 7 expressly allows by 2/3 majority); applying an unknown 'co…
Can private security officers and commissioned security officers in Arkansas carry tasers on the job, and do they have to be trained in their use?
Yes, state law does not prohibit CSOs or PSOs from carrying or using tasers. And no, state law does not currently require CSO or PSO taser training (only law enforcement officers must be trained). The…
Can a Tennessee county head of department who is not in law enforcement give their employee a written OK to carry a handgun on the job?
No. The 'written directive' authority under § 39-17-1315(a) is reserved for law-enforcement agencies. A non-law-enforcement county supervisor cannot issue one. A handgun-permit holder may still carry …
Is it bigamy in Florida to marry someone before your divorce is final?
The AG could not opine on the validity of a foreign (Haitian) marriage, since it only advises government officials on questions of state law tied to their official duties. As general guidance, though,…
If a private estate pays for a building on West Virginia State Farm Museum land owned by the county, does the construction project have to go through public competitive bidding?
On the facts presented, no. The AG concluded that the West Virginia Fairness in Competitive Bidding Act would not apply because, applying the five-factor 'real parties in interest' test from Affiliate…
Can a Virginia city or county refund years of over-paid real estate taxes administratively, going back more than three years?
No. Va. Code § 58.1-3990 lets localities adopt an administrative-refund procedure but caps refunds at three years from the last day of the tax year. The City of Suffolk had refunded nine years of doub…
Can a parent in a Tennessee custody case subpoena the other parent's therapy records and testimony from their psychologist or psychiatrist?
No, not by ordinary subpoena. Mental-health records are privileged under Tennessee law. A court can order in camera review for the comparative-fitness analysis in a custody case, and (if necessary for…
Can a Texas municipal development district fund a civic center owned and run by a nonprofit?
Partly. The AG concluded that a court would likely find chapter 377 of the Local Government Code lets a municipal development district contract with a private nonprofit to operate a civic center, sinc…
When Vermont's 2014 Act 90 repealed the old campaign finance contribution limits with one effective date and added new limits with a different effective date in 2015, what limits applied during the gap?
The pre-Act 90 limits applied through December 31, 2014. The repeal-versus-replacement effective dates created a literal gap (no limits) that the legislature did not intend. Drafting records and commi…
Can the Tennessee legislature abolish specific judgeships in one judicial district mid-cycle, even when nominating petitions for those very seats are already circulating?
Yes. Article VI, § 1 of the Tennessee Constitution lets the General Assembly create and abolish circuit and chancery courts, and Tennessee Supreme Court decisions going back to 1899 confirm the legisl…
Can a Texas legislative committee investigating an impeachment hold someone in contempt?
Likely yes. The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold a Texas House committee's power to punish for contempt when it is investigating a contemplated impeachment, acting under article XV, sec…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the May 9, 2014 draft of Robert Reed's Arkansas Cannabis Amendment?
The AG rejected the eighth Reed submission because: the opening sentence still commanded voters to 'add an amendment' (imperative, not indicative); the right was confusingly stated in future tense; th…
Can a Florida housing authority pay its director a bonus, and does the state anti-bonus law apply if the authority gets no state money?
The AG advised that section 215.425, which bars extra compensation after services are rendered, applies broadly to all 'units of government' and reaches the Tampa Housing Authority even though it runs…
Can a Texas police department require officers to issue a set number of traffic warnings?
It is unsettled, and the AG would not give a firm yes or no. Texas Transportation Code section 720.002 bars a city, county, or state agency from setting quotas for traffic 'citations' or evaluating of…
Can a non-lawyer who is the sole owner of an LLC represent that LLC in West Virginia circuit court collections cases?
No. The AG concluded that a non-lawyer member of an LLC cannot appear in a West Virginia circuit court on behalf of the LLC. The general rule against non-lawyers practicing law in courts of record app…
Can a West Virginia county commission lease an apartment in a county-owned building to a private individual as a residence?
No. The AG concluded that county commissions have no statutory authority, express or implied, to lease real property to a private individual for private residential use. The two express leasing powers…
When SD's Department of Environment and Natural Resources sends its Geological Survey Program out to drill exploratory bore holes for groundwater and geological investigation, and the chosen location is inside the public right-of-way of a township road, county road, state highway, or federal road, does DENR need to get permission first from the adjacent private landowner or from the road's governing unit of government?
No. SDCL 1-1-10 gives the state geologist authority to enter private property to conduct statutorily-authorized surveys, and SDCL 45-2-4.2 authorizes the geological survey itself. Together those statu…
Does the Texas Comptroller's list of new court costs and fees include non-court fees like a county records-preservation fee?
No. The AG concluded that Government Code section 51.607(a) requires the Comptroller to identify only court-related costs and fees, the kind a court clerk collects from a party in a civil case or a de…
Can a former Arkansas public employee block release of her termination letter under FOIA, and can she get her own personnel and evaluation records from her former employer?
The AG could not review the release of the termination letter because the custodian had already disclosed it. The employee's request for her own records is allowed: under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(2), cur…
Did the Arkansas AG approve David Couch's May 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment to make the state 'wet'?
No. The AG rejected the third draft of Couch's statewide alcohol amendment because the text was still ambiguous on key points: whether the state would be permanently 'wet' or just 'wet as of effective…
Under Arkansas law, when can the $30 fee for a bounced check be collected, and does the right to that fee survive if the check is later paid when re-presented to the bank?
The holder of a bounced check has the right to demand the $30 collection fee as soon as the check is dishonored, but the drawer's obligation to pay only kicks in when they receive a written demand for…
Does Arkansas's concealed-carry ban on Highway Department grounds reach the private property next door to a Highway Department building?
No. A.C.A. § 5-73-306(3)(A) bans concealed carry in Highway Department buildings and on grounds adjacent to them, but only when the grounds are owned or controlled by the Department. Private property …
Can a Tennessee teacher who gets elected to the school board keep teaching for the same school system?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-203(a)(1)(D) bars a local school board member from holding any salaried position under that board. A teacher elected to her own school board must resign her teaching job bef…
Can a Virginia county create a countywide service district to raise tax money for its share of a regional jail's operating costs?
No. The opinion concluded that Prince Edward County could not create a county-wide service district under Va. Code §§ 15.2-2400 through 15.2-2413 just to raise revenue for its share of an existing reg…
Can one municipal board take over another board's duties without violating Florida's dual office-holding ban?
The AG advised that a town cannot simply appoint the members of its planning board to serve concurrently as the zoning board of adjustment, because holding both quasi-judicial offices at once would vi…
When an Arkansas city annexes land served by a subscription volunteer fire department, does the volunteer department automatically lose that territory?
No state law strips a subscription volunteer fire department of its membership in an annexed area automatically, but the annexing city has its own statutory duty to provide fire protection. The two ca…
Can a city in Arkansas leave one county judicial district and join the adjacent one, and is the state's wet/dry local option law constitutional?
Only the Arkansas General Assembly could move the City of Barling from Sebastian County's Greenwood District into its Fort Smith District, and the wet/dry local option statute (A.C.A. § 3-8-305) did n…
If an Arkansas city's elected recorder/treasurer is not keeping the books, can the city council hire someone else (or the former recorder) to do the work?
Yes. Under A.C.A. § 14-59-115, when a municipal recorder/treasurer is not complying with the Municipal Accounting Law, the city council may assign those accounting duties to another employee or contra…
Under Arkansas Act 1507 of 2013, can a school district let community groups use its property or millage revenue without violating Article 14 of the state constitution?
Act 1507 of 2013 did not give Arkansas school boards unlimited discretion to allow uncompensated community use of school property; the AG read the statute narrowly so it would conform to Article 14's …
Can the Texas Legislature pass laws that override or void existing HOA covenants?
Sometimes. The AG explained that property owners' association covenants are treated as contracts, so they are protected by the Contract Clauses of the Texas and U.S. Constitutions. That protection is …
Can a justice of the peace waive the 72-hour waiting period for a Texas marriage license?
Probably not. Texas Family Code section 2.204 makes a couple wait 72 hours after a marriage license is issued before the ceremony, but it lets certain judges grant a written waiver: a judge of a court…
Does Florida law require a local board to let the public speak before it votes on something?
The AG gave informal comments rather than a formal opinion, finding the statute clear on its face. Section 286.0114 requires that members of the public get a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a pr…
Are Tennessee's voluntary drug-free workplace drug-testing rules constitutional, and can Tennessee still test for marijuana even though other states have legalized it?
Yes. The drug-free workplace statutes are voluntary for employers, and they expressly limit testing to what state and federal constitutions permit. Whether they impose unfair penalties is a policy que…
Can Tennessee dentists give Botox and dermal-filler injections in the mouth and maxillofacial area without practicing medicine?
Yes. The 2003 amendments to Tennessee's Dental Practice Act broadened the definition of dentistry to cover diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area, and adjacent stru…
Can one person hold both the interim chief of police and the interim city administrator jobs in a Tennessee city at the same time?
Yes, as a matter of state law. Tennessee's constitutional ban on dual office holding applies only to state offices, and no general state statute prohibits the combination. But common-law incompatibili…
Can a Tennessee physician give spinal injections in an office or clinic that is not licensed as a health-care facility, without being board certified in pain management?
No. Tennessee restricts spinal injections in unlicensed settings (called 'interventional pain management') to physicians who meet one of five statutory requirements, most of which involve board certif…
If a West Virginia primary candidate filed a notarized statement of withdrawal after the legal deadline, must the votes for that candidate still be counted, and what happens if the withdrawn candidate wins?
Yes, the votes must be counted, and if the withdrawn candidate wins, he must be certified as the winner. The AG concluded that an untimely withdrawal under W. Va. Code § 3-5-11(a) must simply be disal…
Can a Minnesota legislator avoid arrest for DWI or other criminal conduct during a legislative session by invoking the 'privilege from arrest' clause in the state constitution?
No, in the AG's view. The constitutional 'privilege from arrest' in Minn. Const. art. IV, § 10 applies only to civil arrests, not to criminal arrests like DWI. The AG recommended the legislature enact…
Can Tennessee put cameras on school buses to ticket drivers who pass them while they are stopped?
Probably not in the form HB2196 proposed. The bill mailed citations to the registered owner and bundled them with driver-license points and $300 to $1,000 fines. That looks criminal rather than civil,…
Can the Texas Comptroller write rules to fill a gap in the Major Events Trust Fund law?
No, not a gap like this one. Senate Bill 1678 added a 'largest event' category to the Major Events Trust Fund, the once-a-year event at a Texas venue seating at least 125,000, but the Legislature neve…
Why did Arkansas AG reject the 2014 ballot title for a statewide alcohol amendment that would have ended county-by-county wet/dry elections?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed ballot title and popular name for the 2014 Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Amendment because the measure's own text did not say clearly that it amended the constit…
Can a Texas school district let a Guardian Plan employee carry a gun at school sporting events or board meetings?
Yes, as the AG read the statutes. Penal Code section 46.035 bars a concealed handgun license holder from carrying at a school sporting or interscholastic event or at a governmental meeting, but only w…
Can the Tennessee legislature pass a bill that lets only one nursing home in one county relocate beds without going through the normal certificate-of-need rules?
Yes, but only if a rational basis supports treating that nursing home differently. As-written, HB2342 applied only to Davidson County and effectively only one 400-bed nursing home with 45 years of ope…
Can a Tennessee city charge customers outside its city limits twice what it charges customers inside?
Possibly. The 2x out-of-city rate is presumed valid by itself. To challenge it, a customer outside the city would have to carry the heavy burden of showing the rate is not just and equitable. Out-of-s…
Is a farm building or farm sign exempt from the Florida Building Code, and does that cover a feed store?
The AG gave informal comments because the questions are mixed law and fact it cannot formally decide. Section 604.50 exempts nonresidential farm buildings, farm fences, and farm signs on bona fide agr…
Why did Arkansas AG reject the 2014 ballot title for the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Amendment proposed by Robert Reed?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the proposed ballot title for the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Amendment because the measure did not clearly declare itself a constitutional amendment and Section 2's grant o…
What kinds of entertainment projects can a Texas economic development corporation pay for?
It depends on whether the project is like the public facilities the statute lists. The AG explained that Local Government Code section 505.152 lets a Type A economic development corporation fund 'ente…
Can a Virginia county collect attorney fees from a property owner who paid off delinquent taxes before the property went to judicial sale, if no court order set the fees?
No. The judicial-sale collection statutes (Va. Code §§ 58.1-3965 and 58.1-3974) only allow recovery of attorney's fees that are 'set by the court.' If the suit was dismissed without an order setting t…
Did the amended version of HB1687 fix the First Amendment problems that the AG flagged in the original anti-corporate-campaign bill?
Mostly. By dropping labor-specific language and applying the extortion offense to 'any entity,' the amended HB1687 was no longer a content-based speech restriction. But it remained at risk of federal …
Are the EPA-pattern guarantee and surety-bond forms that Connecticut underground storage tank owners use to prove financial responsibility legally enforceable contracts in Connecticut?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded that the forms in R.C.S.A. §§ 22a-449(d)-109(g) (guarantee) and 22a-449(d)-109(i) (surety bond) were valid and enforceable in Connecticut, provided the contract …
Did DC voters legally win budget autonomy through the 2012 Charter amendment, or does Congress still have to appropriate the District's local funds before the Mayor can spend them?
AG Irvin Nathan concluded that the Local Budget Autonomy Act of 2012 was a nullity. The Council and DC voters used the Charter amendment process under § 303 of the Home Rule Act to try to remove DC lo…
Would Tennessee's proposed HB1687 changes to bribery, extortion, riot, and trespass laws survive constitutional challenge?
The Tennessee AG concluded that HB1687's extortion provision was vulnerable as a content-based speech restriction and could be preempted by federal law. A later official opinion says the bill's briber…
Can a Tennessee county tack a $1 surcharge onto every ticket sold at the county fairgrounds to fund a new exposition center?
No, not by ordinance. Such a surcharge is a tax, not a fee, and it conflicts with the state amusement-tax law. The General Assembly could authorize it by private act, but only if a rational basis exis…
When does a Texas water authority need county approval to buy groundwater?
Only when it is buying the right to pump, not when it is just buying water. Senate Bill 281 lets the Red River Authority purchase 'groundwater rights' in a county that has no groundwater conservation …
When does Arkansas FOIA require disclosure of a school employee's settlement agreement, and what redactions are allowed?
The custodian could not redact a settlement-agreement paragraph using the personnel-records exception because the public's interest in seeing the terms of a public-entity settlement (A.C.A. § 25-18-40…
Can an Arkansas regional public water authority shut off water service to a city customer for unpaid bills?
The AG declined to issue a substantive opinion. Whether the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority can cut off Marshall's water service for nonpayment turns on the parties' wholesale water con…
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