Legislative Services

TAC has highlighted recent Attorney General Opinions and Requests for Opinions of interest to counties. Summaries below are republished directly from opinion letters issued by the Office of the Attorney General without substantive editing.

Attorney General Opinions

KP-0496: Questions the permissible use of a records management and preservation fee collected by a county clerk under section 118.0216 of the Local Government Code (RQ-0549-KP). The opinion provides the records management and preservation fee collected by a county clerk pursuant to Local Government Code subsection 118.011(b)(2) may be used only for documents filed and recorded with the county clerk, in accordance with subsection 118.0216(a). This would not, however, prevent the county clerk’s office from contributing a pro rata share of those fees to a joint records management and preservation project with the district clerk’s office.

KP-0497: Questions the authority of the Health and Human Services Commission to regulate and license providers of Individualized Skills and Socialization services under chapter 103 of the Human Resources Code or other law (RQ-0555-KP). The opinion provides chapter 103 of the Texas Human Resources Code allows the Health and Human Services Commission to regulate on-site and off-site Individualized Skills and Socialization (ISS) providers already licensed as Day Activity and Health Services (DAHS) facilities. As such, the Commission does not exceed its rulemaking authority by establishing licensing procedures, standards, and other requirements for the ISS providers already licensed as DAHS facilities — so long as the rules are consistent with Chapter 103.  For violations where subsections 103.012(b) and 103.013(c) of the Human Resources Code are triggered, any rule imposing administrative penalties against licensed on- and off-site ISS providers in excess of the monetary amounts outlined in these subsections would exceed the Commission’s authority under Chapter 103.

KP-0498: Questions zoning procedures, notification requirements, and eligibility for protests under Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code (RQ-0577-KP). The opinions provides the owner of real property within 200 feet of a proposed change in zoning classification is entitled to written notice of a hearing before the zoning commission if the owner is indicated as such on the most recently approved municipal tax roll. The plain text of the Local Government Code does not require that an owner be listed on the most recently approved municipal tax roll to count toward the protest calculation regarding a proposed classification change before the governing body. Other than use of the municipal tax roll to identify an owner entitled to written notice of a hearing before the zoning commission, Local Government Code subsections 211.006(d) and 211.007(c) neither direct nor prohibit the use of external records or a specific method or course of action to verify an owner.

KP-0499: Questions the scope of county authority and liability involving utility cables buried along rights-of way (RQ-0573-KP). The opinion finds, while Chapter 181 of the Texas Utilities Code authorizes counties to supervise the installation or designate the appropriate location of certain utility facilities in the rights-of-way for public roads, this chapter does not authorize a county to impose permitting or minimum-depth requirements on a telephone or telegraph corporation that buries cable in a county road right-of-way. A county would not be liable for the costs to repair and rebury a telephone or telegraph corporation’s cable, under the Texas Tort Claims Act, unless property damage is proximately caused by the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of a county employee and it arises from the operation or use of motor-driven vehicles or equipment. That determination, however, is a fact question beyond the scope of this opinion.

KP-0500: Questions the interpretation of the recusal standard under Texas Government Code § 572.058(a) (RQ-0575-KP). The opinion states under Government Code section 572.058, an elected or appointed official must recuse themselves from a vote or decision in which they have a personal or private interest originating from a familial relationship that has the potential to influence the public official in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities. Thus, a Nueces River Authority board member whose brother-in-law is an executive staff member of the water supply entity for the City of Corpus Christi should recuse themselves from a vote and otherwise refrain from participating in a decision about Authority business regarding water supply activities that have common or competing interests with the City of Corpus Christi.

Requests for an Attorney General Opinion

RQ-0609-KP: House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock. Asks several questions relating to municipal authority over certain firefighter positions under the Texas Local Government Code.

RQ-0610-KP: Stephens County Attorney. Asks a number of questions relating to the authority of the commissioners court over the employees of elected officials and the creation of employee pools.

RQ-0611-KP: House Committee on Environmental Regulation. Questions the application of SB 17 concerning the purchase or acquisition of an interest in real property by certain aliens or foreign entities and applicability to a certain private business.

RQ-0612-KP: Senate Committee on Nominations. Questions the scope and permissible application of the disaster related voter approval rate exemption under Texas Tax Code § 26.042.

RQ-0613-KP: Hill County Attorney. Asks whether a Type A general law city may accept a donation of property, including money, for municipal purposes.

RQ-0614-KP: Harris County District Attorney. Asks questions relating to the scope of the definition of a “law enforcement agency” under Senate Bill 571.

RQ-0615-KP: House Committee on Land and Resource Management. Questions the applicability of state vaccination exemption laws to private schools that accept certain state funds.

RQ-0616-KP: Cameron County District Attorney. Questions the appropriate method to amend a declaration of informal marriage.

RQ-0617-KP: Bexar County Criminal District Attorney. Questions the applicability of HB 4490 to the confidentiality of next of kin information under Article 49.25 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.