Requests for Opinions
RQ-0610-KP
Requestor:
The Honorable Gary D. Trammel
Stephens County Attorney
200 West Walker, Room 206
Breckenridge, Texas 76424
Re: Miscellaneous questions regarding commissioners court authority over employees of local elected officials (RQ-0610-KP)
Briefs requested by September 29, 2025
RQ-0611-KP
Requestor:
The Honorable Brooks Landgraf
Chair, House Committee on Environmental Regulation
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Re: Purchase or acquisition of an interest in real property by certain aliens or foreign entities under SB 17 (89R) (RQ-0611-KP)
Briefs requested by September 29, 2025
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202503132
Justin Gordon
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: September 2, 2025
Opinions
Opinion No. KP-0496
The Honorable Josh Tetens
McLennan County District Attorney
219 North 6th Street, Suite 200
Waco, Texas 76701
Re: Use of funds collected under Local Government Code section 118.0216 (RQ-0549-KP)
S U M M A R Y
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.
Opinion No. KP-0497
The Honorable Keith L. Cook
Leon County Attorney
Post Office Box 429
Centerville, Texas 75833
Re: 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)
S U M M A R Y
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.
Opinion No. KP-0498
The Honorable Donna Campbell, M.D.
Chair, Senate Committee on Nominations
Texas State Senate
Post Office Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711-2068
Re: Zoning procedures, notification requirements, and eligibility for protests under Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code (RQ-0577-KP)
S U M M A R Y
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.
For further information, please access the website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-202503135
Justin Gordon
General Counsel
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: September 2, 2025