RQ-0606-GA
Requestor:
The Honorable R. Kelton Conner
Hood County Attorney
1200 West Pearl Street
Granbury, Texas 76048
Re: County responsibility for subdivision roads (RQ-0606-GA)
Briefs requested by August 31, 2007
RQ-0607-GA
Requestor:
The Honorable Jana Duty
Williamson County Attorney
405 M.L.K. Street, Box 7
Georgetown, Texas 78626
Re: Authority of a county judge or county commissioner to hire outside legal counsel without the consent of the elected county or district attorney: Reconsideration of Attorney General Opinions GA-0545 (2007) and GA-0153 (2004) (RQ-0607-GA)
Briefs requested by August 31, 2007
For further information, please access the website at www.oag.state.tx.us or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-200703349
Stacey Napier
Deputy Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: August 1, 2007
Opinion No. GA-0556
The Honorable Fred Hill
Chair, Committee on Local Government Ways and Means
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Re: Whether communications about legal matters between a tax appraisal review board and in-house counsel to a tax appraisal district violate section 41.66 or 6.411 of the Tax Code (RQ-0564-GA)
S U M M A R Y
Legal communications relating to tax protest matters between a tax appraisal district's in-house counsel, who also serves as counsel to the tax appraisal review board for that district, and the review board outside a public hearing would violate Tax Code section 41.66(f), which generally prohibits a review board's ex parte communications relating to property tax protest matters. Section 6.411, which makes ex parte communications between a review board and a district employee a misdemeanor, does not, however, apply to such communications.
Opinion No. GA-0557
The Honorable Craig Watkins
Dallas County Criminal District Attorney
Frank Crowley Courts Building
133 North Industrial Boulevard, LB 19
Dallas, Texas 75207-4313
Re: Whether, under particular circumstances, a former district judge may be employed in the same county in which she sat as a judge (RQ-0565-GA)
S U M M A R Y
The employment of a former district judge as an assistant district attorney, under the particular circumstances, does not violate constitutional and statutory provisions pertaining to dual office holding or conflicts of interest.
The professional conduct of attorneys is governed by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Such rules include prohibitions against appearances of impropriety and conflicts of interest, but violations thereof are to be determined, in the first instance, by the attorney and the disciplinary arm of the Supreme Court of Texas and the State Bar of Texas. Morever, questions about violations of the rules of professional conduct cannot be answered in an attorney general opinion because they involve considerations of fact.
Opinion No. GA-0558
The Honorable Jose R. Rodriguez
El Paso County Attorney
500 East San Antonio, Room 503
El Paso, Texas 79901
Re: Whether a home-rule municipality may lease or sell a portion of an existing city park to a school district (RQ-0566-GA)
S U M M A R Y
A home-rule municipality may lease parkland to an independent school district if the lease will serve a public purpose of the municipality in compliance with Local Government Code section 272.005. If the lease requires the use or taking of parkland, the municipality must hold a hearing and make the determinations required by Texas Parks and Wildlife Code chapter 26. With respect to a lease of public land, Local Government Code section 272.005(b)(3) abrogates the requirement in Parks and Wildlife Code chapter 26 that the municipality notify the public of the school district's proposed use or taking of parkland by publishing notice in a qualifying newspaper of general circulation.
A school district may not enter a lease that commits future revenues, but a school district may enter a long-term lease that allows the school district's board of trustees to terminate the lease at the end of each budget period or is conditioned on the school board's best efforts to obtain and appropriate sufficient funds for the contract, or both. The school district may construct a school and related facilities on the leased property.
A home-rule municipality may sell parkland to an independent school district for no less than fair market value. The municipality must comply with Parks and Wildlife Code chapter 26, including its notice and publication requirements, if the sale requires the use or taking of parkland.
For further information, please access the website at www.oag.state.tx.us or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.
TRD-200703347
Stacey Napier
Deputy Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Filed: August 1, 2007