ATTORNEY GENERAL
Under provisions set out in the Texas Constitution, the Texas Government Code, 
Title 4,  402.042 and numerous statutes, the attorney general is authorized to 
write advisory opinions for state and local officials. These advisory opinions 
are requested by agencies or officials when they are confronted with unique or 
unusually difficult legal questions. The attorney general also determines, under 
authority of the Texas Open Records Act, whether information requested for 
release from governmental agencies may be held from public disclosure. Requests 
for opinions, opinions, and open record decisions are summarized for publication 
in the Texas Register. The Attorney General responds to many requests for 
opinions and open records decisions with letter opinions. A letter opinion has 
the same force and effect as a formal Attorney General Opinion, and represents 
the opinion of the Attorney General unless and until it is modified or overruled 
by a subsequent letter opinion, a formal Attorney General Opinion, or a decision 
of a court of record. To request copies of opinions, phone (512) 462-0011. To 
inquire about pending requests for opinions, phone (512) 463-2110.

Letter Opinions

LO 97-087 (ID #39510). The Honorable John
 Whitmire, Chair, Criminal Justice Committee, Texas State Senate, P.O. Box
 12068, Austin, Texas 78711-2068, regarding validity of policies of the Houston
 Independent School District pertaining to employee reports.


SUMMARY. Guidelines on employee whistleblowing
 reports recently adopted by the Houston Independent School District are not
 facially unconstitutional. H1owever, given the possibility of liability for
 an unconstitutional application of them, care must be taken in the application
 of such guidelines as these that sanctions be administered only when workplace
 efficiency, morale, and discipline are genuinely affected by employee speech.

LO 97-088 (RQ-617). Dr. William R. Archer,
 III, Interim Commissioner, Texas Department of Health, 1100 West 49th Street,
 Austin, Texas 78756-3199, regarding whether a licensed nursing facility 
providing
 rehabilitation services under Medicaid must also be licensed as a hospital
 under chapter 241 of the Health and Safety Code.


SUMMARY. Subchapter F of chapter 241 of the
 Health and Safety Code, does not apply to a licensed nursing home that provides
 rehabilitation services under the laws and regulations governing the Medicaid
 program that are not more intensive than nursing facility care and minor
 treatment. The Department of Health is not required to license such nursing
 facilities as comprehensive medical rehabilitation hospitals pursuant to
 subchapter F. However, if a nursing home exceeds its authority to provide
 "nursing facility care and minor treatment" pursuant to a nursing facility
 license and if it is providing the level of care described in subchapter
 F of chapter 241 of the Health and Safety Code, it is required to hold a
 hospital license.


LO 97-089 (RQ-681). The Honorable Tom O'Connell,
 Criminal District Attorney, Collin County Courthouse, McKinney, Texas 75069,
 regarding whether the Commissioners Court of Collin County may enter into
 a contract with a private party for the collection of bond forfeiture 
judgments.

SUMMARY. The authority of the Collin County
 Criminal District Attorney in bail bond forfeiture matters may not be 
contracted
 away by the Collin County Commissioners Court.


L0 97-090 (ID #39536). The Honorable Michael
 J. Guarino, Criminal District Attorney, Galveston County Courthouse, 722
 Moody, Suite 300, Galveston, Texas 77550, regarding whether Government Code
 section 76.006 requires the Galveston County Community Supervision and 
Corrections
 Department to establish a voluntary exit incentive program for its employees.

SUMMARY. Government Code section 76.006 does
 not require the Galveston County Community Supervision and Corrections 
Department
 to establish a voluntary exit incentive program for its employees equal to
 the voluntary exit incentive program established by the Galveston County
 Commissioners
 Court for certain county employees.


LO 97-091 (ID #39656). The Honorable Michael
 A. Sheppard, District Attorney, 24th Judicial District, 307 North Gonzales,
 Cuero, Texas 77954, regarding whether Code of Criminal Procedure article
 59.06 authorizes a district attorney and sheriff's department to agree to
 dispose of forfeited automobiles by sheriff's auction or whether such property
 must be disposed as surplus county property pursuant to Local Government
 Code section 263.152.


SUMMARY. Code of Criminal Procedure article
 59.06 authorizes a district attorney and sheriff's department to agree to
 dispose of forfeited automobiles that have not been transferred to the 
sheriff's
 department for official use as provided by article 59.06(b) by sheriff's
auction.


LO 97-092 (ID# 39589). The Honorable Tom
 Haywood, Chair, Agriculture Committee, Texas State Senate, P.O. Box 12068,
 Austin, Texas 78711, regarding whether a county judge must resign his or
 her office in order to run for state representative.


SUMMARY. If a county judge announces his
 or her candidacy for the legislature or becomes a candidate when more than
 one year remains of the term of office, he or she will automatically resign
 as county judge pursuant to article XVI, section 65. Article III, section
 19 of the Texas Constitution, as interpreted in Wentworth v. Meyer, 839 S.W.2d
 766 (Tex. 1992), does not disqualify a county judge from running for the
 legislature even though the term as county judge overlaps the legislative
 term, if the county judge resigns from that office before filing for the
 legislature.


TRD-9714095