Legislative Services

Attorney General Opinions

KP-0477: Asks whether an electronic notice captured by a QR code on a traffic violation card satisfies the notice requirements of Transportation Code sections 543.003 and 543.004 (RQ-0552-KP). The opinion provides a court could conclude that providing an alleged violator with a card containing the time of appearance, place of appearance and citation number along with a QR code, which serves as an electronic link to access the complete citation for certain misdemeanor traffic violations, satisfies the requirements of Transportation Code sections 543.003 and 543.004 as well as related provisions.

KP-0478: Questions the applicability of article 39.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to third-party records in the possession of the local juvenile justice agency and used in support of its social history report to the juvenile court (RQ-0532-KP). The opinion finds at a disposition hearing conducted under Family Code section 54.04, a juvenile court may consider a social history report prepared by a juvenile probation officer. A local juvenile probation department is not “the state” for purposes of Code of Criminal Procedure article 39.14 and not subject to disclosure duties on that basis. Code of Criminal Procedure article 2A.209 does not require a local juvenile probation department to disclose documents used to prepare social history reports to the prosecution. Determining whether such documents must be disclosed under Brady v. Maryland is a fact-specific inquiry that cannot be addressed in an Attorney General opinion. Family Code subsection 54.04(b) requires that a child’s attorney be given access to documents appended to a social history report. Subsection 54.04(b) does not apply to documents that are not considered by a juvenile court at the disposition hearing. A child’s attorney may subpoena confidential or privileged documents used to prepare a social history report pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure article 24.02. Such documents are subject to mandatory in-camera review before disclosure if favorable to the child and otherwise to permissive in-camera review in relation to deciding a motion to quash.

KP-0479: Authority of a sheriff to contract with other local governments and private entities for the off-duty work of sheriff deputies in certain circumstances (RQ-0538-KP). The opinion holds only the commissioners court may generally contract for the authorized provision of law enforcement services involving county business.  Texas law recognizes the practice of law enforcement officers providing private-security services, outside of that provided to a county, for direct compensation. The status of a school district as a political subdivision does not affect its statutory authority to directly contract for private security services by a law enforcement officer. No statute conditions the provision of private-security services on the presence of a mass gathering of people.

Requests for an Attorney General Opinion

RQ-0574-KP: House Committee on Insurance. Asks whether a physician practice is required to register as a “Business Support Organization” under Chapter 74 of the Business and Commerce Code.

RQ-0575-KP: Nueces River Authority. Questions the interpretation of the recusal standard under Texas Government Code § 572.058(a).

RQ-0576-KP: Texas State Library Archives Commission. Asks whether juvenile criminal case records constitute permanent records under Chapter 58 of the Family Code.

KP-0577-KP: Senator Donna Campbell. Asks for clarifications of Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code related to zoning procedures, notification requirements and eligibility for protests.