Dear Speaker, Larry E. Adair, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does Oklahoma law consider marriage to be between one woman and one man 2. Is Oklahoma required to recognize as valid and binding a marriage performed in another state which is not between one woman and one man I. Introduction ¶ 1 Your questions relate to Oklahoma law regarding marriage. While marriage has long been...
Dear Representative Morgan ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. May a public trust, formed under the provisions of Sections 176-180.4 of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes, hold title to real property for purposes of having improvements constructed upon the real property using Rural Economic Action Plan ("REAP") grant funds obtained for the benefit of a city or town pursuant to Sections 2006...
Dear Director Ward, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: May the Director of the Department of Corrections establish a policy that prohibits a person possessing a valid Self Defense Act license from storing firearms in a locked vehicle in a parking area on prison property where prisoners are located I. The Possession Of Firearms Where Prisoners Are Located ¶ 1 Title 57 Ohio St. 2001 , § 21[ 57-21...
Dear Executive Director Ed Hendrix, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators have the authority to limit the number of nursing facilities served by an administrator 2. Does the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators have the authority to grant a waiver of the restriction of one administrator per...
Dear Representative Tyler ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does the State Purchasing Director have authority to negotiate on behalf of all state agencies a mandatory single-vendor contract for personal computers (for one or multiple years) in lieu of normal bidding procedures 2. Does 74 Ohio St. 2001 , § 85.9D[ 74-85.9D ] provide the State Purchasing Director authority to negotiate on...
Dear Representative Covey, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. May a municipality or a municipal utility authority legally subsidize a privately owned ambulance service 2. May a municipality or a municipal utility authority impose a monthly fee on a utility customer's bill to subsidize a privately owned ambulance service ¶ 1 You ask whether a municipality or a municipal utility authority...
Dear Senate Williamson, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: In light of the Oklahoma Constitution's Separation of Powers provision at Article IV, Section 1, can the Governor compact with Indian tribes or other governmental entities and in doing so bind the State, without the approval of each compact by the Legislature I. Introduction ¶ 1 The question you pose requires an analysis of the powers...
Dear Secretary Scott, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: Do the conditions or requirements of House Bill 2542 (which require the Commissioners of the Land Office, in making decisions on investment of permanent school funds in property related to Texoma State Park and Lake Texoma Lodge, to consult with existing concessionaires in and around the park, and give such concessionaires opportunities to...
Dear Superintendent Garrett, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Are public schools in this state prohibited from adopting policies or rules that provide for student suspension from school for the possession of a firearm in the student's vehicle on school property See H.B. 2122, 2004 Okla. Sess. Laws ch. 39 (codified at 21 O.S. Supp. 2004, §§ 1289.7a , 1290.22). 2. Are public schools...
Dear Director Ward ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: Are physicians who provide medical care to inmates pursuant to a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections considered "State employees" as defined under Section 152 of the Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act, 51 Ohio St. 2001 Supp. 2003, §§ 151-172, and are they, therefore, entitled to the same immunity as other State employees...
Dear Commissioner of Health and State Health Officer, Michael Crutcher, M.D., M.P.H. ¶ 0 This office has received a request from your predecessor, Dr. Leslie Beitsch, for an official Attorney General Opinion in which he asked, in effect, the following questions: 1. Must the Oklahoma State Department of Health comply with a request from same-gender adoptive parents to produce an Oklahoma supplementary birth certificate pursuant to an out-of-state adoption decree 2. If the answer is yes, are...
Dear Senator Johnson, ¶ 0 This office has received your requests for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does 59 O.S. Supp. 2004, § 567.5 (A)(2) allow the State Board of Nursing to permit an applicant to take the licensing examination, and if applicable requirements are met, to issue a license to an applicant who has received a deferred sentence on a plea of guilty 2. Does the mandate of 59 O.S. Supp. 2004, § 567.5 (A)(2) that five...
Dear Senator Riley, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: May a county lawfully enter into an agreement for a private company to build, operate and maintain a private toll bridge on land acquired by or on behalf of the county, where the bridge will be connected with nearby public roads and the company will pay to the county a portion of the tolls collected Background ¶ 1 A county in your Senate...
Dear Senator Rabon, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act, 22 O.S. 2001 Supp. 2003, §§ 988.1-990a-1.1, authorize the Department of Corrections to establish and subsequently modify the funding formulas for disbursing State funds to local community sentencing systems 2. If the Department of Corrections has the authority to set funding formulas, must the...
Dear Executive Director DeLaughter, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does the statutory mandate for the Office of Juvenile Affairs ("OJA") to use existing community at-risk service providers in the newly-implemented Medicaid organized health care delivery system mean the providers in the new delivery system are limited to the actual service providers being used by OJA on the effective date...
Dear Sequoyah County District Attorney Gray, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an Attorney General's Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: May a district attorney's offices be placed in an area of the courthouse the construction of which was financed with proceeds of a county sales tax specifying that the tax was for a county jail facility Background ¶ 1 Sequoyah County voters approved a county sales tax measure for the construction, operation and maintenance...
Dear President Taylor ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask the following question: Does 21 Ohio St. 2001 , § 1272.1 , prohibit peace officers and all private investigators from carrying a firearm into establishments where low-point beer and alcoholic beverages are consumed, except in the scope and course of employment ¶ 1 Title 21 Ohio St. 2001 , § 1272.1[ 21-1272.1 ] provides: A. It shall be unlawful for any person to carry or...
Dear Administrator Rhoades, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: The Child Death Review Board Act, 10 Ohio St. 2001 , §§ 1150-1150.4, 1 requires the Child Death Review Board to review the deaths and near deaths of children, which at times requires the use of medical records. Does the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 permit health care providers to disclose such...
Dear Chairwoman Patricia Linville ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: Does 59 Ohio St. 2001 , § 1458[ 59-1458 ] of the Polygraph Examiners Act, which requires applicants to be United States citizens before granting internship or licensure, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ¶ 1 Title 59, Section 1458(A) of the Polygraph...
Dear Senator, Mark Snyder, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following questions: 1. Does 59 Ohio St. 2001 , § 581[ 59-581 ] authorize licensed optometrists to perform any surgeries other than laser surgeries (excluding retina surgery, laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery and cosmetic lid surgery) 2. Does Section 581 authorize the Board of Examiners in Optometry ("Board") to determine that licensed...
