Dear Executive Secretary-Treasurer McEnany, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion asking, in effect, the following question: Pursuant to 59 O.S. Supp. 1996, § 396.3 (A) and (B), and the Oklahoma State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors Rule OAC 235:10-3-1 , must an individual with an associate degree in mortuary science from an institution accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education have an additional sixty (60) hours of education prior to...
Dear Secretary Cole ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion asking, in effect, the following questions: 1. Do individuals serving a sentence of imprisonment have the capacity to execute documents necessary to organize a business entity 2. Are individuals serving a sentence of imprisonment prohibited from holding the office of notary public I. SUSPENSION OF CIVIL RIGHTS DURING IMPRISONMENT ¶ 1 Those who are serving a sentence of imprisonment lack the capacity to...
Dear Charirman Appel, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion addressing, in effect, the following questions: Does Article IX , § 28 of the Oklahoma Constitution authorize an individual commissioner of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to unilaterally inspect and examine a public utility without first obtaining the concurrence of a majority of the Commission pursuant to Article IX , § 18a(B) of the Oklahoma Constitution I. ¶ 1 Generally, everyone...
Dear Administrator Jackson, ¶ 0 This office has received your letter requesting an official Opinion addressing, in effect, the following questions: 1. Are individual State agencies employers for the purposes of 40 O.S. Supp. 1997, § 61[ 40-61 ] which, under some circumstances, permits employers to release information about an employee's job performance to prospective employers 2. If State agencies do enjoy the protections of 40 O.S. Supp. 1997, § 61[ 40-61 ], what employee job performance...
Dear Representatives Hefner ¶ 0 This office has received your recent request for an official Opinion asking, in effect, the following questions: 1. Are the residents of an Oklahoma municipality prohibited from using propane in lieu of natural gas for their individual energy needs when the municipality owns and operates a natural gas distribution system for the benefit of its residents, and when the municipality purchases all gas used in the system from a natural gas public utility pursuant to a...
Dear President Satterfield, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion asking, in effect, the following question: May the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority provide college scholarships ¶ 1 The Oklahoma Student Loan Act at 70 Ohio St. 1991 and Supp. 1996, §§ 695.1-695.21, adopted in 1972, is the enabling legislation for the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority ("the Authority"). The Authority is a trust agency charged with providing guaranteed student loan funds...
Dear Representative Adkins, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an Attorney General Opinion. You asked, in effect, the following question: Do the leave sharing provisions found in 70 O.S. Supp. 1996, § 6-104.6[ 70-6-104.6 ] allow a school district to operate a "leave bank" in which all donated leave is placed into a common fund ¶ 1 In order to answer the question is it important to examine the language in Section 6-104.6 which states in pertinent part: A. The board of education of...
Dear Representative Gray ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General's Opinion in which you asked, in effect, the following questions: 1. Based upon Section 328.49 of Title 59, is it unlawful for dental assistants to perform the duties and services of a dental hygienist as provided in 59 Ohio St. 1991 , § 328.34[ 59-328.34 ] and OAC 195:15-1-3 (b)(1)-(3) 2. Are the rules of the Board of Governors of Registered Dentists 1 for the education and training of dental...
Dear District Attorney Sullivan, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion addressing the following question: When a county assessor has not increased the valuation of a parcel of real property over the assessment from the preceding year, and no protest has been filed, does the county board of equalization have the authority to raise the valuation of the real property ¶ 1 Assessment of property for purposes of ad valorem taxation begins with the county assessor ("the...
Dear Executive Director Hare, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: In calculating how much of each wager is to be retained to pay purses for participating horses when a licensed racetrack (also called an organization licensee), pursuant to the provisions of 3A O.S. Supp. 1996, § 205.6a[ 3A-205.6a ] and other applicable statutes, receives a simulcast race from another racetrack and transmits that simulcast...
Dear Representative Askins, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an Opinion in which you asked, in effect, the following question: Can a school district reimburse an individual school board member for legal expenses incurred in defending criminal charges brought against the member for alleged violation of State law during the performance of official duties if the charges are dismissed without prejudice prior to trial ¶ 1 The gist of the question is whether school board members are...
Dear Examiners Hand ¶ 0 This office has received the request of your predecessor, Arlene B. Schaefer, Ph.D., for an official Opinion in which she asked, in effect, the following question: The Psychologists Licensing Act (the "Act") is set forth at 59 O.S. 1991 and Supp. 1996, §§ 1351-1376. Does the exemption from the Act at 59 O.S. Supp. 1996, § 1353 (3) apply to persons employed by private agencies which contract with a State agency to provide services of a psychological nature ¶ 1 You have...
Dear Director Breedlove, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an Attorney General Opinion in which you ask, in effect, the following question: Pursuant to 21 O.S. Supp. 1997, § 142.13 (G), does the Oklahoma Crime Victims Compensation Board have the authority to pay for immediate crisis counseling for families of homicide victims in situations where the crime occurred prior to the effective date of the statute but the counseling occurred after the effective date of the statute ¶ 1 The...
Dear Chair Hagerstrand, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion addressing, in effect, the following question: What is the meaning of the term "Capitol Complex," for purposes of 73 O.S. Supp. 1997, §§ 98[ 73-98 ] through 98.3 and what, for purposes of this statute, is its geographic boundary ¶ 1 The Oklahoma Capitol Complex Centennial Commission ("the OCCCC") is a statutorily created State entity charged with the preparation and implementation of capital improvements...
Dear President Taylor, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official opinion in which you asked, in effect, the following question: In light of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, do Sections 841 and 842 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes prohibit an out-of-state business from advertising tattooing services within Oklahoma if the services are to be performed in a jurisdiction where tattooing is legal ¶ 1 Oklahoma has certain prohibitions relating to tattooing...
Dear Fire Marshal Wilson ¶ 0 This office has received your office's request for an Opinion asking, in effect, the following question: Are the provisions of 74 Ohio St. 1991 , § 324.4[ 74-324.4 ], which mandate that the State Fire Marshal retire by age sixty-five (65), and which further mandate that no applicant for the position of State Fire Marshal can exceed the age of fifty-five (55), contrary to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 - 634 ¶ 1 The statute which...
Dear Representative Weese, ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Attorney General Opinion in which you asked the following questions: 1. Is a State educational institution eligible to be licensed by the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety for the purpose of operating a commercial driver training school 2. Is a State educational institution exempt from the commercial driver training school licensure requirements ¶ 1 Commercial driver training schools are licensed by the...
Dear Director DeWade Langley, ¶ 0 We have received your request for an official Opinion of the Attorney General in which you asked, in effect, the following question: Are documents comprising a background investigation performed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation ("the OSBI") for the Judicial Nominating Commission public records which must be disclosed to the subject of the investigation upon request AUTHORITY OF THE JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION ¶ 1 The Oklahoma Constitution...
Dear Senator Long ¶ 0 This office has received your request for an official Opinion in which you asked the following questions: The Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor is required, pursuant to 40 Ohio St. 1991 , § 197.6[ 40-197.6 ], to prescribe and furnish a notice of pertinent minimum wage provisions to be posted by every employer subject to the Oklahoma Minimum Wage Act. 1. Under the Minimum Wage Act, may the Commissioner of Labor include information which is not pertinent to the Act in that...
Dear Representative Ostrander, ¶ 0 This office has received your letter requesting an official Opinion addressing, in effect, the following question: Do "shift exchange" or "duty exchange" arrangements entered into between a municipality and its firefighters and/or law enforcement officers constitute a loan of credit in violation of Article X , § 17 of the Oklahoma Constitution ¶ 1 The term "shift exchange" or "duty exchange" is used primarily in the public safety sector of government. This...
