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Opinions
As chief law officer of the state, the Ohio Attorney General provides written opinions on legal questions at the request of designated public officials on issues arising in the course of their duties. The Attorney General’s Office does not prepare opinions for private citizens. The Opinions Section researches, writes, and prepares for issuance and publication all formal opinions of the Attorney General. For more details about the formal opinions process, please visit the Opinions FAQs.
Opinions prior to 1993 can be found under the Opinions Archive.
The Opinions Section also maintains a listing of previous AG Opinions that have been subsequently overruled.
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Requested by: Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney
The additional salary increase for county officials in 2025 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 96 takes effect on September 30, 2025, which is after the start of county treasurers’ current term of office. Pursuant to Ohio Constitution Article II, Section 20, prohibiting in-term compensation increases, the county treasurers’ salary may only increase at the current annual rate until another term commences.
Requested by: Stark County Prosecuting Attorney
A non-home-rule township lacks authority to directly enter into a memorandum of understanding with a chartered nonpublic school to provide school resource officer services to the school.
Requested by: Paulding County Prosecuting Attorney
The total amount to be paid by the Paulding County Municipal Clerk to the county law library resources fund cannot exceed $4,000 under R.C. 307.515(A) in any one calendar year from fines, penalties and forfeited bail, and $1,200 for violations of R.C. Chapters 4301 and 4303. There is no cap on the amount of monthly deposits to be made for violations of state traffic laws under R.C. 307.515(D). The treasurer of Paulding County or the treasurer of the municipal corporation collecting monies is required to make the required monthly deposit into the Paulding County legal resource fund. (2014 Ohio Atty.Gen.Ops. No. 2014-040, followed.)
Requested by: Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor has all the duties and responsibilities to the County of Cuyahoga that are assigned by R.C. 305.14, 309.08, and 309.09. These duties and responsibilities were not allocated to the county law director through the County Charter. Because these duties and responsibilities require the exercise of judgment and discretion, they may not be delegated by agreement. (2011 Ohio Atty.Gen.Ops. No. 2011-013, followed.)
Requested by: Butler County Prosecuting Attorney
The board of county commissioners may enter an agreement with federal immigration authorities, on behalf of the sheriff, to detain aliens subject to removal from the United States in the county jail. If a contract with federal immigration authorities is in place, the 48-hour limit on detention on the basis of a detainer does not apply. The terms of the contract would determine whether the sheriff or deputy sheriffs may transport such aliens in custody.