Back to main opinions page...

2023 Official Opinions

Official opinions will be posted as they are issued, generally within 24 to 48 hours. Please check this page at regular intervals to determine whether additional opinions have been issued.

December

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-058	The Honorable Wren M. Williams, Member, House of Delegates	When a customer places a bet related to individual athletes’ performance metrics, the outcome of which is determined by reference to a contest operator’s established baseline rather than choices made by other customers, the customer is engaged in sports betting and not a fantasy contest.

23-039	The Honorable A.C. Cordoza, Member, House of Delegates	Code § 38.2-3407.14:1 prohibits an insurance carrier that provides coverage for cancer therapy from denying a patient coverage for proton radiation therapy when the coverage determination is based on the carrier’s application of a higher standard of clinical evidence to such treatment than it uses for treatments it otherwise approves.

23-001	Cameron S. Bell, Esq., Abingdon Town Attorney	Inquiries regarding the tax situs of certain vehicles that are regularly, but not exclusively, stored in the Town of Abingdon.

23-061	The Honorable Scott Wyatt, Member, House of Delegates	An individual appointed pursuant to § 24.2-228 to fill a vacancy on a local governing body or elected school board may remain an interim appointment after expiration of the term only until a successor appointee is appointed by the appropriate body for the new term of office; it is this person who shall remain in office until an ultimate successor is qualified under a special election pursuant to § 24.2-682.

23-048	Mr. Dustin Curtis, Chairman, Spotsylvania County Electoral Board	Signatures collected on January 1 do not count towards the minimum number of signatures required to be collected by prospective independent candidates seeking to have their name printed on the ballot for election to local office at a November general election. What actions are available when a disqualifying number of signatures are proven invalid after a particular individual has been deemed a qualified candidate depends on the specific attendant facts and circumstances.

23-020	Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of State Police	Determining the scope of the Commonwealth’s authority to exercise criminal jurisdiction on tribe-related land involves a case-by-case evaluation that must include consideration of whether such land constitutes “Indian country” under federal law.

November

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
22-057	The Honorable Wendy S. Hughes, Clerk, Chesterfield Circuit Court	When multiple charges are listed on a single petition for expungement filed under § 19.2-392.2(A), the petitioner is entitled to a refund of all his costs if an expungement is granted with respect to at least one of the listed charges.

23-056	Humes J. Franklin III, Esq., Chairman, Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission The Honorable Kenneth R. Melvin, Vice Chairman, Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission	The Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission (JIRC) must implement Code § 17.1-905’s new annual reporting requirements, including the identification of a specific judge, when, and only when, both of two conditions are met: 1) the JIRC has concluded that the judge breached the Canons of Judicial Conduct and 2) it has taken disciplinary action against the judge based on its conclusion. The Commission takes “disciplinary action” against a judge when it files a formal complaint with the Supreme Court of Virginia, suspends the judge, or enters into a supervision agreement with the judge.

October

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-052	The Honorable Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia	In fulfilling its responsibilities to the specific institution it serves, the primary duty of the board of visitors of each Virginia public institution of higher education is to the Commonwealth.

23-031	The Honorable John J. McGuire, III, Member, House of Delegates	When appointing officers of election, an electoral board must make its appointments with an effort to ensure party parity among appointments to the extent practicable, and appointees are to be chosen, to the extent practicable, from nominations provided by the respective qualifying political parties pursuant to law. This duty applies to every electoral board, regardless of the size of the jurisdiction.

23-055	The Honorable Israel O’Quinn, Member, House of Delegates	A tax-exempt organization that expressly advocates for or against the election of a clearly defined candidate must comply with the reporting requirements for independent expenditures as established by Virginia’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006, and an organization’s failure to comply subjects it to the penalties set forth in the law.

22-063	The Honorable Carrie Coyner, Member, House of Delegates	Inquiries regarding the assessment of affordable housing property for real estate taxation.

23-033	The Honorable Kathy J. Byron, Member, House of Delegates	Pursuant to § 24.2-707 of the Code of Virginia, a mailed absentee ballot may be returned, at the request of the voter, by a third party through the mail or at a drop-off location.

September

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-032	The Honorable Mark D. Obenshain, Member, Senate of Virginia	A primary candidate who validly withdraws from the primary will not be “defeated” in the primary such that his name cannot be printed on the general election ballot pursuant to § 24.2-520 of the Code of Virginia.

23-043	The Honorable Donald T. Adams, Dinwiddie County Sheriff	A deputy sheriff is not prohibited from simultaneously serving as both a deputy sheriff and as a member of the county board of supervisors.

August

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-042	The Honorable Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia	Model Policies H, D, and G, as set forth in the “Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” that are now in effect, do not violate federal or state anti-discrimination laws. Pursuant to Code § 22.1-23.3, local school boards are required to adopt policies that are consistent with these model policies.

July

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-022	The Honorable Scott A. Surovell, Member, Senate of Virginia; and the Honorable Don Scott, Jr., Member, Virginia House of Delegates	Provided the Governor otherwise ensures that the provisions of § 2.2-435.12 are “faithfully executed,” he may designate within his cabinet a Chief Diversity, Opportunity & Inclusion Officer who is charged with performing duties supplemental to those of the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

23-005	Ms. Sylvia Flood, Chair, and Mr. Jim Heilman, Secretary, Albemarle County Electoral Board	Section 24.2-124.1 does not prohibit a general registrar from speaking about voting or voting registration at a meeting of a private, non-profit, and non-partisan civic organization, provided the speaking engagement otherwise does not involve the solicitation, acceptance, use, or disposition of any money, grants, property, or services given by a private party to fund election-related expenses.

May

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-023	The Honorable Kathy J. Byron, Member, House of Delegates	An electoral board is not required to reappoint an incumbent general registrar upon the expiration of his or her four-year term; however, the decision to replace the registrar must not be based on political affiliation or other impermissible grounds. In addition, the process by which an electoral board seeks to appoint a new general registrar must be objective and apolitical.

23-010	The Honorable Helen E. Phillips, Esq.	Highway entrances associated with family subdivisions are subject to VDOT’s Access Management Design Standards for Entrances and Intersections. Any modification to these standards would require action by the Commissioner of Highways in compliance with applicable law.

April

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-012	The Honorable J. Chris Plaster, Tazewell County Commonwealth's Attorney	As described in the scenario presented, the practice of a business "gifting” marijuana to customers contemporaneously with, or contingent upon, the sale of merchandise constitutes the illegal distribution of marijuana in violation of § 18.2-248.1.

March

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
23-004	The Honorable Lloyd T.N. Craddock, Craig County Sheriff	The out-of-state registration of an all-terrain vehicle or utility task vehicle does not determine the legality of operating such vehicles within the Commonwealth. With limited exceptions, all-terrain vehicles are not permitted on public highways regardless of registration status. Whether a utility task vehicle may be operated on a public highway must be determined based on the nature of the specific vehicle and the motor vehicle classification within which it falls. Note: This PDF is a corrected version of the Opinion initially posted on March 13, 2022, which contained a clerical error.

February

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
22-066	The Honorable Dan Helmer, Member, House of Delegates	Because the term "disciplinary action,” as used in § 23.1-808, includes mandatory drug or alcohol counseling or courses assigned to a student by a college or university due to the student's drug or alcohol use, an institution of higher education is barred from requiring a student to participate in a substance abuse class or treatment program when the student discloses such use while making a good faith report of an act of sexual violence.

January

Opinion #	Requestor	Summary
22-036	Kemper M. Beasley III, Esquire, Attorney for Cumberland County	In defined circumstances, the offering of short-term rental accommodations on a farm or ranch falls within the definition of "agritourism activity” for purposes of § 15.2-2288.6, such that a locality is prohibited from regulating such use of the property through its zoning ordinances.

22-041	The Honorable James A. "Jay” Leftwich, Member, House of Delegates	Slotting fees paid by a soft-drink producer to a retailer to directly or indirectly influence the retailer violate federal "tied house” laws when they directly affect the shelf space of the producer's alcoholic or "hard” soda to the exclusion, in whole or in part, of competitors; however, whether any particular payment of slotting fees would constitute a violation is a factual determination beyond the scope of an opinion of this Office.

22-048	The Honorable Donald L. Smith, Sheriff, Augusta County	Answer to an inquiry regarding the scope of a sheriff's authority under current law with respect to the custody of individuals subject to involuntary commitment orders.

22-061	The Honorable Chan R. Bryant, Sheriff, Albemarle County	Answers to inquiries regarding the scope of a sheriff's authority under current law with respect to the custody of individuals subject to temporary detention orders.

22-046	The Honorable James A. "Jay” Leftwich, Member, House of Delegates	Because Virginia law currently limits local authority to regulate the use of privately-owned drones to the regulation of takeoffs and landings of such aircraft on property owned by political subdivisions, a locality may not adopt zoning regulations that prohibit the takeoff and landing of privately-owned drones on private property, nor subject the activity to conditional or special use permit requirements.