About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

6 Okla. City U. L. Rev. 373 (1981)
Opinions of the Oklahoma Attorney General: An Analysis

handle is hein.journals/okcu6 and id is 385 raw text is: 0 OPINIONS OF THE OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: AN ANALYSIS CYNTHIA L. SPARLING* The office of the Oklahoma Attorney General has become the focus of increased attention in recent months, primarily as a result of opinions issued by that office. Recent opinions have dealt with such issues as the ad valorem tax status of public trust property1 and the confidentiality of Oklahoma Tax Com- mission Records.2 Public reaction and judicial proceedings which have followed such opinions raise questions which this article will address. This article will examine the following: (1) the authority for the Oklahoma Attorney General's opinions; (2) the legal effect of opinions on recipients in Oklahoma; and (3) the judicial review of attorney general's opinions by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. I. AUTHORITY AND FUNCTION Title 74, section 18b(e) of the Oklahoma Statutes requires the attorney general to give his opinion in writing upon all questions of law submitted to him by the Legislature or either branch thereof, or by any state officer, board, commission Or department... upon matters in which they are officially in- terested.' In addition, the Oklahoma Legislature recently broadened the duty of the attorney general to write opinions by requiring the attorney general [t]o respond to any request for an opinion of his office, submitted by a member of the Legislature, regardless of subject matter . . . . Although * Lecturer, Oklahoma City University School of Law. B.A., Southern Methodist University 1970; M.A., Southern Methodist University 1972; J.D., Oklahoma City University 1978. 1. 11 OKLA. Op. A.G. 237 (1979). 2. 11 OKLA. Op. A.G. 405 (1979). 3. OKLA. STAT. tit. 74, § 18b (e) (Supp. 1980). 4. OKLA. STAT. tit. 74, § 18b (q) (Supp. 1980) (emphasis added). In 1980, how- ever, legislation was introduced to amend title 74 section 18b by deleting the require- ment that the attorney general respond to any legislative request as a duty of the 373

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most