Legal Opinions of the Attorney General - Monthly Opinion Report

The Attorney General’s Opinion Unit is responsible for researching and drafting the formal opinions of the Attorney General. This Monthly Opinion Report lists all of the questions that are currently under consideration for formal opinions.

The Attorney General welcomes and solicits the views of all interested persons concerning the issues raised in any question submitted for an opinion. Views should be in writing and directed to the deputy assigned to prepare the opinion. Please follow the instructions under How to Submit Views on Assigned Opinion Requests in the right side bar menu. All views submitted before publication will be considered, but early submissions are greatly preferred. All submissions will be treated as public records subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act.

By law, the Attorney General is authorized to issue formal opinions only to certain public officials. Please see our FAQs page for more information about how to request an opinion.


Opinion(s) Issued in September 2025

Opinion No. Question(s) Presented Conclusion(s) Issued
25-501

The WHITTIER UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT would like to file a lawsuit in state court against GARY MENDEZ to remove him from public office as a school board trustee. Before this type of lawsuit may be filed, state law requires Attorney General permission known as “leave to sue in quo warranto.” In seeking permission, the School District asserts that when Mendez took office on a water board with interrelated powers and overlapping territory with the School Board, it created a possibility for conflict between the offices that makes them “incompatible,” resulting in forfeiture by state law (Government Code section 1099) of his school board trusteeship. Forfeiture of the office first held (on the School Board) safeguards loyalty to a single office—the one most recently chosen, on the water board.

The School District’s proposed lawsuit meets all three of the Attorney General’s criteria to grant leave to sue: it is correctly brought through the quo warranto process, it raises a substantial legal issue for judicial resolution, and such resolution would serve the public interest. Consequently, we GRANT leave to sue.

 09/11/2025

New Question(s) Assigned in August 2025

No opinion requests were assigned during this period.


Opinion(s) Issued or Concluded in August 2025

Answered by Letter, Withdrawn, or Cancelled
Opinion No. Question Status
25-304

Can the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration contract to administer the transactions and use taxes of a county and of a city within that county when the tax ordinances are approved by their respective electorates in the same election but the imposition of both taxes would cause the combined rate of tax in the county to exceed the limit set forth in both the specific authorizing provision of Part 1.7 of Division 2 and section 7251.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code?

 Withdrawn on 08/21/2025

Pending Matters as of August 2025

Opinion Requests

Opinion No. Question(s) Assigned To
25-603 Questions concerning the scope of Government Code section 27011, which provides in relevant part that: “Any county officer who knowingly accepts or allows any deposit in the county treasury of money from any private and unofficial source is guilty of a misdemeanor . . . and shall forfeit his or her office.”
Notify me when Opinion No. 25-603 is issued 		Bidart
25-602 Does the California Values Act (SB 54), as codified in Government Code § 7284.6(a), prohibit a local law enforcement agency from pre-staging personnel or entering a contracted federal immigration detention facility for public safety purposes in anticipation of, or response to, civil unrest—provided that no immigration enforcement functions are undertaken?
Notify me when Opinion No. 25-602 is issued 		Kentfield
25-601 If the Director of Industrial Relations determines that the prevailing wage is the rate set by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and that CBA provides a separate classification for a foreman who performs on-site work while supervising the work crew, does the Labor Code require the Director to publish the prevailing wage rate for the foreman classification?
Notify me when Opinion No. 25-601 is issued 		Welindt
25-501 May Gary Mendez lawfully serve as a member of both the Whittier Union High School District Board of Trustees and the Central Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors?
 Bidart
25-102 May federally recognized Indian tribes which are located exclusively within the exterior boundaries of the State of California and who have adopted laws that impose comprehensive requirements substantially comparable to the California Cannabis Regulatory Framework lawfully conduct intrastate commercial cannabis activity solely within the State of California with California state cannabis licensees without obtaining such a license themselves?
Notify me when Opinion No. 25-102 is issued 		Thomas
24-1102 May a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit be denied under Penal Code section 26202(a)(8), which disqualifies CCW permit applicants who are “currently abusing controlled substances,” based on an applicant’s otherwise lawful use of marijuana under California law?
Notify me when Opinion No. 24-1102 is issued 		Bidart
24-1101 Do the exemptions from local building and zoning ordinances set forth in Government Code section 53091, subdivisions (d) and (e), apply to all California public water systems, including independent water companies?
Notify me when Opinion No. 24-1101 is issued 		Duncan Lee
24-702 May the same individual serve simultaneously on the Board of Commissioners for the White Mountain Fire Protection District and the Board of Directors for the Tri Valley Groundwater Management District?”
Notify me when Opinion No. 24-702 is issued 		McCarroll

Quo Warranto Matters

Opinion No. Question(s) Assigned To
25-301 Was Christopher Pikus validly appointed to the Poway City Council?

Notify me when Opinion No. 25-301 is issued 		Medeiros
24-1002 Was Mark Skvarna validly appointed to the office of Montebello Unified School District Superintendent?

Notify me when Opinion No. 24-1002 is issued 		McCarroll
24-802 May the San Diego Police Officers Association challenge the validity of a provision of the Proposition B initiative measure that the Association alleges to have unlawfully affected the pension benefits of some of its members?

Notify me when Opinion No. 24-802 is issued 		Kentfield