North Dakota AG Opinions, 1956

OPINION 56-79 March 10, 1956 (OPINION) MEMORIALS RE: Expenditures Justified I have your letter of March 1, 1956, with reference to expenditures by a board of county commissioners for erection of war memorial building as provided by sections 11-3201, 11-3202, and 11-3203 of the 1953 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, as amended. You call attention to the fact that some boards have been making purchases of supplies, movie projectors, fire trucks, and other equipment, and your question is whether or not such expenditures are justified under the provisions of the

OPINION 56-92 March 9, 1956 (OPINION) PARK DISTRICTS RE: Funds - Sponsor Baseball Team We have received your request for an opinion, dated March 7, 1956, wherein you ask whether a park district board has the legal authority or power to use park district funds to help pay the expenses in connection with sponsoring and operating a junior legion baseball team. A park district board has only such power as are conferred upon it by statute either specifically or by necessary implication. There is no statute that we can find that confers upon a park district board the power to expend

OPINION 56-24 March 9, 1956 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Electors - Petitions We have received your request for an opinion dated March 8, 1956, with reference to a petition recently filed with your city auditor asking for an election to change the form of city government from commission to the aldermanic system. Your specific questions are as follows: 1. What constitutes an elector and how shall the auditor determine if the petition contains the necessary number of legal signers? 2. What voters' register shall the auditor examine in order to ascertain whether the petition is sign

OPINION 56-140 March 8, 1956(OPINION) WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BUREAU RE: Investments - Authority to Buy Dormitory Revenue Bonds This is in reply to your request for an opinion on the question whether or not the bureau has the authority to make investments of its funds in dormitory revenue bonds of various educational institutions of this state as outlined in chapter 15-55 of the 1953 Supplement to the N.D.R.C. of 1943. It is a general principle and rule of law that the governmental departments, agencies, bureaus etc. may invest excess moneys only to the extent they have authorization from

OPINION 56-44 February 27, 1956 (OPINION) CRIMES RE: Juvenile, Publication of Names This is in reply to your letter of February 16, 1956, in which you request an opinion from this office, regarding newspaper publications of names of juveniles as set out in section 27-1631. This section provides as follows: "PUBLICATION OF NAME OF CHILD. No publication of the name of any child under the jurisdiction of this court shall be made by any newspaper except as contained in process of the court and published by order of the court. Any violation of the provisions of this section s

OPINION 56-64 February 17, 1956 (OPINION) INDIANS RE: Real Estate Subject to Special Assessments This is in reply to your letter of February 8, 1956, in which you inquire as to whether or not certain real estate owned by Indians is subject to special assessments for water and sewer mains and improvements. You state that certain lots in the city of Dunseith have been assessed for water and sewer main improvements, and that the Indian owner holds a deed to said lots which states that the property is inalienable without the consent of the Secretary of the Interior, but the lots w

OPINION 56-100 February 17, 1956 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Assessments Your letter of February 15, 1956, requesting an opinion from this office, has been received. You state that Dunn Center installed a sewer system to which your school has been connected. You ask whether your school district can legally pay the assessment from your school building fund. Section 57-1517, subsection 1, of the 1953 Supplement, as amended, referring to expenditures from the school building fund, reads in part as follows: "Such funds shall be used solely and exclusively for the purposes of

OPINION 56-68 February 14, 1956 (OPINION) INSTITUTIONS RE: Patients - Reimbursement to State or County by Guardianship Esta This is in reply to your letter of February 9, 1956, pertaining to reimbursement by a guardianship estate of expenses incurred by any county or by the state for treatment and maintenance of any patient at the state hospital, state school or state sanatorium. You set forth a hypothetical question as follows: Supposing that John Jones is committed to the State Hospital from Cass County and Cass County has to pay for his keep at the rate of $45.00 per month

OPINION 56-45 February 1, 1956 (OPINION) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RE: Deceased Employee, Obligation to Pay Heirs for Unused Leave of Deceased This is in reply to your request for an opinion on the question whether or not the North Dakota State Department of Health operating under the State Merit System is obligated and has the legal right to pay the heirs or estate of a deceased employee for accumulated and unused annual leave remaining to the credit of the employee's account at the time of his death. The rules and regulations adopted under the provisions of Article XIV have been

OPINION 56-111 January 30, 1956 (OPINION) SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Teacherage - Authority to Borrow for Purchase We have received your letter of January 27, 1956, requesting an opinion in the following matter. The Ellendale special school district wishes to purchase a teacherage. It has $2,000.00 cash in the building fund. The teacherage will cost $2,000.00 cash in the building fund. The teacherage will cost $10,000.00. You ask if the school district may borrow $8,000.00 on the teacherage and another school building. We can find no legal authority authorizing a scho

OPINION 56-110 January 18, 1956 (OPINION) SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Annexation of Contiguous Territory - Decision by County Commissi We have received your letter of January 6, 1956, wherein you state that over two-thirds of the electors in a certain territory contiguous to a special school district in your county have petitioned your board of county commissioners to become attached to said special school district. The petition was in proper form and has been approved by the proper authorities; your question is whether it is mandatory for your board of county commissioners t

OPINION 56-104 January 18, 1956 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Tuition Payments We have received your letter of January 12, 1956, wherein you state that patrons in a certain school district sent their children to a school in another district last fall. At mid-term they discovered that if the county superintendent approved and the boards of the sending and receiving districts agreed, the tuition costs could be paid by the sending district instead of the parents of the children paying. You now ask if we believe the sending district can pay tuition for the entire year, if the c

OPINION 56-73 January 13, 1956 (OPINION) LABOR UNIONS RE: "Agency Shop" We have your letter of January 12, 1956, in which you state that the following clause has been proposed to be included in a labor agreement now in the process of negotiation: It is agreed and understood that employees who for various reasons object to joining the union shall pay to the financial secretary of the union an amount equal to dues collected from regular members for the service and benefits he receives under the terms of this agreement." The opinion of this office is requested as to whether or no

OPINION 56-71 January 13, 1956 LABOR - Certain Collective Bargaining This is in reply to your letter of January 11, 1956, wherein you request an opinion from this office as to whether or not North Dakota laws prohibit collective bargaining between unions and political subdivisions, rural electrification cooperatives, housing authorities or public utility districts. We find nothing in the laws of this state which would prohibit or restrict collective bargaining between the aforementioned parties. Rather, it appears that such procedure is encouraged in all employer-employee relationships by

OPINION 56-54 January 13, 1956 (OPINION) ELECTRICIANS RE: Licenses - Wiring by Owner of Building Open to Public This is in reply to your letter of January 10, 1956, requesting an opinion of this office in regard to whether a person, who does not hold a North Dakota electrical wiring license may install electric wiring for lights, heat, or power in buildings which he owns, which are open to the public for gatherings or occupancy, such as, for example, motels or merchandising stores. The statutory requirements for electrical wiring licenses are embodied in sections 43-0909 and 43

OPINION 56-43 January 12, 1956 (OPINION) COURTS RE: Clerks, Powers We are in receipt of your letter of January 4, 1956, enclosing a copy of your opinion to Mr. W. G. Worner, clerk of the district court, together with two letters setting forth the factual situation. You are asking whether we approve of your opinion that the clerk of the district court is only a ministerial officer and that he is not permitted to act in a judicial capacity and satisfy judgments docketed or on file in his office merely by the fact that the court ordered the property sold under a receivership free

OPINION 56-38 January 12, 1956 (OPINION) COUNTY COMMISSIONERS RE: Sending County Agent to School This office acknowledges receipt of your letter of January 9, 1956, asking whether it would be legal for the board of county commissioners to pay part of the expense of the county agent attending a refresher course at the Agricultural College of Colorado. You state that the North Dakota Extension Division of the Agricultural College has designated your county agent as one of those who would be entitled to attend such a course and that they pay one half of the expense and that the ot

OPINION 56-33 January 6, 1956 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: District Health Units This office acknowledges receipt of your letter of December 19, 1955, asking our opinion concerning a situation in which the various counties belonging to the Southwestern District Health Unit unite to enter into an agreement for the purchase and use of a building to house the office of the Southwestern District Health Unit. Your first question is whether under Chapter 309 of the 1955 Session Laws a county can take out of unencumbered funds in the general fund for the purchase of a building. Directing

OPINION 56-103 January 4, 1956 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Pupils - Transportation Costs We have received your letter of January 3, 1956, wherein you state that a certain school district in your county has asked whether it can legally pay transportation or allowance for a high school student attending school in another state under the terms of chapter 133 of the 1955 Session Laws. Section 15-3409 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943, as amended by chapter 133 of the 1955 Session Laws, reads as follows: "Any school district which has maintained a high school and which discontinues such h

OPINION 56-60 January 3, 1956 (OPINION) HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER RE: Bids - Employment Rental Agreement We acknowledge receipt of your request for the opinion of this office as to whether or not you can, without calling for bids, enter into an employment rental agreement with a person to make available at all times, a plane for survey work, and that such person be paid for his time and the actual operating time of the plane at a negotiated rate. Section 24-0217 of the 1953 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 requires that you request bids, either by advertisement or

OPINION 56-36 January 3, 1956 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Mileage For Officials This office is in receipt of your communication of December 27, 1955, wherein you give us your view as to the meaning of sections 11-1015 and 11-1512, dealing with the mileage of county officials. This office is in accord with your construction, to the effect that no county official may charge mileage for transportation where he does not operate a vehicle, but travels along with other county officers. In other words, it is our opinion that you are right when you state that they must actually and necess

OPINION 56-135 January 3, 1956(OPINION) TRAILER COURTS RE: On College Campus This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 30, 1955, asking our opinion as to whether or not Chapter 175 of the 1955 Session Laws dealing with motor and trailer court registration applies to the trailers located upon the campus of the college and occupied by students. The facts, as we understand them, are as follows: These trailers are note open to the public or to transients but are limited strictly to the married students or to the teachers at the college. Dealing with Chapter 175 of the 1955