North Dakota AG Opinions, 1950

OPINION 50-100 April 15, 1950 (OPINION) LABOR RE: Railroad Crew I am in receipt of your letter of April 10, 1950, requesting an interpretation of section 49-1313, N.D.R.C., 1943, which reads as follows: "No railroad corporation doing business in this state shall operate or permit to be operated on or over any of its main track any self-propelled crane, pile driver, weed-burner, or other self-propelled engine or machine not used for the transportation of passengers and freight or property for hire which has sufficient power to draw or propel itself and one or more standard rai

OPINION 50-160 April 14, 1950 (OPINION) PLUMBING RE: Qualifications Before Examination I am in receipt of your letter of April 8, 1950, in which you request an opinion relating to rule number six (6) of the Rules and Regulations of the State Plumbing Board. You wish to know "the extent the Board may take in deciding upon the applicant's qualifications before permission is allowed for him to submit to the examination." Rule Six is as follows: No applicant shall be entitled to take the examination for either the master or journeyman plumber's certificate and license unless and

OPINION 50-130 April 14, 1950 (OPINION) MINERALS RE: Reservation by State Re: Chap. 165 L. 1941 (38-0901) and Chap. 231 L. 1943 (15-0715) (5) Your letter of instant date re above statutes has been received. You ask our opinion as to whether or not the state is required to make the mineral reservation provided for by section 38-0901 N.D.R.C. 1943, in cases of resale to the former owner as authorized by the provisions of section 15-0715 (5) N.D.R.C. 1943. Our Supreme Court has not construed section 15-0715 (5). However, the court has held that, under a similar statute giving

OPINION 50-49 April 12, 1950 (OPINION) ELECTIONS RE: No additional Compensation for Those Making Return to City Auditor I am in receipt of your letter of April 10, 1950, in which you ask whether or not section 16-1307, N.D.R.C. 1943, applies to city elections in respect to the compensation payable for returning the reports of the election, ballots, etc. Section 16-1307 N.D.R.C. 1943, provides: Within three days after an election, the inspector of elections, or one of the judges appointed by him, shall deliver, either in person or by registered mail, the duplicate reports, prov

OPINION 50-26 April 10, 1950 (OPINION) CONTRACTS AND CONTRACTORS RE: Master Electricians This is in answer to your letter dated April 6, 1950. You state that the Bacon Sign Company of Minot, North Dakota is contracting for lighting equipment, such as Neon lighting and signs on which they bid for complete installation of lighting. You have asked whether or not this company can lawfully do that contracting when the company does not employ a master electrician. Section 43-0920 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 provides as follows: No contract, agreement, or undertaking w

OPINION 50-24 April 10, 1950 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Service Charge for Sewer Your letter of the 7th inst. re service charge for sewer accommodations has been received and referred to my desk. You state that your city has decided to make a service charge of 50 cents on all private homes and $1.00 on all business houses for sewer accommodations. We presume that this charge is made monthly. This charge is made, apparently, to pay cost of repairs and upkeep of your sewer system. It is our opinion that this charge is a lawful charge, and that the city may lawfully make a reasonable

OPINION 50-144 April 10, 1950 (OPINION) OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS RE: Dentists - May Inject Penicillin in Buttocks Re: Interpretation of Section 43-0801, Subsection 1 This is in answer to your letter of April 8, 1950, requesting an opinion as to whether or not it is lawful for a dentist to inject Penicillin in the buttocks of a patient for the purpose of treating a dental infection. Section 43-0801, subsection 1 of the North Dakota Revised Code defines what constitutes the practice of dentistry. It reads as follows: "1. 'Practicing dentistry' shall mean: a. The use, b

OPINION 50-160 April 6, 1950 (OPINION) PLUMBING RE: License I am in receipt of your letter of April 6, 1950, in which you enclose a write of mandamus issued out of the court of Judge George Thom, Jr., Fourth Judicial District. The writ commands the issuance of a master plumber's license to one Robert Cook of Minot, North Dakota. You then ask our opinion as to the course you should follow as regards said writ. It is the opinion of this office that there is no legal defense by which you can avoid the command contained in said writ, and that you should immediately issue a maste

OPINION 50-77 April 4, 1950 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Leasing of Lands Re: Leasing State Land to Sportsman's Organization - Section 20-0205 (7) R.C. 1943. Your letter of April 3rd, re agreement between your department and a private sportsman's club, whereby you allow it to build a fish rearing and holding pond upon state-owned land, has been received and referred to my desk. We are of the opinion that such an agreement as you suggest is not authorized by the statutes now in force defining the powers of your department. Section 20-0205 (7) refers solely to cases where, inste

OPINION 50-80 April 1, 1950 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Over Population of Certain Fish Re: Section 20-0803 (2) N.D.R.C. 1943 Yours of March 31 received and referred to my desk. You state that the fisheries biologist in charge of the fisheries program of your department has reached the conclusion "that an over population of certain species now protected by law has produced in most of our waters a condition whereby these fish are and will remain stunted unless thinned out." You state further that it is your intention to increase the creel limit on these species over that curren

OPINION 50-165 March 31, 1950 (OPINION) RECORDING RE: Bureau of Reclamation I am in receipt of your letter of March 30, 1950, requesting our opinion as to the necessity of your department (Bureau of Reclamation) paying in advance for the recording of instruments with the registers of deeds of the various counties. You say that such procedure materially hampers the operations of your department inasmuch as the federal government "cannot pay such fee or for any service or material until such time as the service or material has been received." Section 11-1801 N.D.R.C. 1943 provid

OPINION 50-47 March 29, 1950 (OPINION) ELECTIONS RE: Initiative Petitions This office is in receipt of your letter of March 27 relative to initiative petitions filed in your office. The purpose of these petitions is to amend and reenact Section 57-3826 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 as amended by Chapter 306, Laws of 1945, relating to exemptions for individuals from income tax, and Section 57-3827 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, relating to exemption for fiduciaries from income tax, and to establish the basis for computing the tax upon joint returns of husb

OPINION 50-203 March 21, 1950 (OPINION) VILLAGES RE: Purchase of Fire Trucks Re: Section 40-0509 N.D.R.C. 1943 Your letter re purchase of fire truck by your village, of March 15th, has been received and referred to my desk. You state that your volunteer fire department has received donations in the sum of $2500 to go toward purchase of a fire truck, and that your village board promised to contribute a like sum for the same purpose. You state, also, that you have a surplus in your village treasury, some of it arising from surplus left out of funds budgeted in former years an

OPINION 50-55 March 20, 1950 (OPINION) ELECTIONS RE: Townships for Surfacing of Highways Your letter of March 16 addressed to the Attorney General has been received and referred to the undersigned for attention and reply. You refer to Section 57-15191 of the 1949 Supplement, which provides that "The electors of each organized township within this state may at their annual meeting by a majority vote authorize a levy, not to exceed eight mills, upon the valuation of all taxable property within the township, the proceeds of which shall be used for the surfacing of highways within

OPINION 50-184 March 20, 1950 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Old Age Assistance Clients Re: Per Capita Tax on Old Age Assistance Clients Your letter of March 17th, re construction of chapter 238, Laws of 1949, has been referred to my desk for reply. That Act provides: The personal property of any person who receives a major part of his income from any state or federal public assistance program shall be exempt from taxation and the name of such person, if certified to the county auditor by the county welfare board shall be removed from the personal property tax roll." You ask wheth

OPINION 50-24 March 6, 1950 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Vacancy in Aldermen Your letter of March 4 addressed to the Attorney General has been received and referred to the undersigned for attention and reply. You state that in your city is a vacancy in the office of alderman from the first ward by reason of death. This vacancy will be filled by appointment by the council as provided by Section 40-0808 since there will be an election within the next six months. You refer to Section 40-0806, which among other things, provides that whenever, for any cause, more than one-half of the tota

OPINION 50-27 March 3, 1950 (OPINION) CORPORATIONS RE: Increase of Capitol Stock Re: Section 10-0330 N.D.R.C. 1943 Your letter to the attorney general of date March 3rd, 1950, concerning the interpretation of the above section has been received and referred to my desk for attention. You state that you have recently received papers from several domestic corporations purporting to increase their capital stock, all failing to show compliance with section 138 of the North Dakota Constitution and section 10-0330 N.D.R.C. 1943 in the matter of notice of the proposal to increase th

OPINION 50-52 February 23, 1950 ELECTIONS - Qualification of Candidate Your letter of the 21st inst. has been received and referred to my desk. You state that a certain person established his residence in your county November 1st, 1949. You ask whether or not he may be a candidate for a county office at the 1950 general election. The general rule is that the eligibility of a candidate for office is determined as of the date of the election or as of the date of entrance upon the dut

OPINION 50-203 February 23, 1950 (OPINION) VILLAGES RE: Sale of Property Re: Sale of Village Property Your letter of the 20th inst. has been received and referred to my desk. You state that the American Legion Post has offered to purchase the Plaza Community Hall. You ask whether the village may sell and convey this property and, if so, what the procedure would be. Section 40-0501(56) gives the village board authority "to convey, sell, dispose of, or lease personal and real property of the municipality as provided by this title." It is our opinion that the village board c

OPINION 50-76 February 21, 1950 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Islands Re: Section 20-1105 R.C. 1943 Yours of the 20th inst. desiring our opinion as to what would constitute an island under the provisions of section 20-1105 has been referred to my desk. With reference to Devils Lake, an island would be a body of land entirely surrounded by water. If any of the islands then in this lake at the time of the land survey were retained by the government as part of the public domain, such islands would not be affected by this law. But if land in the lake has emerged from the water b

OPINION 50-59 February 21, 1950 (OPINION) ESTATES RE: State's Attorney's Fees Re: Administration of Estates of Decedents Leaving No Known Heirs - Sections 30-2501, 30-2502, 11-2105. You state that one Thomas B. Scannell died intestate in your county, leaving property, but no known heirs. You state that as state's attorney you took charge of the estate and proceeded with the administration. You state that the time for filing claims has expired and that every effort has been made to locate heirs but with no success. You ask whether or not you are entitled to charge and colle

OPINION 50-195 February 21, 1950 (OPINION) TOWNSHIPS RE: Supervisors Re: Sections 58-0602, 24-0601, 57-15191 Your letter of the 19th inst. has been received in this office and referred to my desk. You state that your town board levied taxes under Chapter 353 S.L. 1947 (Sec. 57-15191 of 1949 Supplement) for road surfacing and that the supervisors themselves supervised the work of surfacing about eight miles of township roads. You also state that they did not bill the township for this work. And you state further that your state's attorney holds that $50.00 is the limit th

OPINION 50-30 February 14, 1950 COUNTIES RE: Commissioners May Not Allot Funds Among Districts to be Spent by Individual Commissioners I am in receipt of your letter of February 7, 1950. In your letter you state that the board of county commissioners has in mind some sort of allocation of funds to the different commissioner districts. That this allocation would “take the total amount of money raised by taxation within the county and dividing the same by the number of commissi

OPINION 50-12 February 10, 1950 (OPINION) BONDS RE: Revenue Producing Bonds Not General Obligations of State This is in reply to your letter of February 6, 1950, advising that the State Board of Higher Education has adopted a resolution for the issuing and sale of bonds under chapter 154 of the 1947 Session Laws and chapter 161 of the 1949 Session Laws. You request an opinion as to whether or not such bonds are now or may become obligations of the State of North Dakota. Chapter 154 of the Session Laws of North Dakota for 1947 authorizes the construction of revenue producing bui

OPINION 50-67 February 3, 1950 (OPINION) FENCES RE: Building of Re: Section 17-0105 N.D.R.C. 1943 Your letter of today, re the above section, has come to my desk. Your question is, as I understand it, whether, when one of two adjoining land owners elects to erect a fence along the line dividing the lands of the adjoining owners, the other must share the expense of building such fence. This matter is covered by section 17-0105 N.D.R.C. 1943. Clearly, if one of the adjoining "owners chooses to let his land lie open" he may not be compelled to contribute to the expense of erect

OPINION 50-28 February 2, 1950 (OPINION) CORPORATIONS RE: Service Re: Section 10-1733 N.D.R.C. 1943 Yours of this date to the attorney general, re acceptance of service of process in suits against foreign corporations, has been received and referred to my desk. Section 10-1733 N.D.R.C. 1943 has not been amended, and the statute is now as it appears in the N.D. Revised Code of 1943. This section, in our opinion, gives a plaintiff suing a foreign corporation which does not maintain a business office in this state and who has no registered agent in the state for acceptance of

OPINION 50-130 February 2, 1950 (OPINION) MINERALS RE: Deeds May Be Recorded I am in receipt of your letter of January 31, 1950, in regard to the recording of mineral deeds. In your letter you draw a distinction between a case where taxes have accrued after a mineral deed has been given and a case where the taxes accrued prior to the giving of the deed. No distinction is made in section 11-1803 of the 1943 Revised Code, which section specifically provides that a mineral deed conveying oil, gas, and other minerals in or under the surface of lands may be recorded by the register

OPINION 50-166 January 12, 1950 (OPINION) RECORDING RE: Fees for Must Go Into General Fund I acknowledge receipt of your letter of January 10, 1950, whereby you state that it has been the custom for the county treasurer to credit fees by the register of deed's office to the general fund of the county, and you ask whether or not it would be possible to credit such fees to a special "salary fund" and if times become harder salary warrants might be written against such fund. In reply, I wish to quote section 11-1014 of the 1943 Revised Code, which reads as follows: FEES RECEIVED

OPINION 50-81 January 11, 1950 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Penalty Clauses Re: Sections 20-0117 and 20-0124 R.C. 1943 as amended. Your letter of January 10, re the above, together with the letter of Herman Weiss, Assistant State's Attorney of Stutsman County, has been received. I note what Mr. Weiss says. However, it is our opinion that the amendment of section 20-0117 by chapter 187 of the Laws of 1947 merely amended section 20-0124 by providing a specific and greater penalty for the violation of that section than the general penalty provided by section 20-0124. Therefore

OPINION 50-146 January 7, 1950 (OPINION) OCCUPATIONS AND PROFESSIONS RE: Electricians - REA - Interest on Meter Deposits Your letter of December 9, 1949, has been turned over to this writer for reply. In your letter you inquire whether a REA cooperative is required to pay interest on meter deposits made by the customers under the provisions of Section 49-2014 of the 1943 Revised Code. Section 49-2014 reads as follows: "METER DEPOSITS TO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANIES. No person or corporation engaged in the business of furnishing electrical current for light, heat, or power in th