North Dakota AG Opinions, 1957

OPINION 57-133 May 16, 1957 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Speed Limit for Buses In connection with your inquiry as to what is the law concerning the speed limit for passenger buses, it is the opinion of this office: Subsection 32, section 1 chapter 237 of the North Dakota 1955 Session Laws states: "'Bus' shall mean every motor vehicle designated for carrying more than ten passengers and used for the transportation of persons, and every motor vehicle, other than a taxicab, designed and used for the transportation of persons for compensation;" Subsection 8, section 39-0902 of th

OPINION 57-142 May 15, 1957 (OPINION) PLUMBING BOARD RE: Installation of Water Softeners are Proper Subject for Regulatio In your letter of April 30, 1957, a request was made for an opinion relative to the question of whether water softeners could be included in the state plumbing code. On December 12, 1949, this office issued an opinion stating in effect that it was our belief that water softeners could not be included in the state plumbing code. At that time, this office could not perceive how the installation of water softeners could affect the health, welfare, and safety

OPINION 57-92 May 1, 1957 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Scholarships - Rural Teachers - Obligation We have received your request for an opinion dated April 26, 1957. You ask our opinion in regard to two questions. 1. Since the State Board of Public Education has under its rulemaking power determined that the first responsibility of a scholarship recipient is to his home county, must such recipient be released by his home county before he can get credit for teaching time for teaching in a rural school in another county? Section 15-5702 authorizes your board to make rules and regula

OPINION 57-168 May 1, 1957 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Condemnation - Addition to School Site We have received your request for an opinion in regard to the amount of ground a common school district may acquire by condemnation for a school plant. You state that a certain common school district in your county which operates both an elementary and high school wishes to add about ten acres to its present three acres used for a site for buildings and school grounds, but you question whether this can be done because of section 15-2609 of the Code. The present owners of the land s

OPINION 57-119 April 30, 1957 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: May State Chartered Credit Union Reserve Earnings to Pay Death Benefits In March, 1957, we received a request for an opinion from your office in regard to the question of whether it is permissive for a state chartered credit union to set up reserves from its earnings for the purpose of paying a death benefit to the members of the credit union. Credit unions are creatures of the Legislature and derive their existence and powers from the statutes governing them. Under section 6-0606 of the 1953 Supplement to the North Dakota

OPINION 57-35 April 27, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Traffic Control This is in reply to your letter requesting an opinion of this office in regard to vehicular regulations pertinent to the University of North Dakota. You inform us that the city engineer of the City of Grand Forks advises you that the campus of the University of North Dakota is entirely within the city limits of the City of Grand Forks. You ask the following questions: 1. "Does the City of Grand Forks have authority to pass traffic and other ordinances affecting parking limits and areas, speed, etc. on the cam

OPINION 57-42 April 25, 1957 (OPINION) COMPETITIVE BIDS RE: Award of Contract - Lowest and Best Bid This is in reply to your letter of April 23, 1957, enclosing a file of correspondence in regard to bids received on a seedhouse at the Casselton Agronomy Farm. Your question is stated as: "Do you believe that we have any choice except to award the General Contract to the low bidder, Steve De Vries of Valley City?" The file discloses the following information we believe pertinent to this inquiry: A list of bids submitted indicating the low bidder submitted a bid in the amoun

OPINION 57-172 April 10, 1957 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Reorganization - Voting of Districts We have received your letter dated April 8, 1957, asking for our interpretation of the above law. House Bill 596, which amends section 15-5314 of the 1953 Supplement to the Revised Code of 1943, now provides in part, "all existing districts within the proposed new district containing one or more incorporated villages or cities regardless of number or size, shall vote as a single unit; and, all existing districts within such proposed new district regardless of number or size which d

OPINION 57-120 April 10, 1957 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: Who Authorizes Domestic Life Insurance Company Stock Sales This is in reply to your letter of March 13, 1957, in which you request the opinion of this office in regard to the question of which department or agency of the state has vested power to authorize the sale of domestic life insurance company stock. In our conversations with you, the opinion of this office was also requested in regard to the control of stock sales. There is no statute specifically vesting the power in a department of the state to authorize the sale

OPINION 57-220 April 8, 1957 (OPINION) TRAFFIC RE: Control Signals - Right Turn The following comments constitute my opinion concerning your request of April 6, 1957: Section 6, chapter 237, of the North Dakota 1955 Session Laws, states: "Whenever traffic is controlled by traffic-control signals exhibiting the words "Go", "Caution, or "Stop", or exhibiting different colored lights successively one at a time or with arrows, the following colors only shall be used and said terms and lights shall indicate and apply to drivers of vehicles and pedestrians as follows: . . . 2. Ye

OPINION 57-131 April 5, 1957 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Altering License Plate Prohibited In answer to your request of April 3, 1957, as to whether or not the painting over of a license plate with red paint, thereby changing the color of the original license, is in violation of law, the following comments constitute my opinion: Subsection 2, section 39-0465 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943, stating: "It shall be unlawful for any person to commit any of the following acts: . . . 2. To display or cause or permit to be displayed, or to have in possession, any registration card or regis

OPINION 57-197 March 29, 1957 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Exemption - Farm Structures Your letter of March 20, 1957, requests an opinion in regard to the question of whether a farm dwelling located within the village limits is taxable. The basis for exemption for farm structures is found in section 57-0208, subsection 15, of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943. In this subsection it is noted that farm structures and improvements would be exempt if they are used as part of a farm plant or farm residence. As we understand it, Mr. Sjaastad is a farmer and his land directly adjoi

OPINION 57-50 March 25, 1957 (OPINION) CONTRACTORS RE: Public - Must be Licensed, When This is in reply to your letter of March 11, 1957 requesting an opinion of this office in regard to public contractor's licenses. You inform us that a question has arisen with regard to the painting and tiling of the interior of the Williams County court house as to whether or not this type of work is considered as "construction or reconstruction of public work" to bring it under the purview of Section 43-0701(3) of the N.D.R.C. of 1943. The pertinent section provides, in so far as here appli

OPINION 57-57 March 22, 1957 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Agricultural Schools - Residence of Students We are in receipt of your letter of March 14, 1957, in which you ask for an interpretation of the words "non-resident high school students" as used in House Bill No. 619. It seems clear that as those words are used in section 15-4016, as amended by House Bill No. 619, "resident" or "non-resident" refers to residency in a school district. This is clear from a reading of the section itself and when read in connection with sections 15-4013, and 15-4014 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943, as ame

OPINION 57-47 March 22, 1957 (OPINION) COMPETITIVE BIDS RE: Preference - Residence This is in reply to your letter of March 9, 1957, in regard to the preferences to be applied in the letting of contracts for the furnishing of bridge planks. The statutes to which you refer are sections 24-0235 and 44-0801 of the 1953 Supplement to the N.D.R.C. of 1943. They provide as follows: "24-0235. Contracts; For Road and Bridge Work and Materials; Awarding To Residents of North Dakota and Giving Preference To Residents of North Dakota. In letting of any contract for the constructio

OPINION 57-19 March 22, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Authority to Share Maintenance of County Road Your request for an opinion as to the authority of a city to share with the county, the expense of maintaining and repairing a portion of county road leading to the city garbage disposal area, is herewith acknowledged. Under the provisions of section 40-34011 of the 1953 Supplement to the N.D.R.C. of 1943, not only is there authority but a duty to maintain in a sanitary condition the road or highway leading to the grounds maintained by said municipality for the disposal of garbage c

OPINION 57-108 March 22, 1957 (OPINION) FIRE DEPARTMENTS RE: Eligibility to Participate in Premium Tax In your letter of March 8, 1957, you asked our opinion as to whether Walshville Township in joining the Oslo Village Firemen, relative to a joint fire department, would be eligible for the $200.00 as provided in section 18-0405 of the 1953 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943. Section 18-0405 of the 1953 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 states in part: For each rural fire department organized within the provisions of this chapter, the amount

OPINION 57-224 March 21, 1957 (OPINION) VILLAGES RE: Vacancy on Board - How Filled This is in reply to your letter of March 8, 1957, in regard to appointment of a village trustee. Your inform us that at the last election no one ran for the office. You do not specifically state what office is concerned but indicate that it is one of the offices covered by section 40-0719 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943. Your question is whether under the circumstances an appointment may be made under section 40-0719 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943. Said section 40-0719 provides: "40-0719. VACANCIES IN BOA

OPINION 57-95 March 19, 1957 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Teachers Insurance and Retirement - Disability Begins When We have received your letter dated March 14, 1957, in regard to the interpretation of subsection 2 of section 15-3927 of the 1953 Supplement. We note that the letter from Mr. Owen to Miss Nielson, dated August 28, 1944, is not signed by the then attorney general so it is not an opinion but simply an office letter. We further note that Mr. Owen states that it is his opinion that "all teachers should receive payments just as soon as your board is satisfied that such dis

OPINION 57-20 March 13, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Consolidation of Fire and Police Departments We have been asked to render an opinion on the question of whether a city may "consolidate" its police and fire departments. We find nothing in the code which deals with this problem specifically, but there are statutes which seem to authorize the procedure being contemplated. Thus section 40-1005 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943 (1953 Supplement) provides: "The governing body shall have in addition to their powers granted by law the following powers: 2. It may be ordinance establish, cha

OPINION 57-143 March 5, 1957 (OPINION) PRINTING RE: Who May Do Printing For State Departments In your letter of March 1, 1957, you asked our opinion of whether it is permissible for the University Press to print for other departments of the state. If the University Press prints for departments of the state it would appear that it would be competing with the commercial printers since departments of state usually contract with established printing and publishing houses for printing. In Volume 14 of Corpus Juris Secundum, under the title Colleges and Universities, paragraph 6, it

OPINION 57-204 February 25, 1957 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Personal Property - Foreign Contractor's Equipment This is in reply to your letter of January 25, 1957, asking for an opinion from this office on the question of whether privately owned property, including equipment of resident and nonresident contractors, can be assessed and subjected to property taxes if located on and used on the air base land west of Grand Forks city, which land is owned by the federal governmental. Unless otherwise expressly provided by law, all personal property in this state is subject to taxation (

OPINION 57-161 February 21, 1957 (OPINION) SALES RE: Conditional - Interest Rates We are in receipt of your letter of February 7, 1957, in which you request an opinion on the question of whether the "interest" rates, as computed in certain conditional sales contracts, are usurious. Section 47-1409 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 reads as follows: Except as otherwise provided by the laws of this state, no person, copartnership, association, or corporation, either directly or indirectly, shall take or receive, or agree to take or receive, in money, goods, or things in a

OPINION 57-18 February 12, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Appointive Officers - Removal - Salary We are in receipt of your letter of February 8, 1957, in which you ask if a city official, who has been removed, is entitled to his salary until the end of the month or only up to the day which he was removed. It appears that the right of a public officer to his salary does not arise by virtue of contract, express or implied, but, if it exists at all, exists as a creature of the law and as incident to the office which he occupies. Ness v. City of Fargo, 64 N.D. 231, 251 N.W. 843 (1933

OPINION 57-25 February 6, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Excess Levy - Board of Budget Review - Submission of Indebtedness to This is in reply to your letter of January 31, 1957 in regard to financing a special street lighting system. You call our attention to section 40-2410 of the 1953 Supplement to the N.D.R.C. of 1943 in regard to the provision thereof that up to one-fifth of the cost of such improvement may be paid by general taxation of all the taxable property in the municipality. Your first question is stated as: "Does the amount of indebtedness for such one-fifth have

OPINION 57-80 February 5, 1957 (OPINION) COURTS RE: Civil Procedure - Affidavit of Identification Required Before Filing Judgments Have your letter of February 1, 1957 in which you refer to section 28-2015 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943 and in which you specifically inquire as follows: "Is the statute applicable insofar as an affidavit of identification being required in the filing of a transcript of judgment in a county different from that where the original action and judgment has been filed." Section 28-2013 concerning the docketing of a judgment in other counties provides in pa

OPINION 57-119 February 5, 1957 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: Policy - Age of Insured Must Not Be Pre-dated In a letter from your department, dated January 30, 1957, there was enclosed material relating to the matter of an individual purchasing an insurance policy which stated the age of the insured as thirty-one when in reality the age of the insured is forty-six. As we understand it, the insured paid $333.95, the amount he would have paid over the years had he taken out the policy at thirty-one, and now will continue to pay on the level premium plan an amount equivalent to the am

OPINION 57-68 January 23, 1957 (OPINION) COUNTY AUDITOR RE: Extra payment - Keeping Books for County and Federal Aid Roads We are in receipt of your letter of January 22, 1957, in which you ask if it would be permissible for the county commissioners to pay the county auditor fifty dollars per month extra for keeping the books on county and federal aid road work. It seems to us that keeping such books constitutes one of the duties of the county auditor and that since this is so, the county auditor could not receive any salary other than that authorized by law for performing such

OPINION 57-17 January 18, 1957 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Appointive - Officers - Removal We are in receipt of your letter of January 16, 1957, in which you state that the mayor of the city of Napoleon is considering the removal of an appointive officer, and you wish to know what procedure would be sufficient to legally accomplish his removal. The statute under which you are proceeding and quote is Section 40-0819 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943 and reads as follows: MAYOR MAY REMOVE APPOINTIVE OFFICERS; REASONS FOR REMOVAL TO BE GIVEN. The mayor may remove any officer appointed by him

OPINION 57-118 January 18, 1957 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: Commissioner May Not Grant Extension of Time for Filing Annual Statements Your letter of January 14, 1957, asks for our opinion regarding the matter of whether you, as insurance commissioner, may grant an extension of time for the filing of annual statements as set out in section 26-0705 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943. It is the opinion of this office that you, as commissioner of insurance, may not grant an extension of time for the filing of annual statements. Section 26-0705 of the North Dakota Revised Code of

OPINION 57-137 January 16, 1957 (OPINION) OFFICES AND OFFICERS RE: Compatibility - City Treasurer and Park Board Member We are in receipt of your letter of January 11, 1957, in which you ask the following questions: 1. May a member of a city park board be appointed city treasurer and continue to act as a park board member? 2. May a member of the city park board, who is its appointed clerk, be appointed city treasurer and continue to act as a park board member and clerk? This office has previously advised that a member of a city park board may not at the same time hold the

OPINION 57-144 January 8, 1957 (OPINION) PUBLIC HEALTH RE: County Superintendent - Qualifications We are in receipt of your letter of January 3, 1957, in which you ask if the county superintendent of public health is required to be a citizen. As you point out, section 23-0301 of the N.D.R.C. of 1943 refers to the qualification of the county superintendent of public health and does not specifically require that he be a citizen. Section 11-1004 of the Code does require, however, that "A county officer must be a qualified elector in the county in which he is chosen or appointed,

OPINION 57-83 January 7, 1957 CRIMES - GAMBLING - What Constitutes I have your letter of January 2, 1957, with reference to certain advertising and the broadcasting thereof. You have outlined in your letter the nature of this advertising and you ask whether or not in our opinion, the method of the contemplated sale would constitute gambling. I note that at three different times this company advertised a certain sales promotion stunt over television. The purchaser picks out a watch or other item of jewelry which he desires to purchase. The price is affixed and there has been no mark-up i

OPINION 57-219 January 17, 1957 (OPINION) TRAFFIC RE: Cities - Use of Electrical Timer Device Your letter of January 15, 1957, wherein you request an opinion with regard to an electrical traffic timer device recently purchased by the city of Williston, is acknowledged. Section 4 of Chapter 239, North Dakota Session Laws of 1955 authorize the use of radiomicrowaves or other electrical device to check the speed of motor vehicles and provides that the results of such check shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of speed in any court or legal proceedings where the speed of the m

OPINION 57-173 January 4, 1957 (OPINION) SCHOOL DISTRICTS RE: Residence Requirements - Tuition We have received your request for an opinion dated December 28, 1956, on the following question. The facts are as follows: a mother and daughter have moved from a rural area into the Beach school district for school purposes. The father who is a county commissioner in his district stays on the farm in the home district. The mother has signed an affidavit that her residence is the Beach school district to which she and the daughter have moved for school purposes. The question t