North Dakota AG Opinions, 1968

OPINION 68-195 April 25, 1968 (OPINION) Honorable M. F. Peterson Superintendent Department of Public Instruction RE: Schools - School Board Members - Compensation This is in reply to your letter of April 23, 1968, relative to compensation of a school board member. You state the following facts and questions: "According to the law, a school board member is entitled to $5.00 per meeting not to exceed 18 meetings per year. This, it seems to me, is the maximum compensation for board meetings even though a district is receiving federal funds for programs. For example, under Ti

OPINION 68-135 April 24, 1968 (OPINION) Colonel Ralph M. Wood Superintendent Highway Patrol RE: Motor Vehicles - Operators License - Nonresidents This is in reply to your letter of April 19, 1968, relative to the privilege of a nonresident of North Dakota to operate a motor vehicle in the state of North Dakota. You state the following facts and questions: It is recognized that under normal conditions, section 39-06-02 apply to the operation of any motor vehicle by a nonresident who is at least sixteen years of age and who has in his possession a valid operator's license iss

OPINION 68-94 April 18, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Ray H. Mattison, Superintendent State Historical Society RE: Historical Sites - Private Land - Permit This is in reply to your letter with regard to issuance of permits or annual licenses to be issued for investigation, exploration, or excavation of any prehistoric or historic ruins, Indian Mounds, graves or villages, or other sites for archaeological or paleontological material on lands in North Dakota, pursuant to chapter 55-03 of the 1967 Supplement to the North Dakota Century Code. You call our attention to the exception contained

OPINION 68-351 April 1, 1968 (OPINION) Mrs. Agnes Geelan, Chairman Workmen's Compensation Bureau RE: Workmens Compensation - Corporations - Coverage of Board of Dire Your request for an opinion dated March 22, 1968, reads as follows: A question has arisen with respect to providing workmen's compensation coverage for members of the board of directors of a corporation. Two situations are involved regarding such members. The first would involve a member of the board whose only contact with the corporation would be during meetings of the board, including travel to and from such

OPINION 68-76 March 26, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Martin N. Gronvold, Executive Director Employment Security Bureau RE: Employment security bureau - Executive director - Authority In your letter of March 11, 1968, you mention that you are becoming more and more involved with agreements and contracts with numerous federal programs relating to the activities of the Unemployment Compensation Division and the Employment Service Division. Presumably the programs to which you make reference arise out of federal legislation. We are also assuming that these programs must be activated and ma

OPINION 68-114 March 26, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. H. L. Thorndal, Jr. State Examiner RE: Interest - Corporations - Exceptions This is in reply to your letter in which you enclosed the following question and asked for an opinion thereon. Does section 10-19-04(8) create an exception to section 47-14-09? Section 47-14-09 of the North Dakota Century Code provides as follows: "USURY - DEFINITION - MAXIMUM CONTRACT RATE - PROHIBITION. - Except as otherwise provided by the laws of this state, no person, copartnership, association, or corporation, either directly or indirectly, shall tak

OPINION 68-81 March 21, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Martin N. Gronvold, Executive Director Employment Security Bureau RE: Employment security bureau - Unemployment contributions - Compromise This is in response to your letter in which you refer to Chapter 52-04, and more specifically to Section 52-04-06, of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to payment of contributions under the Unemployment Act. You also state that occasionally offers are made to compromise the contributions due. You then ask for an opinion under what conditions, if any, the law permits a compromi

OPINION 68-323 March 21, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Dale H. Jensen State's Attorney Burleigh County RE: Townships - Annual Meetings - Failure to Hold This is in response to your letter in which you call attention to the fact that the annual township meetings were to be held on March 19, 1968, however, because of inclement weather it is possible that some townships were not able to hold their annual township meeting. You then ask for an opinion as to the procedure to be followed by the townships which did not hold annual meetings in bringing about the holding of an annual meeting. S

OPINION 68-165 March 19, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. G. W. Ellwein Chief Deputy Office of State Examiner RE: Public Funds - Depositories - Interest Rate This is in response to your letter in which you refer to section 21-04-18 of the North Dakota Century Code, as amended by chapter 191 of the 1967 Session Laws, and also to section 21-04-13 which was amended by chapter 158 of the 1961 Session Laws. The former section now provides as follows: "* * * Depositories of public funds in this state shall pay substantially the same rate of interest thereon as such banks pay to individual dep

OPINION 68-108 March 18, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. H. L. Thorndahl, Jr. State Examiner RE: Interest - Banks - Loan in Other State This is in reply to your letter of March 11, 1968, in which you ask if a North Dakota state bank may participate in a loan originating in Minnesota, which loan pays an interest of 7 1/2 percent. Section 6-03-62 of the North Dakota Century Code provides; INTEREST ON LOANS - RATE. An association may demand and receive for loans on personal security, or for discounting notes, bills, or other evidences of debt, such rate of interest as may be agreed upon, no

OPINION 68-287 February 23, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Edwin Sjaastad Tax Commissioner RE: Taxation - Sales Tax - Conditional Sales Contracts This is in response to your request for an opinion on the following specific hypothetical situation: "* * * The dealer sold an automobile in 1962 for $3,600, less trade-in of $600, and computed sales tax on the $3,000 at the rate of 2 percent and remitted $60.00 to the state of North Dakota at the time and transaction was consummated. The automobile was sold under a conditional sales contract and the dealer subsequently assigned the $3,000 con

OPINION 68-265 February 23, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Edwin Sjaastad Tax Commissioner RE: Taxation - Exemptions - Head of Family Re: House Bill No. 558 Chapter 420, 1967 Session Laws This is in response to your letter in which you ask for an opinion on Chapter 420 of the 1967 Session Laws, as enacted through House Bill No. 558. You state, "on the basis of an examination of the history of this law, it is obvious that only inept draftsmanship by the sponsor of the legislation is responsible for such a result." You then specifically ask whether or not a widow or widower and any ot

OPINION 68-198 February 19, 1968 (OPINION) Honorable M. F. Peterson Superintendent Public Instruction RE: Schools - State Aid Payments - Method of Computation This is in reply to your letter of February 8, 1968, relative to Foundation payments. You ask whether the fall Foundation payments may be made on the basis of then current enrollments. Section 15-40-16 of the North Dakota Century Code, as amended, governs the method of making state aid payments to school districts and provides, in part, as follows: "* * * Immediately upon the termination of the school year and in no e

OPINION 68-137 February 15, 1968 (OPINION) Colonel Ralph M. Wood, Superintendent Highway Patrol RE: Motor Vehicles - Registration - Nonresidents You have requested this office's opinion on the registration of a motor vehicle under the following factual situation. The vehicle is owned by a citizen of the Philippines who is serving on active duty with the U.S. Air Force at the Minot Air Force Base. The motor vehicle which is owned by the Philippine citizen is licensed in the Philippine Islands. Section 39-04-18 of the N.D.C.C. provides generally for the exemption of motor vehicl

OPINION 68-202 February 9, 1968 (OPINION) Honorable William L. Guy Governor RE: Schools - Teachers Professional Practices Commission - Compositi This is in reply to your letter of February 9, 1968, relative to section 15-38-17 of the North Dakota Century Code, as amended, governing the Teachers Professional Practices Commission. You note the provisions of this section and state the following facts and questions: "One member of the commission who was a classroom teacher at the time of his appointment has now left the field of active classroom teaching but is in a field relate

OPINION 68-191 February 9, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Clyde Duffy Attorney Devils Lake, North Dakota RE: Schools - Indian Reservations - Eligibility This is in reply to your letter of January 24, 1968, in which you ask for a definition of the term "Indian" as used in sections 15-40-14 and 15-40-24 of the North Dakota Century Code, as amended. Your request is made in behalf of the Couture and Ingebretson Public School Districts in view of a letter written by this office to Mr. Howard Snortland, Department of Public Instruction, on December 22, 1967. Section 15-40-14- of the North Da

OPINION 68-184 February 7, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. H. J. Snortland Assistant Superintendent Public Instruction RE: Schools - Certificates of Indebtedness - Retirements by County O This is in reply to your letter of February 1, 1968, relative to certificates of indebtedness issued by a school district. You state the following facts: "A school district has a population of over 4,000 and sells certificates if indebtedness against its uncollected taxes. The lender has the certificates registered with the county auditor. The county treasurer, however, does not retain the tax collec

OPINION 68-353 February 6, 1968 (OPINION) Mrs. Agnes Geelan Chairman Workmen's Compensation Bureau RE: Workmens Compensation - Merit Rating System - Volunteer Firemen This is in response to your letter in which you state the following: Section 65-06-04 sets out the method of ascertaining premium for volunteer firemen. Section 65-04-17 allows the bureau to establish a merit rating system. Would you please give your opinion as to whether or not section 65-06-04 precludes the bureau from applying the merit rating system allowed in section 65-04-17 with respect to the firemen

OPINION 68-301 February 6, 1968 (OPINION) Honorable Edwin Sjaastad Tax Commissioner RE: Taxation - Sales Tax - Limitation on Collection This is in response to your letter in which you recite the following: "The audit division of the office of the State Tax Commissioner performed a sales and use tax audit of the books and records of a North Dakota retailer during the month of March, 1966. At the time of the commencement of the audit, the retailer was informed that the audit would cover a six-year period beginning January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1965. The records for the

OPINION 68-35 January 31, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Lindy L. Lein Mayor Wing, North Dakota RE: Cities - Transition of Villages to Cities - Election of Officers This is in reply to your letter in which you ask for an opinion on the following: The city of Wing would like an opinion on whether or not the officers elected under the village form of government, under which Wing operated previous to the passage of Senate Bill No. 46, which became effective July 1, 1967, and whose terms do not expire this year will be required to run for reelection in the April 1968 city election, or will t

OPINION 68-139 January 29, 1968 (OPINION) Colonel Ralph M. Wood, Superintendent Highway Patrol RE: Motor Vehicles - Snowmobiles - Use of Highways This office acknowledges receipt of your letter of January 22, 1968, which reads as follows: "The matter of snowmobiles and/or ski-doo type vehicles using the highway and highway right-of-way is a continuing legal question in my mind. "The vehicle in question is a self-propelled, track type vehicle designed to travel on snow. The problem for law enforcement is whether or not this vehicle can legally operate on the highway or highw

OPINION 68-314 January 25, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Dale H. Jensen State's Attorney Burleigh County RE: Taxation - Special Assessments - Allocation Between Taxes and Sp This is in reply to your letter, which reads as follows: "This is a request for an opinion under section 40-24-16, as amended, in the Century Code. This section states, in effect, that wherein the County Treasurer receives less than the full amount of taxes and special assessments due at any time on any lot or tract of real estate, he shall allocate the amount of such payment between taxes and special assessments i

OPINION 68-2 January 23, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. C. R. Krogstad Dairy Commissioner RE: Agriculture - Filled Dairy Products - What Constitutes This is in reply to your request for an opinion of this office with regard to application of rules and regulations governing Filled Dairy Products to certain products hereinafter described. You identify the first product concerned as a product processed from 3.0 percent imitation fat, (namely, vegetable oil or imported coconut oil), 9.66 pounds of solids, not fat (skim milk powder), the emulsified content being .23 percent (twenty-three hundre

OPINION 68-70 January 18, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Robert Q. Price, State's Attorney Cavalier County RE: Elections - Notice - Publication This is in response to your letter in which you make reference to Section 16-06-02, which was amended by two bills - House Bill No. 736, Chapter 159 of the 1967 Session Laws, and House Bill No. 533, Chapter 158 of the 1967 Session Laws. The amended version as amended by Chapter 159 and as appearing in the Session Laws does not change the publishing requirement and provides as follows: " * * * once each week for two consecutive weeks next precedin

OPINION 68-83 January 15, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Neil Thompson State's Attorney Ramsey County RE: Game and Fish - Aerial Hunting - Restricted Areas We are enclosing herewith copy of a letter of this office with regard to a township closing areas to hunting by this means. Similar principles would probably apply to any county action in the same field. To briefly outline the statutory history on this matter please note the following: Section 20-01-01, subsection 7, of the North Dakota Century Code, provides: DEFINITIONS. In this title, unless the context or subject matter othe

OPINION 68-105 January 15, 1968 (OPINION) Honorable K. O. Nygaard Commissioner of Insurance RE: Insurance - Variable Annuities - Regulation The question presented for resolution is whether variable annuities, which are issued or delivered in the State of North Dakota, are subject to the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Insurance, and, if so, in what manner and to what extent. The question as stated assumes that variable annuities may be issued or delivered in this State. As appears hereinafter, this assumption is untenable, and we therefore deem the question modified in accordan

OPINION 68-182 January 9, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Gene C. Grindeland State's Attorney Traill County RE: Rural Fire Protection Districts - Boundaries - Determination by County Commissioners This is in response to your request for an opinion on the construction of section 18-10-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, more specifically on the following language: "Thereupon the board or boards of county commissioners shall determine whether the proposed district is suited to the general fire protection policy of the county, or each of such counties, as a

OPINION 68-148 January 8, 1968 (OPINION) Mr. Irvin Riedman Chief Parole Officer RE: Pardon Board - Procedure - Appointment of Counsel This is in reply to your letter with regard to the bearing of the recent trend of decisions of the United Supreme Court as affecting the operations of your Board. It is our understanding that the case of Mempa v. Rhay, Walking v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles (emphasis supplied) decided at the October 1967 term of the United States Supreme Court is currently the latest expression of opinion of that august body in this field.