North Dakota Attorney General Opinions

OPINION 52-112 March 30, 1952 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Overload - Penalty We have your request for an opinion construing the extent of the penalties provided for in Senate Bill 88. Under subdivision 1 it provides for a tolerance of 1000 pounds and if the overload is less than 2000 pounds the penalty would be one cent per pound for each pound in excess of 1000 and less than 2000. For example, if the overload was 1950 pounds there would be a one cent penalty on 950 pounds. Under subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the penalty would be on each pound of overload where the overlo

OPINION 52-158 March 27, 1952 (OPINION) SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS RE: Committee Members, Election Your letter under date of March 20, 1952, addressed to Attorney General E. T. Christianson, has been referred by him to me for consideration and reply. In your letter to the Attorney General you say: Inquiry has been made as to whose responsibility it is to appoint the Judges of Election who will act in the election of Supervisors in the November election. The law reads that the board of supervisors of the district shall act as the election officials. However, in a great m

OPINION 52-46 March 3, 1952 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Sheriffs - Candidates for Third Term To all sheriffs and auditors: At the last session of the legislature a resolution was passed providing that the question of the amendment of Section 173 of the Constitution of the State of North Dakota be presented for a vote of the people to decide whether or not the two term limitation on sheriffs be removed. Since the passage of this resolution many of the sheriffs have contacted this office requesting an opinion as to whether or not a sheriff who is completing his second term would le

OPINION 52-21 March 3, 1952 (OPINION) CIVIL DEFENSE RE: No Law Authorizing Governor to Execute Interstate Compacts Reference is made to your verbal request for an opinion from this office concerning the question of whether or not it is within the powers granted to the Governor of the State of North Dakota to enter into and execute an interstate civil defense and disaster compact with other states. Several interstate civil defense and disaster compacts as adopted by other states were left with this office for our consideration. From a review of our civil defense act, it is our b

OPINION 52-22 February 28, 1952 (OPINION) CORPORATIONS RE: Classes of Stock for Cooperatives According to your letter of February 20, 1952, a group of cooperatives actively engaged in business and in the course of past activities, have used common voting stock and class "A" nonvoting stock as described below: COMMON VOTING STOCK. The common voting stock is restricted so that the same may be held only by agricultural producers or cooperative associations composed of agricultural producers and the common voting stock is the only voting stock of the association. CLASS "A" NONVO

OPINION 51-109 February 8, 1952 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Drivers License, Suspension, Exceptions RE: Chapter 256, subsection 5 Your letter dated February 5, 1952, addressed to the Attorney General of the State of North Dakota, with reference to paragraph 5 of the above chapter, has been referred to the undersigned as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Highway Department for reply. You ask whether paragraph 5 of the above chapter means that if both drivers or owners of motor vehicles involved in an accident fail to notify the Highway Commissioner in writing of th

OPINION 52-143 February 6, 1952 (OPINION) PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RE: Powers of, Location of Terminals Re: Sec. 49-0204, 49-1808. This is directed to you in response to your request for an opinion on the question: Does the Public Service Commission have jurisdiction to determine the location of depot or terminal vicinity of a common motor carrier within a community which it serves by virtue of authority granted by said Commission? The Public Service Commission possesses only the authority conferred on it by State constitution and statutes. Lyons v. Otter Tail Power Co.

OPINION 52-41 February 5, 1952 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Register of Deeds - Recording by Pasting Copy in Record Book In yours of the first of February, you ask this question: Can the pasting of a true copy of a written instrument involving real estate in the books ordinarily used for the recording of patents, deeds, mortgages and miscellaneous instruments, constitute a recording of said instruments as defined by statute?" You wish our written opinion as to whether the practice above outlined is permissible under the provisions of chapter 47-19 of our code. There is nothing in t

OPINION 52-99 February 1, 1952 (OPINION) LABOR UNIONS RE: Bargaining Agents, Failure of Employer to Appoint We have your letter of January 31, 1952, in which you request an opinion on the following: Section 34 0909 of the compiled laws of North Dakota provides 'That in the event any employee or employees shall desire to appoint a bargaining agent or strike against an employer, prior written notice thereof shall be given to the employer and it shall be the duty of the employer within two (2) days thereafter to designate a representative of the employer to act in the conduct of

OPINION 52-63 January 28, 1952 (OPINION) FEDERAL CENSUS RE: Effect on Municipal Corporations In your letter of the twenty-fifth inst. you state that the federal census of 1950 gives the population of Elgin as nearly 900; that when the village of Elgin was changed to a city, the districts into which the village had been divided were retained as wards as the population was less than 600; that you have continued electing one alderman from each such ward; that at the city election of 1950 the aldermen for the second and the fourth wards were each elected for a two year term. You a

OPINION 52-192 January 23, 1952 (OPINION) TOWNSHIPS RE: Dissolution, Use of Road Surfacing Fund In yours of the 22nd inst. you request the opinion of this office upon the two following questions, to-wit: An organized township in the county dissolved effective January 1, 1952. Prior to their dissolution, they had made special levies to surfacing their roads, and the money has been set aside for the sole purpose of surfacing roads. Upon their dissolution, there is money in that fund. The question is this: can the county commissioners use the money for any other purpose,

OPINION 52-21 January 21, 1952 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Sheriff - Fees, Return Defendants Not Found Your letter of January 9, 1952, in which you ask the opinion of this office on the following has been received. Several local attorneys have been preparing Returns of Service of Summons and Complaint, including a paragraph in said Return of Defendants Not Found. They assume fees for such service should be only sixty cents. Are they correct in making such assumption? We are of the opinion a charge of sixty cents should be made for Return of Summons and Complaint, plus one dol

OPINION 52-96 January 15, 1952 (OPINION) LABOR RE: Master Orders No Work on Holiday - Right of Servant to Pay Your letter of January 7 has been handed to me for consideration and reply. You state in your letter that a city bus driver who is employed by the month was notified by his employer that the buses would not operate on Christmas day and that, therefore, this employee did not report for work on that day. You state the employer now seeks to withhold from the wages of the employee his wages for Christmas day and you ask whether the employer can legally do so or not. Chri

OPINION 52-203 January 10, 1952 (OPINION) VETERANS RE: Soldier's Bonus - Procedure to Contest Decision I have your letter of January 8 in which you request the opinion of this office on the following: Section 37-2108 of the Veterans Adjusted Compensation Law which is found in the 1949 Supplement to the 1943 Revised Code and provides: The adjutant general shall have authority to determine any claim in any case where a doubt arises as to the eligibility of an applicant to receive payment, and the decision of the adjutant general in such case shall be final, except on questions

OPINION 52-134 January 4, 1952 (OPINION) PLUMBING RE: Plumbing Board - State License Holder Working in City Re: Section 40-0501 (25) R. C. 1943. In yours of January 3 you ask this question: "Are plumbers who hold North Dakota state plumbing licenses required to pay city plumbing permit fees, city plumber's license fees, and also city inspection fees, for plumbing work done in state institutions?" By section 40-0501, subsection 25, cities are given power to regulate the business of plumbing within the cities. Therefore, it is our opinion that, if such state institutions ar

OPINION 51-191 January 2, 1952 (OPINION) TEACHERS INSURANCE AND RETIREMENT FUND RE: Refunds of Overpayments, How Made Your letter of December 28th is brief and clearly states the matter upon which you wish a clarifying opinion. The letter reads as follows: It has been brought to my attention by the State Auditor that there may be a question as to whether the N. D. Teachers Ins. and Retirement Board can issue vouchers for Refunds to Treasurers of School Districts for overpayment of assessments for Teachers within the District. This has been the practice for the Board for ma

OPINION 51-124 December 20, 1951 (OPINION) OFFICERS RE: Powers of County Judge in Court of Increased Jurisdiction with Regards to Appointment of Counsel In yours of December 17th you request our construction of Section 27-0831. So far as we are able to learn, this section has never been construed by our court. This provision of our code was enacted as section 36 of chapter 80 of the laws of 1909. This section read, in part, follows: "In all criminal cases triable in the county court when it is satisfactorily shown to the court that the defendant has no means, etc." This

OPINION 51-168 December 6, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Cigarette Tax, Special, Allocation This is in reply to your letter of December 5, 1951, in which you ask the opinion of this office on the following: The Legislature at the last session enacted as Chapter 323 of the 1951 Session Laws an act which levied a tax of one-half mill on each cigarette sold in this state. The revenue derived from this tax is to be allocated on a per capita basis to the incorporated cities and villages of the state, which allocation is to be based upon the population of each incorporated city or vi

OPINION 51-165 November 30, 1951 (OPINION) STATE SEED DEPARTMENT RE: Imported Seed Labeling Re: Labeling Imported Seed - Sec. 4-0916 (3) R.C. 1943. In yours of November 26, 1951, you request our opinion as to whether under our laws and regulations made pursuant thereto you can require imported seed carrying the same color tags as prescribed by you to conform to the same standard as prescribed by you for each color of tag. It is our opinion that you may lawfully require imported seed which bears a blue tag, for instance, to conform to the requirements for authorization of a b

OPINION 51-114 November 26, 1951 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Width, Height & Length Limitations You have requested the opinion of this office relative to chapter 254 of the 1951 Session Laws. Chapter 254 amends and reenacts subsections 1, 2, and 3 or section 39-1204 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, as amended. It provides for width, height and length limitations of motor vehicles. Specifically it provides for a total outside width limitation, including load thereon, of eight feet. This limitations, however, does not apply to: (1) Construction and building moving

OPINION 51-110 November 23, 1951 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Fee for Trucks This office is in receipt of your letter dated November 3 asking for an opinion on Chapter 244 of the 1951 Session Laws with reference to the fees to be charged for trucks which have a higher gross weight than 60,000 pounds. The last session of the Legislature which enacted the new fee schedule setting out rates for gross weights ranging from 4,000 to 60,000 pounds also passed a law whereby certain trucks can qualify for a gross weight in excess of 60,000 pounds. This act was chapter 255 of the 1951

OPINION 51-73 November 21, 1951 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Trapper on Own Land Needs Only Limited License You have requested the opinion of this office as to the construction of the above sections. You ask whether one required to have a limited license to take beaver by section 20-0302 is required also to have a general license as required by section 20-0301. It is our opinion that as one may hunt or trap upon his own land as permitted by section 20-0302, he may so trap provided only that before he may so trap beaver upon his own land, he must have the limited license to tak

OPINION 51-173 November 21, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Estate Tax - Liability of Joint U.S. Bonds In yours of the 13th inst. you state that James Littlejohn died leaving some $1600.00 in joint government bonds. The survivor named on the bonds was his daughter, Estella Littlejohn. You further state that in submitting the estate tax return you listed the bonds but did not include them in the gross estate for tax purposes. You request the opinion of this office as to whether such bonds should have been included in the gross estate subject to estate or inheritance tax. We as

OPINION 51-173 November 15, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Estate Tax - Joint Tenancy, Death Certificate, When Filed Your letter of the 13th inst. requesting an opinion as to the construction of section 47-1906 as amended by chapter 279 S. L. 1951 has been received. It is our opinion that, under the amended section, in the case of the death of a joint tenant, a death certificate cannot be filed or recorded to clear the record title unless an estate tax determination of the county court or the tax commissioner has also been filed. ELMO T. CHRISTIANSON Attorney General

OPINION 51-14 November 14, 1951 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Civil Service, Demoted or Discharged Servants, Right of Appeal In your letter of November ninth you ask for an opinion regarding the constitutionality of section 5-205, Suspension, Demotion, and Dismissal, Article 2, Chapter V.Civil Service, Revised Ordinance of the city of Minot, together with section 5-206, paragraph (G) thereof. We find that the ordinance is in all things constitutional with the exception that a person who has been suspended, demoted, or dismissed is not permitted to appeal to a higher court. Chapter 40-4

OPINION 51-66 October 26, 1951 (OPINION) FIRES RE: Eligibility to Participate in Distribution of Premium Tax Fund Answering your inquiry of October 25, our opinion is as follows: First: In qualifying a rural fire department for $200.00 under chapter 153, 1951 Session Laws, (House Bill No. 598) it must: 1. Have been maintained for service within the area designated for at least eight months prior to filing the certificate. 2. It must own as part of its equipment at least one fire engine, truck, or hose cart. 3. It must have a membership of at least fifteen persons, and

OPINION 51-41 October 22, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Register of Deeds - All Crop Loans to be Shown on Chattel Abstra You have asked whether government laons made by the agency known as Production and Marketing Association (old Triple A) on grain stored in bins on the farms should be listed on the elevator contracts and weekly bulletins made by the register of deeds. You ask further whether a chattel mortgage covering grain which is stored in a granary or bin should be listed on the elevator abstracts made pursuant to section 35-0506 N.D.R.C. 1943. It is our opinion that all o

OPINION 51-187 October 22, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: School District Building Fund You have asked the opinion of this office relative to the levy of Bismarck School District No. 1, Burleigh County, under the circumstances stated in yours of the 20th inst. as follows: This District has submitted a budget of $116,000 for building fund under Sec. 57-1516, 49 Supplement, N.D. Revised Code of 1943. This figure represents a mill levy of 10.03 mills. Under Sec. 57-1516 the governing body of a school district may levy annually for a school building fund not in excess of 10 mills.

OPINION 51-183 October 11, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Election as to Proceeds of Federal Loan on Grain Final Without C Commissioner In your letter of September 27, 1951, you seek an opinion on the construction of section 57-3817 of the 1949 Supplement to the 1943 Revised Code. You ask whether a taxpayer, after making his election as to the proceeds of a particular loan, may in a later year of final payment of the loan change his election with respect to the proceeds of that same loan. The section in question grants to producers of agricultural products who receive proceeds f

OPINION 51-117 October 11, 1951 (OPINION) OASIS RE: School Districts and Townships Are Employers Re: Section 52-0920, C-1. In yours of the tenth inst. your request our opinion on the question of whether or not school districts and townships are included in the term "employer" as defined in section 52-0920, C-1, as affected by chapter 297, section 2 P, Laws of 1951. There is no question but that school districts and townships are "political subdivisions" of the state. See 32 Words and Phrases, Per. Ed. page 816. And there could be no question but that they were included u

OPINION 51-207 October 8, 1951 (OPINION) WELFARE RE: County Commissioners to Audit All Accounts Payable The Public Welfare Board has requested from this office an opinion on the following matters: In certain counties, the Boards of County Commissioners have not approved the bills incurred and approved by the County Welfare Board and presented to the county auditor for payments. The question is: Is it necessary that the Board of County Commissioners approve those bills incurred and approved by the Welfare Board and presented to the county auditor for payment? In regard to wel

OPINION 51-195 October 3, 1951 (OPINION) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION RE: Both Husband and Wife May Claim Benefits, But Not for Same Depen You have asked for an opinion relative to the construction of the word "claimant" under Section 52-0604 of the NDRC of 1943 as amended. The specific situation in which you are interested is somewhat as follows: A husband, who is the father of more than three minors, files a claim for dependency which claim is awarded him under said section. Thereafter, his wife, who is also employed, becomes a claimant and in her claim she claims dependency

OPINION 51-56 September 24, 1951 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Payment of High School Tuition to Teachers Colleges Maintaining Your letter of September 22, 1951, received, wherein you refer to the conference had in our office regarding the payment of high school tuition from the equalization fund to the teachers colleges at Minot, Valley City, and Dickinson on whose campuses you operate elementary schools and high schools in connection with the teacher-training program. You ask whether or not the above-named institutions are entitled to receive payments under the terms of chapter 136

OPINION 51-66 September 21, 1951 (OPINION) FEES RE: Where Two Petitions for Administration Filed Yours of the twentieth inst. asking for an opinion re section 27-0740, 1949 supplement has been received. You state: "In the case at bar a sister of the dead man filed her petition for administration and promptly thereafter his brother filed a similar petition." You ask whether each petitioner must pay the filing fee provided for by said section. It is our opinion that, since two separate petitions were filed, two filing fees are due. If the brother had been content to appear i

OPINION 51-32 September 21, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Deposit of Funds In your letter of September 12, 1951, you ask whether or not a North Dakota county may deposit the funds in a state bank provided such bank pledges securities to cover such deposit. North Dakota law governing deposits and depositories of public funds is found in chapter 21-04 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943. Section 9 of that chapter reads as follows: "PLEDGE OF SECURITY IN PLACE OF DEPOSITORY BOND. The board of any public corporation may accept from any banking corporation, as security for rep

OPINION 51-116 September 18, 1951 (OPINION) OASIS RE: Election to Adopt Where All Not Eligible Your letter of September 17, 1951, has been received. In your letter you desire an opinion from this office relative to Section 52-0920, subsection m of the North Dakota Old Age and Survivor Insurance Law. The part in which you are interested pertains to counties and other governmental instrumentalities that may come under the law if "as a whole elect to adopt this system." We suppose that his question is asked by reason that the county superintendent of each count is governed by th

OPINION 51-72 September 13, 1951 (OPINION) GAME AND FISH RE: Responsibility of Merchant Selling Licenses Your letter of the twelfth inst. re above statute has been referred to my desk. The material facts as stated in your letter are thus: On May 16, Mr. M. F. Christopherson, a merchant at Regent, took out a supply of fishing license books for sale at his store as he has been doing for many years. On May twenty-seventh his store was burglarized and among other things $51.00 of this license money was taken. This money was kept in a separate place and was not included in the

OPINION 51-94 August 22, 1951 (OPINION) JUVENILE COMMISSIONER RE: Powers Your letter of August 10, 1951 addressed to this office has been received. You request the opinion of this office on questions based on the following assumed facts: A child is involved in a traffic offense other than an offense listed in section 39-0610 of the 1943 Code and you would like to know "Does the Juvenile Commissioner or the Judge of the Juvenile Court have the authority to set out as a condition of probation that the child involved in the offense refrain from driving a car for a certain perio

OPINION 51-132 August 17, 1951 (OPINION) PLUMBING RE: License of Plumbers Employed by Railroad Your letter of August 17, 1951, to the Attorney General has been received. In this letter you ask the opinion of this office whether plumbers employed by the Great Northern Railway in the State of North Dakota are subject to the provisions of the North Dakota Plumbing Code. You state that said plumbers do not work in railroad roundhouses or on engines owned and operated by the railroad company. The work performed by these plumbers in question is done all over the railroad line and

OPINION 51-110 August 17, 1951 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Fees for Non-Use You have requested the opinion of this office on a problem based upon the following assumed facts. The owner of a motor vehicle did not use the vehicle during the year 1950. The owner now intends to use this vehicle the latter part of August, 1951. The question presented for determination is, must the owner of the vehicle pay a penalty for the year 1951 for not having a license prior to August. Section 39-0441 of the 1943 Revised Code provides: 39-0441. FEE FOR VEHICLE NOT USED UPON HIGHWAYS FO

OPINION 51-149 August 15, 1951 (OPINION) SCHOOLS RE: Organization or Annexation of Districts Pursuant to our telephone conversation of this date we are writing you relative to the proposed alteration of the boundaries of certain school districts in the vicinity of Taylor. We understand that a petition was filed with your county commissioners under the old law asking for the annexation of certain districts to the adjoining district and the commissioners have or are about to act on the same. We call your attention to section 15-5324 of the 1949 Supplement which deals with volunt

OPINION 51-135 August 14, 1951 (OPINION) PRINTING RE: Payment Your letter dated August 10, 1951, addressed to this office has been received. You state that on June 5, 1951, your office billed the Aeronautics Department for 1700 Airport Directories. The printing job was done under a third class contract held by the Knight Printing Company which was sublet to the Conrad Publishing Company of Bismarck. During the process of the job the printer sent a statement for the composition to the Department of Aeronautics for $800 for composition. You further state that the Aeronautics

OPINION 51-23 August 13, 1951 (OPINION) CORPORATIONS RE: No Limit on Amount of Real Estate Held by Educational Corporation We have your letter of August 10, 1951, wherein you ask for an opinion, and the reason for your coming to this office is that the question involved is of a statewide and public nature and of extreme importance to the people of the state as a whole. In view of that situation we shall vary from the custom of this office that opinions are not given to persons outside of public offices. Your question relates to an organization that is religious, educational, a

OPINION 51-38 August 10, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Must Deputies of County Officers be Electors? Yours of the 9th inst. re qualifications of deputies of officers has been received. Section 44-0301 provides for the appointment of deputies by certain state officers, and section 11-1011 provides for deputies of county officers. Section 44-0304 provides that all deputies, both of state and county officers, must be citizens and residents. No statute specifically provides that such deputies must be of legal age or electors. However, 67 C.J.S. at page 450 says: Where provision i

OPINION 51-165 August 10, 1951 (OPINION) STATE SEED DEPARTMENT RE: Seed Commissioner - Authority to Enter into Agreement with PMA You have submitted to the office of the Attorney General of the State of North Dakota a proposed memorandum agreement between the Production and Marketing Administration, United States Department of Agriculture and the Seed Department of the State of North Dakota. We have examined the same and we are in doubt as to the full effect of paragraph 1 of the proposed agreement. As we understand it, the State Seed Department is operating on a budget to whi

OPINION 51-13 August 3, 1951 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Band Levy In your letter of August first you ask whether you are required to follow the band levy limitation fixed by section 40-3703 N.C.R.C. 1943 or whether a city may now levy three mills for support of a band by reason of the amendment of section 57-1508 as found in the 1949 Supplement. In other words, does the amendment authorize the city to now levy three mills regardless of the provisions of chapter 40-37. A municipal levy for support of a band must be authorized by an election called and held as provider by chapter 40-

OPINION 51-160 July 31, 1951 (OPINION) STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RE: Powers Your letter of July 30, 1951, to the Attorney General has been received. You desire a ruling on the legality of the State Department of Health and the State Health Council in participating or conducting surveys, studies or investigations of the state institutions that are primarily concerned with health and health problems. You further request a ruling as to the potential scope of the activities, in other words, if there would be any restrictions or limitations placed upon the Health Council or the St