North Dakota Attorney General Opinions

OPINION 48-57 April 26, 1948 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Claim Against Estates for Institutional Care Re: George Woods Estate Your letter of April 21 regarding filing of claims against this estate has been received and sent to my desk. This office has already considered the situation which you suggest in your letter and it has been our opinion that the county has a claim against the estate of the deceased patient for all moneys that the county has paid from moneys collected by the county in taxes. We have been of the opinion that the institutional care paid out of the liquor ta

OPINION 48-218 April 20, 1948 (OPINION) SCHOOLS RE: Teachers - Salary During Closing of School This office is in receipt of your letter of April 16, 1948, in which you ask our opinion on the following state of facts: On account of the heavy snow this winter and the inability to get fuel oil hauled on account of impassable roads you have not had school for approximately three months. That is, from the Christmas holidays until a couple of weeks ago. You desire to know if the school board is compelled to pay the teachers for these three months. I assume that the teachers were

OPINION 48-206 April 20, 1948 (OPINION) SCHOOL BUS RE: Driver Not Subject to Provisions of OASIS Your letter of April 15, 1948, addressed to the attorney general, has been received and contents of same have been noted. Your school board desires an opinion relative to the Old Age and Survivor Insurance System. The particular question is whether or not the board is liable to the Old Age and Survivor Insurance System for the contribution required by law in the following situation. The school board has a contract with bus drivers to transport children to school. The bus driver

OPINION 48-219 April 16, 1948 (OPINION) TEACHERS RE: Continuing Contracts - 1947 Law This will acknowledge your letter of April 12 in which you seek the clarification and interpretation of our office concerning chapter 146 of the 1947 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1945. You refer to this law as "the continuing contract law of North Dakota." I will endeavor to interpret section 15-4727 of the 1947 Supplement in such a manner as to clarify the same for your use as well as that of other teachers. There are three provisions of this section which must be taken

OPINION 48-70 April 13, 1948 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Not Authorized to Join with Private Groups in Building Memorial Hospital This will acknowledge your letter of April 10, 1948, in which you seek our interpretation of chapter 125 of the 1947 Session Laws, now chapter 11-21 of the 1947 Supplement to the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, as it relates to the right of the county to make a levy for the purpose of assisting in the financing of the building of a hospital by a private association or group. I am entirely in accord with your interpretation of this statute. It limits

OPINION 48-22 April 12, 1948 (OPINION) CERTIFICATES OF INDEBTEDNESS RE: Basis For Your letter of April 9 to the Attorney General re the above has come to my desk for attention. It is my opinion that when your Park Board makes the increased levy as authorized by the election as you state and such levy has been certified to the county auditor, the tax has been levied under the purview of section 21-0203. Further, certificates of indebtedness may be issued against this levy as uncollected taxes. I find no specific opinion by this office involving the question of issuing certi

OPINION 48-146 March 25, 1948 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: Fraternal Societies - Assessment of Members This will acknowledge your letter of March 19, 1948, with reference to the attempt of the newly created insurance company known as the "Pioneer Mutual Life Insurance Company" of Fargo, North Dakota, to qualify for admission to do business in the state of California. Attached to your letter is a recent wire from Mr. B. C. Marks, president of the Pioneer Mutual Life Insurance Company. Also attached to your letter is a copy of the transfer and reinsurance agreement between the Grand

OPINION 48-229 March 23, 1948 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Levies for Airport Purposes Your letter of March 18, 1948, addressed to this office, has been received and contents noted. You state that the question has been raised in your office as to the disposition of a three mill levy by cities for airport purposes as provided by chapter 347 of the 1947 Session Laws. You state that in your opinion chapter 349 of the 1947 Session Laws does not govern the disposition of the three mill levy for airport purposes, but that resort must be made to the revised code of 1943, particularly cha

OPINION 48-156 March 23, 1948 (OPINION) INTOXICATING LIQUOR RE: Sale on Election Day This is in reply to your letter of March 18, 1948, addressed to this office. You state that Foster School District No. 3, Logan County, is going to have a special election on March 30, for the purpose of voting an increase of tax levy. The polls will open at two o'clock p.m., and close at five o'clock p.m., the same day. The school district comprises the city of Napoleon and all the township in which the city of Napoleon is situated. Your place of business is outside of the corporate lim

OPINION 48-27 March 22, 1948 (OPINION) CITY ATTORNEY RE: Additional Compensation for Special Services This is in reply to your letter of March twenty-second addressed to this office in which you ask our opinion as to whether the governing board of your city may pay your city attorney additional fees for legal work drawing papers for special improvements and other special work. Section 40-1304 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 provides that, "Except where otherwise provided in this code, any officer or employee of a municipality shall receive the salary, fees, or other c

OPINION 48-89 March 20, 1948 (OPINION) MARRIAGE RE: Husband and Wife - Responsibility for Stepchildren - Sec. 14-0909 Your letter of March 3, 1948, addressed to the attorney general, has been received in which you present the following inquiry: Section 14-0909 Revised Code of North Dakota for 1943 reads as follows: 'A husband is not bound to maintain his wife's children by a former husband, but if he receives them into his family and supports them, it is presumed that he does so as a parent and when such is the case, they are not liable to him for their support, nor he to the

OPINION 48-128 March 18, 1948 (OPINION) FOOD AND DRUGS RE: Oleomargarine - Sale to Cafe This is in reply to your letter of March 9 in which you inquire whether or not a cafe purchasing oleomargarine from a manufacturer or jobber outside the state and serving the same to customers would be required under section 19-0506 to secure a license from the State Laboratories Department. You further inquire whether or not a manufacturer or wholesaler outside the state shipping to customers in state would be required to place upon the packages the stamps as required under section 19-0513.

OPINION 48-241 March 16, 1948 (OPINION) VILLAGE RE: Purchase of Firefighting Apparatus Yours of March 12, 1948, re purchase of firefighting apparatus by your village, has been received and sent to my desk. Under the provisions of the above section, your village board may by resolution duly adopted declare that an emergency exists and that it is desirable and necessary that firefighting apparatus and equipment be acquired for the village. The board may then enter into a contract for the purchase of the necessary equipment, the purchase price to be payable in annual installment

OPINION 48-127 March 15, 1948 (OPINION) FOOD AND DRUGS RE: Oleomargarine - Sales in State Re: Sections 19-0505 and 19-0506, 1943 Revised Code Yours of the 12th of March, 1948, with copy of letter of March 10th, to Mr. A. N. Lavik, director, State Laboratories Department, has been received and sent to my desk. Section 19-0505, when read with section 19-0506, clearly applies only to persons, etc., who sell, etc., oleomargarine in this state. It does not authorize or require persons, etc., who do not have oleomargarine for sale, etc., in this state, to be licensed. In other wor

OPINION 48-117 March 11, 1948 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Real Property Not Subject to Taxation Your letter of March 10, 1948, addressed to the attorney general, has been received and contents noted. You state that the Bismarck Board of education owns lot 5 of Block 1, Wynkoop Addition to the City of Bismarck. There is a residence on this property which is leased by the board of education to one of the teachers in one of their schools. Your question is whether this property is exempt from taxation. Section 15-2607 of the 1943 Revised Code authorizes and empowers school boards

OPINION 48-223 March 4, 1948 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Farm Property of Sectarin School Re: Section 57-0208 (6), 1943 Revised Code Your letter of March 2, 1948, asking for the opinion of the attorney general as to whether farm property owned by a sectarian school or academy, and used in part at least for the production of meat and milk for the students occupying the school's dormitories, is exempt from taxation, has come to my desk. Your request involves the construction of section 57-0208 (6) of the 1943 Revised Code. This provision is as follows: "All schoolhouses, academie

OPINION 48-122 March 3, 1948 (OPINION) ELECTION RE: Constitutional Amendments to Be Submitted at Primary This is in reply to your letter of some time ago inquiring whether the constitutional amendments proposed by the 1947 Legislative Assembly are to be submitted at the primary election or the general election in June and November, respectively. Chapter 123 of the 1947 Session Laws is a concurrent resolution for an amendment to the state constitution authorizing the issuance, sale, and delivery of bonds of the state of North Dakota in the sum not to exceed $27,000,000, to be us

OPINION 48-176 March 2, 1948 (OPINION) LIENS RE: Destruction and Removal from Register of Deeds Files Re: Destruction of Old Liens Your letter of February 27 regarding the destruction of old chattel and crop mortgages has been received and sent to my desk. The law which you mentioned, but which you were unable to find is probably Section 11-1814 of the Revised Code which is a reenactment and amendment of Chapter 164 of the Laws of 1935. The law of 1935 provided for the removal and destruction from the files of old liens filed prior to January 1, 1920. The Code amended thi

OPINION 48-117 March 2, 1948 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Reorganization - 1947 Law Your letter of February 27, 1948, addressed to the attorney general, has been received and contents of same have been noted. You inquire if a consolidation plan of two school districts to be combined into one is submitted to a vote, do these two districts vote as a unit, and a majority so voting will decide the issue, or does each district vote separately? And further, if one of these districts does not carry but the other district does, what is the result? I assume that you have reference to the

OPINION 48-39 February 20, 1948 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Publication of Council Proceedings in Official Newspapers Your letter of February 18, 1948, regarding publication of official proceedings of city, has been received and sent to my desk. Section 40-0109 of the 1943 Revised Code requires that the city council shall publish a complete record of all its proceedings in its official newspaper. Section 40-0109 provides for the appointment by the city of an official newspaper, and requires that an official newspaper be appointed if there is one published in the city. The official c

OPINION 48-39 February 19, 1948 (OPINION) CITY RE: Purchase of Water - Ordinance and Contract to Be Approved by Voters Yours of the 19th inst., requesting our opinion as to the proper procedure for your city to follow under section 40-3316 of the 1943 Revised Code, at hand. It appears from this section that any contract for the purchase of water must be authorized by an ordinance. There is a possible question as to whether it is the contract or the ordinance that is to be submitted to the voters for approval. I would suggest that any question as to this uncertainly might be

OPINION 48-72 February 16, 1948 (OPINION) COUNTY RE: War Memorial - Levy for County - May Not Issue Bonds Your letter of February 10, 1948, asking certain questions regarding the building of Memorials under the provisions of chapter ©25 of the 1947 Session Laws, has been received and sent to my desk. You ask four questions as follows: (1) Can the present Board of County Commissioners pass a resolution which requires the levy to be made for the next five years or must the Board pass a resolution each year for the levy? (2) As soon as the resolution has been made or soon there

OPINION 48-115 February 13, 1948 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Insurance on Buildings - Proceeds Your letter of February 11 addressed to the attorney general has been received and contents of same have been noted. You request our opinion on the following proposition: About four years ago the Alsen School burned down. The insurance after payments of bonds amounts to approximately $12,000.00. In addition there is a reserve of approximately $3,000.00 so that the fund available for building purposes is in the neighborhood of $15,000.00. The school board desires to build, but whe

OPINION 48-73 February 9, 1948 (OPINION) COUNTY RE: Redistricting May Be Done Within Reasonable Time This office is in receipt of your letter under date of February 3, 1948, with reference to the validity of the action taken by the redistricting board of Sargent County on January 6, 1948. In your letter you outline the history of the proceedings leading up to the redistricting of the county. We assume from what you say in your letter that the petition filed with the County Auditor was sufficient and that it conformed with the requirements of section 11-0703 of the 1943 Revised

OPINION 48-195 February 7, 1948 (OPINION) PEACE OFFICERS RE: Highway Patrol - Witness Fees Your letter of February 5, 1948, re above, has been received and turned over to me for attention. We agree fully with your opinion as expressed in your letter. We will for clarification quote your questions and then follow each question with our answer. 1. Has a highway patrolman any right to fees for "attendance in court", incident to (a) his signing a complaint, or (b) his being present in Justice Court when a defendant charged with traffic violation or other misdemeanor enters ple

OPINION 48-81 February 3, 1948 (OPINION) COURT REPORTERS RE: May Make no Charge for Typing Memorandum Opinion of Court This will acknowledge your letter of January 31 in which you enclose correspondence between yourself and one of the court reporters of one of the district judges in the judicial district in which Bowman County is located. I note that in a certain civil case this court reporter has submitted a bill for services in transcribing and typing the memorandum opinion of the court in this case. This bill was duly approved by the district court which decided the case.

OPINION 48-176 February 2, 1948 (OPINION) LABOR RE: Hours - Women - Railroad Employees This is in reply to your letter of January 13, 1948, in which you ask the opinion of this office as to the applicability of section 34-0606 of the 1943 Revised Code, Hours of Labor for Females, in connection with railroad employees where the railroad is engaged in interstate commerce and therefore subject to the Railway Labor Act, Title 45, Chapter 8. Specifically, your question is whether the wage and hour laws for women and minors apply to railroad employees governed by federal law, such a

OPINION 48-69 January 28, 1948 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: War Memorials This will acknowledge your letter of January 22, in which you state that the county commissioners of Nelson County have, for some time, been considering the matter of a war memorial and have been considerably interested in seeing that Nelson County erects a new war memorial court house. You point to chapter 125, of the 1947 Session Laws, in which county commissioners are authorized to construct memorials. You ask specifically whether the phrase in that Act which reads as follows ". . . and may after the taki

OPINION 48-119 January 28, 1948 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Reorganization - Tenure of Office of Existing Boards This will acknowledge your letter of January 22, in which you quote a part of section 22 of chapter 147 of the 1947 Session Laws, which reads: * * *prior to the completion of the reorganization of any school district under the provisions of this act, the existing school board of any school district shall not contract or place such district under any obligation, except upon the recommendation of the county committee. In this connection you ask this office to advise you w

OPINION 48-125 January 20, 1948 (OPINION) ELECTIONS RE: Irrigation Districts - Who Are "Electors" Re: Construction of Section 61-0503 of the 1943 Revised Code, as amended by Sec. 2 of Chapter 372, Laws 1947 This will acknowledge the receipt of your letter of January 17, 1948, in which you say that recently your office has received inquiries as to the qualifications of "electors" in irrigation districts. Section 1 of Chapter 372 of the 1947 Session Laws provides: 'Elector' shall mean any landowner owning not less than five acres of land whose land will be or is subject to assess

OPINION 48-165 January 16, 1948 (OPINION) INSTITUTIONAL CARE RE: Indian Patients - No Discrimination Reference is made to your letter of December 26, 1947, relative to maintenance expense of Indians at the Grafton State School, and the real question presented is whether or not the state is justified in charging the federal government more for the care and maintenance of Indians at the school than it charges for other residents of the state. In the past the board of administration has had an agreement with the federal government permitting the Grafton State School to receive In

OPINION 48-113 January 15, 1948 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Indian School Fort Yates - Participation in Equalization Fund This is in reply to your letter of January 8 addressed to this office in which you make inquiry as to whether or not the Ft. Yates School District is entitled to participate in the several divisions of the state equalization fund, more especially on a teacher unit basis. You state that the Indian Service School at Fort Yates is maintained by the Federal Government for the purpose of providing educational facilities for the Indian pupils of school age in that part

OPINION 48-42 January 12, 1948 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Special Assessment Districts May Include Entire City Your letter of January 9, 1948, relating to special assessment districts for extensions of your waterworks and sewer system, at hand. I talked this matter over with Mr. Burdick some time ago, but as far as I know he did not leave any blue prints of the proposed extension in the office. He made small pencil sketches just to show the proposition but not with reference to any specific extension. The present statute relating to the size and form of improvement districts is se

OPINION 48-217 January 6, 1948 (OPINION) SCHOOLS RE: School Buses - Seat Transportation Tax Not Applicable This is in reply to your letter of January 3 addressed to this office making inquiry as to whether an additional license fee of $8.00 per pupil as provided by section 39-0451 must be paid by operators of school busses transporting more than seven pupils. Section 39-0451, supra, is part of the general law governing motor vehicles used in commercial transportation of passengers and is part of chapter 179 of the 1927 Session Laws. The operation of school busses evidently wa

OPINION 47-178 December 26, 1947 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Maximum Weight of Loads In your letter of December 1st you asked us for an interpretation of Chapter 246 of the Laws of 1945 with reference to the weight loads of motor vehicles. We have delayed answering as we have spent considerable time in trying to arrive at the correct analysis of these provisions. We sent you a tentative opinion some time ago. Since then, we have gone over it carefully and we now give you this opinion which makes no variation from the tentative opinion sent you. Of course we must determine

OPINION 47-68 December 23, 1947 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Mineral Reservations in Conveyances - Register's Duty Re: Chapter 340, Laws of 1947. Your letter of the 22nd re House Bill No. 311 has come to my desk. House Bill No. 311 is chapter 340, of the laws of 1947. It is my interpretation of section 2 of this act that it is the duty of the Register of Deeds whenever he finds in recording a conveyance that the grantor reserves a mineral right to himself, the registrar should transmit to the auditor a statement showing the mineral reservation. This should be sufficiently compr

OPINION 47-56 December 22, 1947 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Poor Relief - Funds Usable Re: Section 25-0803 Your letter of December 18th re funds for relief for poor is at hand and came to me for reply. You state that your county's poor relief fund is exhausted. Section 50-0304 authorizes transfer to such fund from other funds with certain specific exceptions. You state that your county has accumulated a fund for institutional care which was revised under the provisions of Chapter 25-08 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, Section 25-0802 provides for levy of the county ta

OPINION 47-225 December 22, 1947 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Estate Taxes - Refund of Estate Taxes Erroneously Paid Re: Estate Tax Refund, Estate of Archie F. Simonson. Deceased, Grand Forks County, N. Dak. Your letter of December 17 addressed to this office relative to the above entitled matter has been received and contents noted. It appears from your letter that some time ago Grand Forks County erroneously remitted approximately $1,421.26 to the State of North Dakota on account of estate taxes in the above entitled estate and that thereafter when the error was discovered the

OPINION 47-106 December 17, 1947 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Department of Public Instruction - Acceptance of Federal Funds This office is in receipt of a letter written by your Mr. Quale on December 11, 1947, relative to a proposed contract with the office of Indian Affairs as one party and the State of North Dakota acting through your department as the other party regarding the distribution of federal funds to certain public schools in this state in which Indian pupils are in attendance. You enclose copy of proposed contract which, as I understand, is identical with the form of c

OPINION 47-67 December 15, 1947 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Coroner's Duty in Disposing of Property of Dead Persons Re: Chapter 11-19, North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 Your letter of December 11 relating to duties of county coroner in disposing of property of persons found dead in his county has been received at this office and sent to my desk for reply. I presume your inquiry applies only to the cases where dead bodies are found under circumstances requiring investigations by the coroner, and not cases where the dead person appears to have no heirs. The duties of a coroner are

OPINION 47-99 December 12, 1947 (OPINION) EDUCATION RE: Board of Education May not Spend District Funds for Publicity Purposes This office is in receipt of your letter of December 10, and contents of same have been noted. You state that the Board of Education expects to construct a new building and remodel one building. In order to provide funds for this project, it will be necessary to call an election to vote on a bond issue. You state further than in order that the voters may know what the Board of Education has in mind, it will be necessary to put on a publicity campai

OPINION 47-197 November 15, 1947 (OPINION) PUBLIC PRINTING RE: Done in State by Established Firms Re: Section 46-0215 Your letter of November 10, 1947, regarding the above section, has been received and sent to my desk. It is my opinion that all public printing must be done by firms established in this state for at least one year. The statute is perfectly clear on this. It is further my opinion that it is the intent of the law, although not clearly expressed, that such work should be done in the state of North Dakota. It is my opinion that this statute excludes at lest

OPINION 47-71 November 10, 1947 (OPINION) County RE: Use of County Jail by City The letter signed jointly by you and Mr. Howard A. Moum, state's attorney, has been received and sent to my desk. The city has power to establish a jail, both by section 40-0501(41) and 40-0502(5) of the 1943 Revised Code. If the city has no jail, it may, with the consent of the county commissioners, use the county jail for the confinement of persons charged with or convicted of a violation of the city ordinance. (Section 40-0501(41). However, the sheriff by virtue of his office has charge of

OPINION 47-232 November 10, 1947 (OPINION) TAX TITLE LANDS RE: Public Sale Your letter of November 7, 1947, in re: sales of lands acquired by the county on tax title at private sale where the land has not first been put up for sale at a public sale, has been received and sent to by desk. It is our opinion that the lands may not be sold at private sales unless and until they have been offered for public sale. Therefore, if owing to error in advertising your county did not hold a November sale of tax acquired property, it is our opinion that no private sale may be made until t

OPINION 47-163 November 8, 1947 (OPINION) INSANE RE: Prisoner Patients - Expense Paid by County This office received your letter today asking for our opinion on a question submitted by Dr. Fisher, superintendent of the Jamestown hospital. According to Dr. Fisher's letter, there are several patients at the Jamestown hospital who have been sent there from the penitentiary at Bismarck. During their stay at the Jamestown hospital, their sentences have expired but they are still at the hospital. The question presented is: first, should these patients be brought before an insani

OPINION 47-34 November 5, 1947 (OPINION) CITIES RE: Jails - Labor Prisoners Re: Sections 12-4432, 40-1112, and 40-1812, 1943 Revised Code. Your letter of November 3, 1947, regarding labor of city prisoners, and location of city jails, has been received and sent to my desk. The governing body of the city may, by ordinance duly enacted, provide that persons convicted of violation of city ordinance may be sentenced to imprisonment in the city jail not to exceed three months, and when so sentenced the sentence may provide that the prisoner shall perform labor for such municipalit

OPINION 47-126 November 3, 1947 (OPINION) ESTATES OF DECEDENTS RE: Inventory - Necessity for Approval of - Homestead and Exemptions Must Be Set Aside Re: Section 30-1607 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943 Your letter of October 28 concerning the above section has been received and sent to my desk. It is my opinion that the answers to your specific questions must in all cases be "yes." The words in Section 30-1607 in the first sentence, to-wit: "concerning the homestead and other exempt property" is rather misleading and I cannot satisfy myself just exactly what is me