North Dakota AG Opinions, 1951

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

OPINION 51-83 July 30, 1951 (OPINION) INSTITUTIONS RE: Soldiers Home - Disbursing of Funds We have your letter of July 19, 1951, requesting an opinion as to the method of disbursing appropriations made by the 1951 Legislature for the support and maintenance of the Soldiers Home. We call your attention to section 37-1515 of the N.D.R.C., 1943 pertaining to the disbursing of the moneys derived for the support and maintenance of the Soldiers Home. However, this section was repealed during the 1951 Session. We do not find that the Legislature enacted any law to take the place o

OPINION 51-29 July 30, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Compensation of States Attorney Serving on Insanity Board In yours of the twenty-fourth instant, you ask for our opinion clarifying chapter 183 of the Laws of 1951, relating to when, if ever, the state's attorney is entitled to compensation when acting as a member of the insanity board. In this respect, chapter 183 is identical with section 25-0315. The amendment merely raised the compensation of members of the board. The present law, chapter 183, Laws of 1951, provides a blanket compensation of ten dollars per day for memb

OPINION 51-163 July 30, 1951 (OPINION) STATE OF N.D. RE: Ratification of Outstanding Oil and Gas Leases In yours of July 3rd, you ask for an opinion from this office regarding the power of the Industrial Commission and the Bank of North Dakota as agents for the state treasurer, who acts as trustee for the state to make and deliver agreements ratifying outstanding oil and gas leases given or to be given by contract purchasers of lands owned by the trustee. It is the opinion of this office that the Industrial Commission as well as other agencies of the state that have and control

OPINION 51-211 July 27, 1951 (OPINION) WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION RE: 1951 Amendment This in in reply to a request for an opinion on the interpretation of section 65-0509, as amended by the legislative session of 1951, which is as follows: "65-0509. Total Disability; Weekly and Aggregate Compensation. If the injury causes temporary or permanent total disability, the fund shall pay to the disabled employee during such disability a weekly compensation equal to sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his weekly wage, subject to the maximum and minimum limitations contained in section 6

OPINION 51-104 July 26, 1951 (OPINION) MINERAL RIGHTS RE: Effect of Tax Sale In yours of the 24th inst. you ask two questions, to-wit: A sold some land to B, reserving in A the mineral rights: B defaulted in his real estate tax: 1. If the county acquires this land through tax proceedings, does it do so subject to A's mineral rights? 2. If some party other than the county purchases the land either at a tax sale or from the county subsequently, does he acquire title subject to A's mineral rights?" In our opinion the answer to each question must be yes. Ordinarily lands in

OPINION 51-26 July 25, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Commissioners - Expense for Meals and Lodging While Attending Board Sessions We have perused your letter of July 21, 1951, very carefully and have examined the statutes and opinions of this office cited by you. It seems that the only opinion of this office relating directly to the question is that of February 27, 1936, found on page 60 of the Report of the Attorney General for the period of July 1, 1934, to June 30, 1936. At the time that opinion was written, the present custom now followed by this office in giving its opin

OPINION 51-49 July 24, 1951 (OPINION) DISPLACED PERSONS RE: Responsibility for Institutional Care In your letter of July 16, 1951, addressed to this office, you state that certain displaced persons who have been sponsored by religious societies are at the present time in the tuberculosis sanatorium at San Haven, and that their care is being paid for by their sponsors. You state that the question arises as to how long the Lutheran Welfare Society would be responsible for their care at this institution and whether they should become inmates of some other institution. I refer you

OPINION 51-113 July 20, 1951 (OPINION) MOTOR VEHICLES RE: Use tax The office of the Attorney General of the State of North Dakota has your request for an opinion regarding a practice which has occasionally been used in your department where such organizations as the International Harvester Company have turned vehicles over to their men for use in the State of North Dakota and that title and license were issued without collecting the use or sales tax. You ask if this is proper under the law. As we understand the law it was to the effect that drivers of vehicles should make a co

OPINION 51-172 July 19, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Estates In yours of the 17th inst. you ask our opinion as to the effect of chapter 325 Laws of 1951, which amended section 57-3711 (2), as to whether the amendment affects estates of decedents who died prior to the effective date of the amendment. You refer to the opinion of this office appearing on pages 176 and 177 of the Report of the Attorney General for July 1st, 1948 to June 30th, 1950. We adhere to that opinion. However, that opinion related to what was in effect a penalty for nonpayment of the estate tax rather th

OPINION 51-34 July 18, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Filing Fees in Appeal from Justice Court We have yours of the sixteenth instant re proper filing fee for the filing of an appeal from the justice court to the district court in civil actions. A search through the various codes and compilations of the laws of North Dakota fails to discover a specific statute providing for a filing fee for filing an appeal from a justice court. Prior to 1915 fees were provided for different actions, fees varying in cases where judgment was entered by default, or after jury trail, but no specifi

OPINION 51-79 July 16, 1951 (OPINION) HIGHWAYS RE: Rights of Abutting Owner Yours of the twelfth inst. has been received. In this letter you state that the following situation has arisen in your county: One of the townships of this county complains that owners of land abutting township roads are making use of the ditches of said roads in their private drainage systems. In so doing the ditches are being deepened and the board of supervisors feel that this will eventually be harmful to the road. The question arises as to whether the abutting owner may make such use of the di

OPINION 51-179 July 16, 1951 (OPINION) TAXATION RE: Gasoline Used for Refrigeration in Trucks Exempted You call the attention of the Attorney General to an opinion written August 12, 1941, by Clifford Jansonius and another written October 18, 1941, by Wm. R. Pearce, at the time when both gentlemen were assistant attorneys general. Mr. Jansonius held that gasoline used for air-conditioning in busses was not exempt upon the ground that it was used for industrial purposes. Said opinion was overruled by Mr. Pearce, who in fact held that gasoline used for refrigeration in trucks

OPINION 51-147 July 16, 1951 (OPINION) SCHOOLS RE: Agricultural Not Entitled to Emergency Relief We have your request for an opinion as to whether or not county agricultural and training schools are entitled to the benefits of chapter 115-40 of the 1943 Code. The answer to this question depends upon the meaning of the word "School district" as used in chapter 15-40. Your question pertains specifically to the Walsh County Agricultural School in Park River and under the law said school is organized as a county unit. It is our opinion that when the word "district" or "school dis

OPINION 51-11 July 13, 1951 (OPINION) ASSESSORS RE: Who is "Competent Citizen" In your letter of July ninth you request the opinion of this office as to whether or not the "competent citizen" who may be appointed as a special assessor under the provisions of section 57-1408 (2) N.D.R.C. must be a resident of the district which is to be reassessed. Our Supreme Court has not, so far as we can ascertain, passed upon this question. Since the universal rule in American government is that an officer must be a citizen and resident of the governmental subdivision which he represents,

OPINION 51-84 July 9, 1951 (OPINION) INSURANCE RE: Premium Tax We have your inquiry concerning the communication received by you under date of June 30, from Mr. Harlie Spencer, Examiner of the Indiana Department of Insurance, Zone 4 N.A.I.C. Mr. Spencer states that in a convention examination of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, it has been found that neither payroll deductions from employees' salaries or contributions made by the society for the society's retirement plans have been allocated to the various states as taxable premiums on schedule "T". He further states th

OPINION 51-35 July 9, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Financing of New Courthouse Your letter of June twenty-eighth re above has been received. In this letter you ask for an opinion from this office touching phases of this matter. Section 11-1116 N.D.R.C. gives the county commissioners authority to build a courthouse, if the expenditure will not be more than the current year's revenue. Section 11-1118 N.D.R.C. provides a procedure when the current year's revenue will not cover the court. We presume that the question of the extraordinary outlay has been submitted to a vote of t

OPINION 51-212 July 6, 1951 (OPINION) WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION RE: Interpretation of Section 65-0509 This is in reply to a request for an interpretation of section 65-0509 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, as amended by the 1951 Session Laws, with reference to the bold-faced language. 65-0509. Total Disability; Weekly and Aggregate Compensation. If the injury causes temporary or permanent total disability, the fund shall pay to the disabled employee during such disability a weekly compensation equal to sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his weekly wage, subject to the

OPINION 51-39 July 2, 1951 (OPINION) COUNTIES RE: Powers of Coroner In your letter of June 22 requesting an opinion you state that you were recently called in by a local police officer and told that a car accident had taken place and that two persons were killed. Upon arriving at the scene of the accident you state the funeral director had removed two injured persons and had left with the remains of the two persons killed. You wish to know what authority, if any, a coroner has with respect to a situation such as you have set forth and whether or not the coroner has the autho

OPINION 51-154 July 2, 1951 (OPINION) SOIL CONSERVATION RE: Election In your letter of June 21 reference is made to House Bill 649 passed by the 1952 Legislative Assembly and amending section 4-2203, 4-2222 and 4-2221 of the North Dakota Revised Code of 1943, relating to Soil Conservation Districts and providing for the election of District Supervisors. You state section 4-2221, General Election of Districts, as passed by the House provided that, "The judges and election officers at such district general election shall be appointed by the officers of the Soil Conservation Dist