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When the Governor of North Carolina formally declares an 'energy crisis' under the Energy Policy Act of 1975 and triggers the Emergency Energy Program, does he have the legal authority to compel the Public Utilities Commission and other state agencies to implement the Program's rules and rationing measures, and can he set up his own administrative-appeal procedures for decisions made under the Program?
Yes to both. The 1978 AG concluded that under G.S. 113B-23 the Governor, on declaring an energy crisis and obtaining Legislative Committee on Energy Crisis Management approval, has authority to…
What jury fee could a Washington district court charge in a civil or criminal case in 1978?
For a civil jury trial, the AG said the only jury-fee cost was $25, payable to the county. In criminal and traffic cases, actual jury expenses could be assessed only after conviction and only under…
Does a replacement Washington state senator receive a pay raise that took effect during the unfinished Senate term?
The Attorney General said no. A senator appointed or elected to finish a term remained at that term’s salary, even if the replacement had been serving in the House.
When a state employee in North Carolina is disciplined and appeals, can the department spill the details to the news media? Does it matter whether the hearing is at the agency level or at the State Personnel Commission level, and does the public have a right to attend?
The 1978 AG concluded: (1) Departmental grievance hearings are not 'contested cases' required by law, so they need not be open and the information disclosed there stays confidential as part of the…
Could Washington’s legislature revive an expiring timber tax in 1979 and make it effective from January 1?
The Attorney General said a 1979 reimposition effective January 1 could be constitutional even at a different rate. It recommended enactment and gubernatorial signature by March 1, 1979, to match…
Can a North Carolina county spend its money on advertising the county's advantages (to attract tourists, businesses, and industry), and can it hand a chunk of that money over to the local Chamber of Commerce to do the actual advertising? Does it matter whether the money is property tax revenue or non-tax revenue?
Yes for both, but with significant limits. The 1978 AG concluded that under G.S. 153A-149(d) and Chapter 158, Article 1, a county may levy a property tax for advertising / local development only…
When a deed of trust and the note it secures have been lost, and the original trustee is missing or has become incompetent, can the secured party (the beneficiary or 'cestui que trust' under the deed of trust) acknowledge satisfaction of the deed of trust under N.C.G.S. § 45-37(a)(1) to clear the title from the public records?
No. The 1978 AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 45-37(a)(1) allows only the trustee, the mortgagee, their legal representative, or a duly authorized agent of any of them to acknowledge satisfaction. The…
If a borrower dies before a deed of trust is foreclosed and nobody has been appointed to handle his estate, can the lender just go ahead with a power-of-sale foreclosure by publishing notice in the newspaper, or does the lender first have to get a personal representative appointed so notice can be served on someone?
The lender has to get someone appointed. The 1978 AG concluded that a power-of-sale foreclosure conducted with no notice to the deceased record owner and no hearing (because no personal…
When the North Carolina Department of Correction takes the money that inmates earn on work-release jobs and deposits it in interest-bearing accounts, can the Department take a slice of the interest to cover the staff cost of administering the work-release program or the cost of running the accounts?
No, the AG concluded. G.S. 148-33.1(f) provides an exhaustive, priority-ordered list of permitted deductions from inmate work-release earnings: cost of the prisoner's keep, employment-related travel…
Who had to buy insurance and surety bonds for Washington community colleges under the 1977 risk law?
The Attorney General said the state risk management office had purchasing authority for college property and liability coverage, surety bonds, and job-related liability insurance. Colleges could…
South Dakota law gives every person the right to have prescriptions filled at the pharmacy of their choice (SDCL 34-12B-1). It also bars exclusive supply contracts between nursing homes and pharmacies, except for hospitals, nursing homes with their own pharmacy, and nursing homes using a 'unit dose' system. Does a patient in a unit-dose nursing home retain any right to use an outside pharmacy?
No. Once a patient enters a nursing home that meets one of the SDCL 34-12B-2 exceptions (including unit-dose nursing homes), the general right to choose a pharmacy under SDCL 34-12B-1 does not…
Can South Dakota's Bureau of Administration save money by publishing two years' worth of state agency annual reports in a single bound volume, and can it consolidate two years of one agency's reports into a single combined 1977-78 report?
Mostly yes. SDCL 1-28-10 lets the Bureau bundle and condense reports as it sees fit. But SDCL 1-28-11 still requires each agency's report to be printed or reproduced each year in numbers sufficient…
A South Dakota school district borders North Dakota and most residents read the *Adams County Record*, a legal newspaper published in Hettinger, North Dakota. There is no newspaper at all within the district's South Dakota boundaries. Can the school board designate the North Dakota paper as its legal newspaper under SDCL 13-8-10?
Not in this case. SDCL 17-2-11 does not bar using an out-of-state newspaper as a legal newspaper when no in-county legal newspaper exists. But the statute requires the school district to use an…
Did a Washington district have to put a new certificated employee on formal probation before nonrenewal in 1977?
No. The AG said formal probation under RCW 28A.67.065 was not a precondition to using the first-year provisional nonrenewal process. The superintendent still had to consider the employee evaluations…
Could a Washington county take an heirless decedent’s bank assets after a coroner found a key or checkbook?
No. The AG said the coroner and treasurer provisions reached money or property found on the body after an inquest, not other estate assets. The county should notify the state Department of Revenue…
Could a contract purchaser of land vote in a Washington diking district election in 1977?
Yes, if otherwise qualified. The AG treated a land contract purchaser as an owner for RCW 85.05.050’s diking district voting rule, reversing the result of an earlier AG view that relied on an…
Did a Washington court clerk have to refund a civil jury fee after an untimely demand or a pretrial settlement in 1977?
No. The AG said neither an untimely jury demand that was stricken nor a settlement reported before trial required the clerk to return the fee. The legislature had removed the statutory…
If a North Carolina parent signs a voluntary child support agreement under G.S. 110-133 rather than going to court, how much does the clerk charge to file it, and is the fee the same as for filing a regular civil lawsuit?
Four dollars. A voluntary support agreement is the statutory equivalent of a confession of judgment, which carries a $4.00 fee under G.S. § 7A-308. The full civil-action cost ($24.00 in 1977) does…
Could a Washington county charge a cable company for a road right-of-way franchise in 1977?
Yes. The AG concluded a county could charge a reasonable compensatory fee for a cable television franchise under RCW 36.55.010, and could charge similarly reasonable fees for other franchises…
Could a Washington city use its own crew or negotiate a public works contract after rejecting all bids in 1977?
For a project estimated above $5,000, the AG said a city could use its crew or negotiate without a new bid call if the first call drew no responsive bids. If responsive bids arrived and were…
Could Washington school districts use old excess-levy receipts or other funds for 1977 salary raises?
The 1977 levy-lid restrictions reached earlier-authorized excess levies if the money had not already been committed to salary increases under a binding contract. Districts could use other legally…
Did Washington assess orchard trees together with farmland under the 1977 current-use tax formula?
No. The AG said the special current-use formula valued qualifying farmland alone. Taxable perennial plants, such as fruit trees, had to be listed and valued separately from that land.
Did a 1977 Washington legislative or partisan county vacancy require an election even after candidate filing closed?
The AG said yes: a vacancy before the November general election triggered a vote for the unexpired term even if an interim appointment was made. Ordinary filings, party nominations, or only write-in…
Was a Washington corporation’s deed to a partnership of its shareholders taxable before dissolution in 1977?
The AG said no on the exact sequence and no-liability facts given. The corporation deeded the realty to a partnership made up of the same owners before dissolving, and received no valuable…
South Dakota's vocational rehabilitation confidentiality law makes it a misdemeanor to disclose information about a person who has applied for or received VR services. Does that statute prevent a VR counselor from testifying under subpoena in a worker's compensation hearing about whether the injured worker could be rehabilitated?
No. SDCL 28-9-37 forbids voluntary disclosure of VR client information, but it does not prevent disclosure compelled by a valid subpoena issued in a legal proceeding where the information is…
How long was a newly hired Washington teacher provisional, and when was nonrenewal notice due in 1977?
The AG read “first year of employment” as twelve months from the hire date for a teaching or other nonsupervisory certificated employee. To use the provisional nonrenewal process, the district had…
Were Washington deputy sheriffs covered by the state minimum wage act in 1977?
The AG said no. It treated deputies appointed by a sheriff as holders of public appointive office under the act’s exemption because they could perform the sheriff’s legal duties. The opinion said…
Can a South Dakota County Planning Commission, on its own, approve a change or amendment to the County Comprehensive Plan, or does the change require approval from the Board of County Commissioners?
The Board of County Commissioners must approve a change to the County Comprehensive Plan. Under SDCL 11-2-20 and SDCL 11-2-28, a Planning Commission decision alone cannot amend it; proposed changes…
Did Washington’s AG think a proposed school minute of silence for meditation or prayer was constitutional in 1977?
The AG considered the draft constitutionally defensible because it allowed silent meditation or prayer without directing students to pray. It nevertheless warned that retaining “or prayer” invited a…
Could a Washington school require athletes to pass a medical exam and have families pay for it in 1977?
The AG said yes. A district could require a qualified medical practitioner’s physical exam before interscholastic competition and could either pay for it or require students or parents to obtain and…
Did Washington’s 1977 property-tax growth limit cap a city levy for its local improvement guaranty fund?
No. The AG said that particular levy was exempt from the statutory growth limit, though separate aggregate and rate caps still applied. The fund statute itself limited the levy to no more than five…
How were improvements by a private tenant on Washington public land taxed in 1977?
The AG said the answer turned on title. Improvements owned by the private lessee until lease end were taxed as personal property; improvements that immediately belonged to the public lessor were…
Could a Washington city use its old firefighters’ pension levy for another purpose in 1977?
The AG said the LEOFF transition did not remove the older levy statute’s allowance for other municipal uses when a qualified actuary found the pension fund did not need the full levy. A city that…
Did Washington counties have to create a public defender district to operate a defender office in 1977?
No. The AG said the district statute was one available method, not the exclusive way to provide defense counsel. If a county used it, appointed defenders were county employees; the AG found midterm…
Did Washington’s Shoreline Management Act replace the rules for the Seashore Conservation Area?
The AG said both laws applied. Shoreline permitting and land-use processes governed covered shorelines, while the conservation area’s recreation and preservation limits continued to constrain uses.
When did a Washington code city need competitive bids for purchases or public works in 1977?
The AG said no bid call was required for standalone supplies, materials, or equipment purchases under the cited code-city rule. Equipment bought for a public work counted toward the project cost,…
Did Washington public employees automatically get paid for every state legal holiday in 1977?
The Attorney General said no. Public employees received paid holidays provided by their contracts or employer policies, plus one statutory floating paid holiday each year; covered public school…
Could Washington’s governor certify an energy facility on land whose local zoning prohibited it?
The Attorney General concluded that the governor’s certification could authorize the location despite contrary county, city, or regional zoning. The siting council still had to evaluate consistency…
Can the South Dakota Board of Nursing refuse to license a nursing-school graduate who previously committed a felony, served a suspended sentence or prison term, and now wants to sit for the licensing examination?
Yes, but only under specific conditions. The Board may deny a license if (1) the felony conviction occurred within the past five years under SDCL 36-9-49(2), and (2) the conviction was not dismissed…
When a city council approves a 3.2 low-point beer license application, can the city's residents petition to refer that action to a public vote, or is the council's decision final and not subject to referendum?
Yes, the decision can be referred. The South Dakota Constitution (Article III, § 1) reserves to the people the right to refer municipal actions, and SDCL 9-19-13 specifically subjects ordinances and…
When a South Dakota sheriff conducts a foreclosure-by-advertisement sale of real estate and the only bid comes from the mortgagee bank itself (bidding in the property to clear its lien), what fee can the sheriff charge? The percentage commission for sales over $1,000 would be a meaningful amount.
Twenty dollars and no more for the real-property foreclosure sale described. The mortgagee bank was the sole bidder and bid more than $1,000. Janklow applied SDCL 7-12-18(30), the specific fee…
Could a Washington school district operate vocational training outside its boundaries under the 1976 service-area law?
The AG said the district needed authorization from the vocational-education commission to operate programs beyond its boundaries. The commission could define a service area extending beyond the…
Did a Washington appointee who resigned during January 1977 still have to file a financial disclosure report?
The AG said a covered appointee serving on January 1, 1977 still had to file even if the person resigned before January 31. The first report did not have to include transactions before the…
Did Washington's 1976 minimum-wage law cover city firefighters, station sleepers and paid volunteer firefighters?
The AG said municipal firefighters were generally covered, but the statutory sleep-at-work or substantial-on-call exception applied to qualifying firefighters. Paid volunteer firefighters were…
Could a Washington county fair give free admission to officials, reporters or their families in 1976?
The AG said the county could admit people without charge when they attended to perform work benefiting the fair, such as fair officials or working reporters. It could not waive an entertainment…
Can a South Dakota county pay its highway department employees the same monthly amount year-round, even though they actually work 50 hours per week in summer and 40 hours in winter? And can the county pay them every two weeks instead of monthly?
No to the equal-monthly-paycheck idea (when based on per-hour wages). SDCL 7-22-1 requires county claims to be for services actually rendered, so an hourly employee cannot be paid an averaged amount…
In 1976, could Washington police arrest someone for a traffic misdemeanor that carried no jail sentence?
The AG said yes: the covered traffic violations remained misdemeanors despite the no-confinement penalty. It also said a convicted person could be jailed for later willful contempt of an order to…
Could a Washington county collect back property taxes for years before 1973 when a previously exempt property's use ended?
The AG said the 1973 cessation-of-use law did not authorize collection for pre-enactment years in which the property already held an exemption. The opinion distinguished exemptions granted under the…
Under Washington's 1976 discrimination law, could someone choose a roommate by sex, age or religion and say so in an ad?
The AG concluded that the then-existing law did not prohibit those preferences when choosing someone to share the same living quarters, or a corresponding roommate ad and its publication by a…
Could a Washington county treasurer pay tax-foreclosure office costs from a revolving fund and recover them from the delinquent taxpayer?
The AG said yes to both, but only for reasonably necessary foreclosure, distraint or sale costs that reliable accounting could trace to the particular taxpayer and property.
South Dakota's 1976 special motor vehicle statute let hot rods, customs, and restored cars run with modified suspensions, but an older statute (SDCL 32-15-24) flatly prohibited suspension modifications on vehicles under 6,000 pounds. Which one controls? And how much rulemaking authority does the Department of Public Safety actually have for these specialty vehicles?
The 1976 special motor vehicle statute prevailed by implied amendment. The AG concluded that SDCL 32-21-1.2 and 32-21-1.3, by specifically authorizing changed and modified suspensions on special…
Could Washington enforce its mandatory death-penalty initiative or enact a different capital sentencing law in 1976?
The AG concluded that the initiative's automatic death sentence had become constitutionally unenforceable after 1976 Supreme Court decisions. It said Washington could enact a guided-discretion law,…
Which prosecution costs could a Washington court charge to a convicted defendant under the 1976 law?
The AG said a court could order repayment of appointed defense counsel and state-paid prosecution and defense witness fees, subject to the statute's ability-to-pay limit. Juror compensation was…
A South Dakota rancher hauls his own cattle to a town locker plant for slaughter, brings the processed beef back to his ranch, sells it retail to customers around the state, and delivers it to them. Does he have to obtain a motor carrier compensation certificate, or do the SDCL 32-9-3 exemptions cover each leg of this operation?
The exemptions cover almost every leg. Farm-to-locker-plant and locker-plant-to-ranch are exempt under SDCL 32-9-3(9) (farmer's farm-to-community transport) and also 32-9-3(12) (raw materials…
If a Washington county chose game-land tax payments instead of game-law fines in 1976, when would the switch begin?
The AG concluded that a county giving notice before January 1, 1977 would first receive payments in lieu of taxes, and give up its share of game-law fines and forfeitures, in 1978.
Could Washington’s Department of Ecology condition a new surface-water permit on later review of public needs in 1976?
The AG gave a qualified yes. It predicted courts would likely uphold an initial unconditional term followed by periods subject to later public-needs review if the restriction served maximum net…
Could a Washington county negotiate waste hauling for drop boxes instead of using normal bidding in 1976?
The AG said no under the special transfer-station provision. Its regulation exemption and negotiated-contract option covered transfer trailers, not detachable drop-box containers; drop-box hauling…
When a South Dakota city retains an attorney on a $30-per-hour basis to act as city attorney, can the city contract with that same attorney for a separate, percentage-of-project fee to handle the legal and fiscal work on a municipal bond issuance?
Yes. SDCL 9-14-23 expressly authorizes additional compensation for the city attorney's services in connection with the issuance of municipal bonds, as an exception to the general duties scheme in…
House Bill 847 in the 1976 South Dakota Legislature amended SDCL 58-30-23 to give the Director of the Division of Insurance discretion to waive the felony-conviction bar for general lines insurance agents (after 5 years post-conviction). SDCL 58-31-11 has identical felony-bar language for life and health insurance agents but was not amended. Did HB 847 implicitly extend the waiver authority to life and health agents too?
No. Amendment by implication is disfavored under South Dakota law and requires either explicit legislative intent or such repugnancy between provisions that they cannot stand together. SDCL 58-30-23…
Could a Washington teacher on paid leave for union office accrue sick leave and retirement credit in 1976?
The AG said sick leave during discretionary leave depended on the district’s written policy. A certificated employee on paid leave who remained listed as employed earned teachers’ retirement service…
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