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Our common school district contracts with a neighboring district to bus our high school students there. But some students decided to attend a different high school instead, and never used our contracted bus. Now their parents want us to pay three years of mileage to the other school. Do we have to pay?
No. SDC 15.3309 entitled students to transportation or board-and-room allowance only when they did not have access to bus service furnished by their school district. Students who had access to the…
If a teenager has gone by his stepfather's surname his whole life, even though no court ever changed his name and his stepfather never adopted him, should South Dakota issue his driver's license in his birth-certificate name or his everyday name?
In his everyday assumed name. The 1968 SD AG concluded that, under the common law, a person may use any name they choose so long as it is not for fraud or to harm others. The purpose of license…
Were Social Security payments deducted from every Washington police widow’s pension under the 1968 law?
The 1968 AG said the offset applied only to the special $150 monthly pension for a limited class of police widows, not the general widow pension. For that special pension, it included the widow’s…
Can the manager of a livestock auction barn fire the state veterinary inspector who is stationed at his auction, if the manager is unhappy with the inspector?
No. Under SDC 40.2007, veterinary inspectors at livestock auction agencies were hired by the State Livestock Sanitary Board (with USDA Animal Disease Eradication Branch approval) and worked under…
If a South Dakota town's new municipal sewer system makes the old outhouse on an indigent person's home a public nuisance, can the county pay to install indoor plumbing for that person and pick up the quarterly sewer bill, using county poor-relief money?
Yes. The 1968 SD AG concluded that county commissioners' duty under SDC 50.0101 to provide 'maintenance or allowance for necessaries' for the county poor was broad enough to cover both installing…
Did Washington’s industrial-insurance catastrophe relief apply when injured coworkers had different job classes?
Yes. The 1968 AG said the catastrophe-cost rule applied when three or more workers of one employer suffered the specified severe injuries in one accident, even if no three belonged to the same…
Could one person be both president and treasurer of a Washington corporation under the 1968 law?
The 1968 AG said a corporation president could also hold another office, including treasurer, unless the articles or bylaws said otherwise. The same person could not be both president and secretary…
Could a registered land contract buyer sign a petition to dissolve a bonded Washington irrigation district?
The 1968 AG said a signer had to be registered under general election law and be a freeholder of the district. It treated a buyer under a forfeitable executory land contract as a freeholder for this…
Do the people who work the polls at a city election (the 'judges' and 'clerks' of the election) get paid for their time? If so, who actually pays them, the city or the county?
Yes, they are paid, and the city pays. South Dakota's specific municipal election statutes did not fix a compensation rate, but the general election laws (which the municipal statutes incorporated…
Could Washington judges appoint one court commissioner for a multicounty district instead of one per county?
Yes. The 1968 AG said superior court judges in a multicounty judicial district could choose either one commissioner to serve the whole district or separate commissioners for its counties.
Could a South Dakota county judge who was statutorily authorized to engage in the private practice of law personally keep the statutory compensation paid by the county for representing an indigent criminal defendant, or did he have to turn the fees over to the county treasurer under SDC 48.0608?
The county judge could keep the fees. The AG concluded that compensation paid for serving as appointed counsel was for duties outside the official duties of the county judge office, not by virtue of…
Did Washington counties include voter approved excess levies when distributing state forest land revenue?
Yes. The AG said counties had to apportion state forest land revenues using the same proportions as current real property taxes, including excess levies, among the funds that would have taxed the…
Could a Washington sheriff hire a private tow company for an abandoned stolen car, and could it claim a lien?
Yes, under the law addressed in 1968. If public equipment and storage were unavailable, the sheriff could use a private operator to take custody of the car; the 1967 towing law let that operator…
Could a Washington city get a permit for nonconsumptive use of a fully appropriated stream?
Possibly. The AG said a fully appropriated stream might still have water available for a beneficial nonconsumptive use, but a permit depended on actual water availability, protection of existing…
Did a Washington school nurse's nursing certificate give her teacher bargaining and tenure rights in 1968?
No, for a nurse who lacked a regular teaching certificate and was employed neither as a teacher nor a supervisor. The AG said the nursing certificate alone did not meet the professional negotiations…
Did Washington's retail installment sales law cover purchases made with bank credit cards in 1968?
Yes. The AG said merchandise and service purchases through a participating seller fell under the retail charge agreement rules, including limits on service charges. A cash advance from the bank was…
Could a Washington business estimate its in transit inventory tax exemption with a sales percentage?
No. Under the 1968 free port statutes, the AG said the business had to identify the particular goods claimed as exempt and establish their later shipment out of state. Multiplying purchase and sales…
Were oysters growing in their beds taxable as real estate or personal property in Washington?
The AG concluded in 1968 that oysters in their beds were personal property for property tax purposes. Their presence on the bed did not make the animals part of the land.
Could one Washington landholder cast extra votes in an irrigation district election for owning several parcels?
Ordinarily, no. The AG said one person did not gain extra votes by holding several parcels or several legal interests; the statute separately allowed an acreage based extra vote for qualifying land…
Who decided eligibility for a Washington occupational driver's license after a mandatory suspension in 1968?
The judge who received the petition made the initial eligibility decision. The motor vehicle director could then compare the order with department records, while proof of financial responsibility…
A teenage girl was arrested for a city ordinance violation and a delinquency petition was filed in county court. Because the county jail had no facilities for females, the county judge ordered her held in the city jail with a police matron for the week before her hearing. After the hearing, the matron's bill bounced between the county sheriff (who refused to approve it) and the city council (who refused to pay it). Who pays the bill?
The county. Even though the underlying offense was a violation of a city ordinance and the girl was held in city jail facilities with a city matron, the matron was acting at the direction of the…
Could a Washington lender charge for setting up a loan over five hundred dollars after the 1967 setup fee amendment?
Yes, under the law addressed in 1968. The new formula for loans of five hundred dollars or less did not eliminate a lender's existing right to charge a reasonable amount for genuine setup services…
Could a candidate for the South Dakota House of Representatives appear on the primary ballot if he would turn 25 (the constitutional minimum age) only between the primary and the general election, but would meet all qualifications by the time of the general election?
Yes. The AG concluded that the South Dakota primary election was merely a party nomination mechanism, not the actual election for state representative. The constitutional age qualification had to be…
Would a combined Washington city and county have one debt limit and one property tax uniformity area?
Yes. The 1967 Attorney General treated a combined city and county as one municipal corporation for debt limits and as one taxing authority for uniformity. The legislature could also authorize…
Did volunteer firefighter disability benefits bar an injury suit against a Washington fire district in 1967?
No. The Attorney General said eligibility for volunteer firefighter disability benefits did not itself defend a fire district against a tort claim. The firefighter still had to prove the district’s…
Could Washington’s pollution control commission set and enforce water quality standards for interstate waters in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General said the commission’s authority over waters within Washington included interstate waters, and state law supplied notice, order, and court action powers to enforce its standards.
Who was responsible for Washington community college contracts after the 1967 transfer from school districts?
The new community college districts became primarily responsible for most existing college contracts, while the former school districts remained secondarily liable. The opinion excepted the bond and…
Could a Washington school district pay a three-year property insurance premium in full at purchase in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General said advance payment was allowed when the district could cancel and recover unearned premium, and the audited premium claim was a just, due, unpaid obligation.
Did Washington's 1967 driving-under-the-influence penalty apply to someone controlling a parked vehicle?
The Attorney General said no for the specific charge of actual physical control of a nonmoving vehicle. The driving penalty in RCW 46.61.515 applied to driving; the general misdemeanor penalty in…
Did a Washington treasurer collect the new one-dollar charge on older delinquent irrigation assessments in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General said the charge applied when collection occurred after the June 8, 1967 effective date, even if the assessment became delinquent earlier; this was not an ex post facto…
Did Washington school districts remain responsible for community college bonds after the 1967 system change?
Yes. The Attorney General said former college-operating districts had to keep paying earlier general obligation bonds, using tax levies if other funds were unavailable. Prior college debt could be…
Were Washington's 1967 proposed constitutional amendments supposed to appear on that year's November ballot?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the 1967 vote was a municipal election, not the state general election required by the Constitution. The proposals were to go to voters in November 1968.
Could Washington legislators join boards or commissions created during their terms in 1967?
The Attorney General barred current legislators from the new college trusteeship and the newly empowered arts commission, but found the named advisory commissions eligible. He expressly left the…
Could a Washington county finance a public stadium through a private lease and a lodging tax in 1967?
The Attorney General said a class AA county could lease a privately built stadium and pledge the authorized lodging-tax proceeds for rent, subject to conditions. It could use sublease rent but could…
We have two statutes that seem to conflict. A 1959 act exempts construction and highway-maintenance equipment from license plates when it's running on a state oversize permit. A 1963 act requires the same kinds of equipment to get a special $10 distinctive plate when used infrequently on highways. If a contractor has an oversize permit, does he still have to get the special $10 plate?
Yes. The 1963 act (Chapter 275 of the Session Laws of 1963) is a specific statute that requires a distinctive plate for specified heavy equipment used infrequently on highways. The 1959 act (SDC…
Did Washington justice courts still charge a fee for garnishment writs after the 1967 law change?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a party obtaining a garnishment writ in a court operating under the 1961 Justice Court Act still owed the additional one-dollar fee for each process under…
Did Washington's 1967 five-day judgment stay stop garnishment, and were weekends counted?
The Attorney General said the five-day stay barred garnishment; intermediate weekends and holidays were excluded. It also covered justice court judgments after their transcripts were filed in…
Could a Washington city council overturn a firefighters' pension board award in 1967?
No. The Attorney General said the board's pension decision was final against council review. For duty injuries, medical-care duration depended on which paid-firefighter pension chapter applied, and…
When a husband and wife held twenty acres or more of South Dakota land as joint tenants, were they both considered 'landowners' under Chapter 303 of the 1965 Session Laws and therefore both entitled to vote on watershed district issues affecting the land?
Yes. Both spouses voted. The statute defined a 'landowner' as a South Dakota resident owner of not less than ten acres of land, evidenced by register-of-deeds records. Joint tenancy is an estate in…
How did Washington's 1967 school salary appropriation measure raises for district employees?
The Attorney General said the appropriation covered all district personnel, measured increases against each district's 1966–67 average, and aimed at 7% in 1967–68 and a total 12% over that base in…
Was a Washington county responsible for workers' compensation premiums on contracted work in 1967?
The Attorney General said the county had to collect and remit accident and medical-aid premiums on covered contracted work. An unlawful building permit did not make the county criminally liable,…
Could a Washington water district require its county treasurer to use a specific bank for surplus funds in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that commissioners could name the bank or savings and loan in their investment resolution, and the treasurer acting for the district had to follow that direction,…
Did Washington school employees accrue sick leave while on sabbatical, or keep leave after changing districts in 1967?
The 1967 AG said leave did not accrue during a sabbatical unless district rules allowed it. Previously earned leave survived an authorized absence, and could transfer directly to another district;…
Could a Washington municipality still use funds that the county treasurer invested as residual cash in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General said the treasurer's residual-cash investment did not change municipal fund balances or the municipality's power to spend or direct investment of its money.
Could a new Snohomish County judge receive a salary increase that took effect after the judge's term began?
The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that the new judge could receive the $22,500 annual rate from June 8 because the pay law had been enacted before the term began, even though it took effect afterward.
The state Department of Public Welfare runs a federal Title V Economic Opportunity Act program out of its offices. The administrative staff (supervisors, social workers, foremen, clerks) draw paychecks through the state. The trainees in the work-experience projects receive maintenance-needs payments rather than wages. Do we have to cover both groups under the state Workmen's Compensation Plan?
Administrative staff (group 1) yes; work trainees (group 2) no. The administrative staff were state employees in form and function: hired under state qualification rules, paid through the state…
If an official court reporter lived in one South Dakota city but had to travel to a different city where the presiding judge held court, did the reporter qualify for mileage and meal reimbursement under the 1965 court reporter expense statute, or did 'residence' in the statute mean the residence of the court rather than the reporter?
Yes, the reporter qualified for reimbursement. The AG read 'residence' as the reporter's personal residence, following the South Dakota Supreme Court's definition of residence as 'personal presence…
Could Washington registrars give literacy tests to people registering to vote in 1967?
No. The Attorney General said Washington's discretionary, potentially oral test did not meet federal requirements for written tests given to every applicant, even though the state literacy…
Who had to receive Washington property tax notices in 1967, and could a missed exemption be refunded?
The treasurer had to notify the owner named on the tax roll, even if a lender also received notice. The Attorney General found no refund for 1967 taxes paid without protest after an exemption claim…
Was a Washington water district debt limit based on actual property value or assessed valuation?
The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that the district-specific debt statutes used actual value of taxable property, not the lower assessed valuation measure in the general taxing-district statute.
Did a newly incorporated Washington city have to reimburse the county for its incorporation election?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that the county bore the election cost because the incorporation vote was a county-run election held before any city existed.
Could a Washington school board member be nominated for a community college trusteeship in 1967?
Yes. The Attorney General said a school director could be nominated and appointed, but once appointed could no longer serve on the school board at the same time.
Did Washington's 1965 retired-owner property tax exemption cover taxes levied under Waitsburg's territorial charter?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that the exemption applied to Waitsburg's property tax despite the city's territorial charter, because the legislature intended relief across all state…
Did Washington prevailing wage law cover off-site fabrication of parts for a public works project?
The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that off-site labor was covered when workers made a part specially for a particular public project. Making standard goods for general sale was outside that…
Could a Washington broker accept a listing from an owner who intended to discriminate?
The Attorney General said in 1967 that a broker could accept it if the listing left the broker free to serve prospective buyers without discrimination. The broker could also ask the owner about…
Could a warranty deed signed by the original purchaser of a South Dakota school lands contract of sale be accepted by the Commissioner of School and Public Lands as a valid assignment of the contract, especially after the purchaser had died and his widow submitted the deed and an affidavit of lost contract?
The AG answered yes to whether warranty and quit claim deeds could be approved as assignments of unpaid school lands contracts, and yes to the Commissioner's authority or duty to approve the deed…
Did placing a Washington home in a revocable trust end eligibility for the 1965 retired-owner tax exemption?
The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that the described trust did not disqualify an otherwise eligible owner. The trustee held bare legal title while the trustor retained use, expenses, equitable…
Could a third-class Washington city install speed bumps on city streets in 1967?
The Attorney General concluded that a commission-form third-class city needed state highway commission approval for speed bumps on streets designated as state highways. On its other streets and…
Did a retired Washington homeowner with only a life estate qualify for the 1965 property tax exemption?
The Attorney General concluded in 1967 that a life tenant did not qualify. The exemption required ownership in fee or by contract purchase; ten years of Washington residency did not remove that…
Could Washington's budget director approve some civil service salary changes and reject others?
No. The AG said the director could approve or disapprove the personnel board's revised salary schedule as a whole based on fiscal impact, but could not choose individual class salary changes to implement.
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