State AG Opinions
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If one county's board of education votes to release a school district to a neighboring county, when does that release actually take effect? Is the unilateral resolution enough, or does the receiving county's board also have to vote on it?
The release is not effective until both county boards act on it jointly. A unilateral resolution by the releasing county does not move the school district. The receiving county's master plan that…
Could a Washington sheriff appoint a head jailer outside civil service in a first, second, or third class county?
Generally, no. The AG said a jailer or head jailer was a classified position in those counties, although the sheriff or an already exempt undersheriff or chief deputy could serve in that role as well.
Did annexation cancel a county granted water company franchise in Washington?
No. The AG said the annexation statute's cancellation rule for transportation, garbage, and similar services did not cover a private water company, so annexing its service territory left the earlier…
Could a Washington county require its own motorboat registration before boats used local waters in 1967?
The AG found a federal conflict for boats over ten horsepower on navigable waters and substantial doubt about a separate county registration system for other boats without express state authority.…
Who could restore civil rights to a Washington defendant serving a suspended sentence in 1967?
Only the governor, through the pardoning power, could give a final discharge and restore civil rights while the person remained under a sentence suspended under RCW 9.92.060. The AG said neither the…
Did Social Security and pension payments count toward Washington's retired homeowner tax exemption income limit?
Yes, under the 1967 law. The AG counted Social Security, railroad retirement, public employee retirement benefits, and private pensions toward combined household income, except for an identifiable…
Was fraudulently obtaining hotel accommodations a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor under overlapping Washington laws?
For conduct violating both statutes, the AG treated it as a gross misdemeanor under the later innkeeper law. It reasoned that the overlapping older misdemeanor provision could not offer a separate,…
Could Washington county officials investigate a death or crime on a Navy base with shared federal and state jurisdiction?
Yes, if the particular base land was under concurrent jurisdiction. The AG said the coroner, sheriff, and prosecutor retained county authority there, but could not exercise it in a way that…
Could Washington create an odd year statewide general election for constitutional amendments and ballot measures?
Yes. In 1967 the AG concluded that the legislature could designate the regular November election in odd numbered years as a statewide general election for ready constitutional amendments,…
Did a Washington defendant appealing a justice court conviction have to pay two superior court fees?
No. The AG said the specific criminal appeal fee provision allowed one fifteen dollar fee if the defendant was convicted, pleaded guilty, or failed to pursue the appeal. It did not require an…
Could a registered out-of-state judgment be executed or garnished immediately in Washington under 1966 law?
The AG said registration alone did not yet make the foreign judgment a Washington judgment. Until it was reduced to a judgment of this state, the creditor could not use a domestic judgment…
When could a Washington school district sign a conditional sale contract without voter approval in 1966?
The AG said the contract price plus existing debt in the class that could be incurred without a vote had to stay within 1.5% of the district’s assessed taxable property value. Voter-approved debt…
When did Washington’s 1966 retired-homeowner tax exemption first apply, and was a missed claim refundable?
After voters approved the enabling amendment, the AG said the exemption first covered taxes levied in 1966 and due in 1967. Under then-existing refund law, a taxpayer who paid without claiming it…
Could a Washington county use road funds for restricted roads inside its fairgrounds in 1966?
No. The AG said roads used mainly by fair association employees and generally closed to public driving were not county roads or public highways for road-fund purposes, so county road money could not…
Could a Washington probationer convicted of a violent crime get a concealed weapon permit in 1966?
The AG said no permit could issue during probation after a guilty plea or verdict for a listed crime of violence. It said eligibility returned only after the person fulfilled probation conditions…
Were a farmer’s fuel truck, fuel trailer, and borrowed weed burner exempt from Washington vehicle licensing?
No. The AG said none of those three described vehicles qualified for the farm tractor or implement exemptions. The farmer-owned truck and trailer transporting fuel and lubricants could instead fall…
Does a sanitary sewer and water district have to record its survey map (plat) with the Register of Deeds, what certificates does the Register need to accept it, and does the surrounding township board have to certify the plat's accuracy?
The AG did not give a yes-or-no answer on whether recording was mandatory. It advised strict compliance with SDC 45.2804 and cited the county-commissioner submission and equalization-certificate…
Could a Washington court defer sentence and let a convicted driver keep a license subject to mandatory suspension?
No. The AG said the 1965 driver-license statute counted a guilty plea or finding on a traffic charge as a conviction even when sentence was deferred, and required immediate forfeiture of the license…
Did a Washington car dealer need an insurance license when a bank paid it through a better discount rate?
Yes, on the stated arrangement. The AG treated the bank’s more favorable discount on a car sales contract accompanied by a group credit insurance application as compensation for soliciting…
Did Washington’s tax deposit for filing a plat also apply to a replat in 1966?
No. The AG said the deposit requirement in RCW 58.08.040 covered a plat, not a replat filed under chapter 58.12 RCW. It therefore did not decide whether correcting an earlier defective plat would…
Could a Washington county bar its prosecutor’s private law practice by offering a higher salary in 1966?
No. The AG said counties below first class could not ban private practice the Legislature allowed, and a county could not pay its prosecutor more than the statutory salary in exchange for an…
Did a city next to a weed district have to control designated weeds on private land in 1966?
Yes. The AG read the statute to require a contiguous city to control weeds named in the weed district’s formation petition on both private and public property, and said city funds could be used for…
Could Washington school districts charge residents tuition or require textbook purchases in 1966?
The AG said districts could not charge resident elementary or secondary students general or course tuition. Districts could loan free textbooks, and a first-class district had to do so when voters…
Did Washington counties and prosecutors pay secretary of state fees for motorist service and corporate records in 1966?
Yes. The AG said a county plaintiff paid the service fee when suing a nonresident motorist, and a prosecutor generally paid copying or certification fees for corporate documents. It preserved an…
Did a Washington road agency owe a second payment when it franchised utility use of a public-land right of way?
No, on the AG’s assumed facts. After the state highway department or county had paid all legally required compensation for a road right of way over public land, it could grant utility franchises for…
Could a Washington county auditor microfilm older land records and destroy the original recordings under 1966 law?
No. The AG said the 1959 amendment authorized microfilm as a method of recording new instruments, not retroactive rerecording of older recordings for destruction. The older property-title records…
Could a Washington justice court filiation warrant be served in another county under the 1961 court act?
The AG said a statewide warrant could be argued for when issued by a court operating under the 1961 justice court act, because the state Supreme Court had suggested that filiation process might be…
How would Washington’s proposed 1966 retired-homeowner tax exemption be allocated among taxing districts?
The AG said that, if voters approved the enabling amendment, the $50 exemption would be prorated across all state and local real property taxes due on an eligible residence. It would not fall solely…
Could residents of Washington federal reservations establish state voting residence in 1966?
Yes. The AG said a residence within Washington’s geographic boundaries could count for voting even where Congress held exclusive legislative power over the federal reservation. Individual voting…
Did annexing land to Spokane also require annexing it to Spokane’s school district in 1966?
No, under the facts the AG examined. The annexed land belonged to a second-class district with multiple elementary sites and junior and senior high schools. The city annexation did not require a…
Did a purchaser need a motor carrier permit when the seller paid it to haul purchased goods?
Yes, under the transaction described. The AG treated the seller’s direct payment of transportation charges to the purchaser driving its own vehicle as carriage for compensation. A single-shipper…
Which pension systems could cover paid firefighters in a mixed Washington city fire department in 1966?
The AG said full-time paid firefighters in a department with paid and volunteer members could not enter the general city employees’ retirement system. The city could, but was not required to, place…
In 1966 South Dakota, if a family lived 5.5 miles from the nearest grade school in their common school district but their elementary child instead attended an independent district 17 miles away (where their high school siblings went), did the common school district have to pay transportation or tuition for the elementary child?
It depended on whether the elementary child was officially assigned to a school. High school transportation was wholly discretionary. For the elementary child, the home district's obligation turned…
If a small incorporated town sits inside a larger township, can the county commissioners combine the town and the surrounding township into a single election precinct with one polling place, and does that require a 75% voter petition?
Yes, and no petition is needed. SDC 16.0801 made it the County Commission's mandatory duty to establish and adjust election precincts each year (with limited statutory exceptions). The 75% petition…
If a municipal election needed a runoff (a 'secondary' election between the top two candidates) because no candidate won a majority, could a voter who would not be in town on Election Day cast an absentee ballot in the runoff?
Yes. Secondary municipal elections in South Dakota were conducted in the same manner as the regular municipal election, and the general election laws (which already permitted absentee voting in…
When a juvenile delinquency or dependency hearing is held in one South Dakota county but the parents had been long-time welfare recipients of another county, which county pays the prosecution expenses, and can the welfare county reimburse the hearing county for those costs?
The county where the hearing was held bears the prosecution expenses, no matter where the parents had received welfare. And a county has no statutory authority to reimburse another county for those…
When South Dakota's 1966 Dairy Industry Marketing Act exempted nonprofit, charitable, religious, or educational institutions, did the exemption cover purchases by those institutions, sales by those institutions, and dealings with federal military bases?
Yes to all three. The exemption applied to processors and distributors selling to nonprofit institutions, to nonprofit institutions selling dairy products themselves, and to dealings with federal…
How far could Washington’s liquor board regulate liquor suppliers’ representatives under its 1966 authority?
The AG said the board could regulate liquor purchasing and obtain basic representative information, but could not rewrite statutes or impose the proposed broad political activity restrictions. Other…
If a 1960s South Dakota city built a nursing home with revenue bonds and the home could not cover operating costs from its revenues, could the city use general-fund money, special tax levies, or transfers from city-owned liquor store profits to keep it running?
Yes. The AG concluded a city could levy a special tax under the hospital/nursing-home statute or appropriate general-fund money for operations, even though the home was built with revenue bonds,…
Two questions on how the county auditor figures the 'average assessed valuation per acre' of agricultural land for the 12-mill school general fund cap. First: do we count the value of the buildings and other structures on the land, or just the raw acres? Second: do we use the full value of the land, or just the 60% that ends up taxable?
Structures count, and the 60% taxable value controls. SDC 57.0312 defined 'real property' for tax purposes to include 'the land itself... and all buildings, structures and improvements,' and Chapter…
Could a Washington school district use public money for election or general-public bulletins in 1966?
The AG said a school district lacked authority to pay for bulletins intended to influence a school election or to mail general school information to the public at large. It distinguished school…
Could Washington’s 1967 Legislature choose the site of a new four-year public college?
Yes. The AG said the 1967 Legislature could create a new four-year institution and choose its location based on state educational needs. An earlier legislative directive, even if one existed, would…
If the South Dakota voters approve a constitutional amendment letting the legislature treat 'agricultural property' as a separate class for school tax purposes, does that mean a farmer's household goods (furniture, appliances, personal items) also get classified as agricultural property under that classification?
Yes, with a qualification. The constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 6, Chapter 275 of the 1965 Session Laws) was designed to let the legislature treat 'all agricultural property,…
Could a Washington city require state-licensed insurance agents to get a local license for door-to-door solicitation?
Yes. The AG said a city or town could specifically require a local license for door-to-door insurance solicitation, even when the agent held a state insurance license. It did not decide whether any…
Would Washington’s proposed 1966 amendment make the retired homeowner property tax exemption effective without another law?
The AG said that, if voters approved H.J.R. No. 7, the contingent 1965 exemption statute would take effect without further legislation. It would cover the first $50 of eligible real property taxes…
Did Washington charge nonresident service members motor vehicle and house trailer excise tax in 1966?
The AG said federal law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, let nonresident service members use valid home-state licenses or obtain Washington licenses without Washington’s vehicle or house…
How did Washington calculate a taxing district’s regular property tax levy limit under the 1965 law?
The AG said the added revenue from qualifying valuation growth used the previous year’s actual millage and assessment level. Losses in valuation offset qualifying growth; if losses exceeded growth,…
How could Washington settle an uncertain county boundary under the law discussed in 1966?
The AG said existing county surveys and court actions supplied legally sufficient procedures. It also said lawmakers could create a fact-finding or adjudicatory commission, but a final boundary…
Could a Washington legislative candidate file for a second numbered seat without withdrawing the first filing?
No. The 1966 Attorney General treated numbered seats as separate offices and said one candidate could not have two appearances on the primary ballot. A candidate could withdraw the first declaration…
Did Washington’s constitutional municipal debt limit apply to a chapter 86.09 flood control district in 1966?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a chapter 86.09 flood control district was not a municipal corporation for Article VIII, section 6. Its improvement work and assessments for specially…
Could a third-class Washington city assess abutting owners for a sidewalk along an in-city state highway?
Yes. The 1966 Attorney General said a third-class city could form a local improvement district and assess specially benefited abutting property for a sidewalk on the shoulder of a state highway…
When did a Washington telephone company need a local franchise to carry cable television in 1966?
A company with a qualifying telephone-line franchise did not need a second local franchise to carry community antenna television over those lines. Separate television-only facilities could require a…
Could a Washington city sell surplus airport land to a port district for industrial development in 1966?
Yes. The city could sell airport land no longer needed for aeronautic purposes, and the port could acquire and improve it for authorized industrial uses. Constitutional public-purpose and credit…
Did each Washington agency have to hold its own group health policy to pay employee premiums in 1966?
No. An agency could contract to pay toward a qualifying group policy held by another lawful policyholder if its employees were covered. State agencies and school districts faced the opinion’s…
Was wine-flavored fruit jelly exempt from Washington liquor law as a culinary product in 1966?
No culinary exemption applied to the jelly described. The Attorney General said it was not a beverage, but if its alcohol exceeded one percent by weight it was liquor regulated under the 1966 statute.
Did a discriminatory private club’s lease of Washington municipal property violate equal protection in 1966?
The Attorney General gave no categorical answer. Whether the club’s racial discrimination became state action depended on the full facts of the lease and the municipality’s involvement with the club.
In 1960s South Dakota, when a school district operated a kindergarten, was a kindergarten student treated as an elementary student for purposes of school bus transportation reimbursement?
Yes. The AG concluded that when a school district chose to operate a kindergarten, kindergarten students were treated as elementary students and were entitled to the same transportation privileges…
Can Hyde County levy a 1.5 mill 'courthouse, office, or jail building' tax to buy an existing privately owned building to use as a library, and if not, can the county commissioners buy the building anyway?
The 1.5 mill levy was off limits because libraries are not 'courthouses, offices, or jail buildings' within SDC 12.2303. But the commissioners could still buy the building using regular county funds…
Can a free shopper publication that contains only advertising and printed legal notices (no general news content and no paid subscribers) qualify as a 'newspaper' or a 'legal newspaper' under South Dakota law for purposes of publishing legal notices?
No. To be a 'legal newspaper' under SDC 1960 Supp. 65.0508, a weekly publication had to have bona fide paid circulation of at least 200 copies per week. A free shopper has no paid circulation. And…
Did changing county commissioner boundaries also change a matching Washington public utility district’s seats?
Yes. For a public utility district coextensive with its county, the 1966 Attorney General said new county commissioner district lines automatically changed the corresponding utility commissioner districts.
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