State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
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 ex…
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 mili…
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, becau…
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 2…
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 and taxed at the lower agricultural rate?
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, personal …
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 as …
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 u…
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 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 to qualify as …
The McCook County Sheriff drives his personal car for sheriff work. The police radio, antenna, and red warning lights are owned by the county and have to be drilled into the car. When he buys a new car, can the county pay to take the equipment off the old car, install it on the new one, and also pay to repair the holes in the old car?
Yes to both. Because the sheriff's car qualifies as an emergency vehicle and must legally carry the county's police radio and warning lights, the county may pay to install and remove the equipment whe…
Can the South Dakota State Brand Board hire and pay the salary of a third livestock inspector to work alongside the SD Stock Grower's Association's existing inspectors, with the Association paying for the inspector's car and other expenses?
Yes. The Brand Board's authorizing statute, SDC 1960 Supp. 40.1201-2, lets the Board hire a chief inspector and up to two additional inspectors, contract with a nonprofit cooperative association of li…
When South Dakota voters were going to vote on whether to incorporate a new sanitary district in the 1960s, who could vote, how was the voter list built, and could ballots be cast absentee?
Only qualified electors who actually resided inside the proposed district could vote (landowners alone could not). The 'voter list' was the census taken under SDC 1960 Supp. 45.3803, not the regular v…
Does the South Dakota cooperative-association exemption from the wholesale dealer bond requirement also exempt out-of-state cooperatives doing business in South Dakota, and when does that exemption become available to a foreign cooperative that was already operating in SD before the 1965 Cooperative Act took effect?
Qualified no. A foreign cooperative that had been admitted to do business in SD before July 1, 1965 does not get the SDC 4.2402(3) cooperative exemption from the wholesale dealer bond until after June…
A nonresident had property in Clay County that was assessed and taxed, but the tax was never paid. He moved out of South Dakota. Can the county treasurer sue him under the long-arm statute, and can service be made by publication and certified mail instead of personal service?
Yes to both. Chapter 163 of the 1965 Session Laws (the long-arm statute) gave South Dakota courts jurisdiction over anyone who had owned property in the state, and SDC 57.1026 expressly authorized the…
South Dakota's 1963 law paid a state quarters allowance to National Guard enlisted members with dependents during the 'annual active duty training period' if they weren't getting the federal allowance. Could a guardsman get multiple payments in a year? Did the payment cover service schools, basic training, or advance/rear detachment service? Or only summer camp?
Only one quarters payment per annual training period, and only for the formal annual training (commonly called Summer Camp, Summer Field Training, or ANACDUTRA). Service schools, basic training, and t…
When a candidate's nominating petition is built from multiple circulating sheets, does the candidate's formal declaration have to be attached to each sheet before it is circulated, or is one declaration attached at filing enough?
One declaration at filing was enough. The 'petition' under SDC 16.0210 is the completed instrument the candidate offers for filing, not each sheet a circulator carries around. A candidate could attach…
What does New York AG Opinion 2007-08 say about Ethics code may prohibit county officer from holding a political party office;Ethics code may prohibit county officer from holding a political party office?
A county is authorized to adopt an amendment to its code of ethics prohibiting its officers from simultaneously serving as county political party officers. Such amendment may be applied to county comm…
What does New York AG Opinion 2000-F4 say about Display of red or white flashing lights (CUNY)?
Vehicles owned by CUNY and operated by special patrolmen on its Security and Public Safety force are 'police vehicles' as defined in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 132-a. Therefore, these vehicles may disp…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.