AGO 81-011.

• Case Date: February 09, 1981
• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1981. AGO 81-011. OPINION 81-11Date Issued: February 9, 1981 (AGO 81-11) Requested by: Zane Anderson, State's Attorney for Bowman County- QUESTION PRESENTED - Whether a board of county commissioners has the authority to allocate a portion of the "in lieu of tax" payments it receives from the Bureau of Land Management to the various school districts in which land for which the payments are made is located.- ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION - It is my opinion that a county commission does not have the authority or power under the statutes of North Dakota to allocate and expend a portion of the funds it receives as "in lieu of tax" payments from the Bureau of Land Management in favor of local school districts. - ANALYSIS - Presuming that the "in lieu of tax" payments which form the basis of the question presented are made pursuant to 31 USC Section 1601, those payments are made directly to the local units of government in which entitlement lands are located and their use is not restricted. 43 CFR Section 1881.2 provides that the payments "may be used for any governmental purpose." At least one state court has held that these funds may be allocated by the local unit of government to a school board. See Kendall v. Towns County, 247 S.E.2d. 577 (Ga. 1978). I agree with the Georgia Court of Appeals in Kendall that the terms of 31 USC 1601 et seq. and the regulations found in 43 CFR 1881 et seq. do not prevent a county from allocating a portion of the funds received by it to a school district. The North Dakota Supreme Court has held that since counties are political subdivisions of the state, they possess only that power and authority which has...