Court Opinion

ID: 9526545
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:19:45.454834+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:20:29.559929
License: Public Domain

Nelson, Dist. J.
(On Petition for Rehearing). Appellant has *947filed a petition for rehearing wherein it is argned that Chap. 136 Laws of 1941, insofar as it applied to lands forfeited to the county for non-payment of taxes was repealed hy Chap 286 Laws of 1941, and that there was, therefore, no law providing for any reservation of oil, gas, coal or minerals on tax forfeited lands until the adoption of the revised code in 1943, at which time the legislature adopted the code containing Chap 11-2704 in its present form, the concluding sentence of which reads as follows : “The Board of County Commissioners may reserve to the county all or any percentage of the oil, gas, coal, or mineral rights exceeding such fifty percent in all lands sold by the county” and that the addition of the foregoing language to said section had the effect of making it a new law, which went into effect with the adoption of the code in 1943 and was, therefore, later in point of time than the enactment of Chap 286 Laws of 1941 and consequently took precedence over such chapter. The concluding sentence of Chap 11-2704, above quoted was, however, a part of Chap 123, Laws of 1937, reading as follows: “If in the opinion of the Board of County Commissioners the facts justify it, said Board may on sale of any land reserve to the county al-1 or any part of the oil, gas, coal and/or mineral rights therein; . . . .” The codifiers in codifying the code inserted the foregoing provision of Chap 123 Laws of 1937 as the concluding sentence in Sec 11-2704. This provision was, therefore, a part of the law of the state when the revised code of 1943 was adopted and not being a new enactment retained its historical rank after the adoption of the code. It therefore follows that the quoted portion of Sec 11-2704 is governed by the rule announced by this court in the case of Adams County v. Smith and Dakota Collieries Co., 74 ND 621, 23 NW2d 873. Furthermore the effect of that portion of Sec 11-2704 quoted above is not involved in this case. Appellant did not urge on the original hearing, nor does it claim now, that any such action ever was taken by the Board of County Commissioners. This case was .presented, heard and determined on the basis that the only reservation involved was the reservation of fifty percent of all oil; natural *948gas, or minerals provided for by Chap 136 Laws of 1941 as originally enacted.
Other matters referred to in the petition for rehearing* were disposed of in the original opinion and need not be further noted here.
Rehearing denied.
Morris, C. J., Christianson, Burke and G-rimson, JJ., concur.