1. Sales tax election legal opinion

· Legal encyclopedia: A commonly used legal encyclopedia, in a section on "general and special elections" states: "A regular or general election is one that recurs at stated intervals as fixed by law, without any superinducing cause other than the passage of time .... A special election, on the other hand, is one that arises from some exigency or special need outside the usual routine, such as ... to submit to the electors a measure or proposition for adoption or rejection." 25 Am.Jur. 2d Elections, 92. · NDCC: The use of the word "regular" within the North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) is not binding as to its meaning within Cass County's HRC. They are different documents created by different entities. However, the Legislature's use may establish at least some context for its meaning within the HRC. The NDCC makes varied use of "regular" in conjunction with elections. Here are some examples: · NDCC 911-09-02.1: petition for vote on county managership signed by requisite number of electors shall be submitted at the "next regular primary or general election"; · NDCC 911-10.2-02(1): the question of combining or separating elective county offices, subject to many procedural steps, shall be submitted to the electorate at the "next regular election"; · NDCC 911-11-18: extraordinary outlays shall be submitted to electors at "any regular or special election"; · NDCC 911-31-01.1: issue of creating a county highway engineer's office shall be voted on at the "next regular primary or general election". At least from these uses, it appears the Legislature tended to use "regular" in association with primary or general elections, and in contrast to "special" elections. · Recollections of participants in the HRC development effort: Various people participated in the HRC development efforts. I contacted a sampling of those participants. Following are comments from three people with whom I spoke. · Cass County Administrator Bonnie Johnson: Ms. Johnson provided assistance to the HRC Commission in its drafting of the HRC. Her recollection is the HRC Commission deleted the "special" election option largely to avoid the potential for having multiple elections in off-election times, thereby avoiding the cost to taxpayers of those special elections. · John T. Korsmo: Mr. Korsmo chaired the initial (1992) HRC Commission. He recalled changing the language of Art. 9, 92.2 to eliminate the special election option. While he agrees that special election costs may have been at least one consideration, he recalls the HRC Commission was primarily concerned that an issue as important as a potential tax increase was one that should be addressed at a primary or general election, because generally there is a higher voter turnout. · Michael B. Unhjem: Mr. Unhjem was a member of the initial HRC Commission and chaired the 1994 HRC Commission. His recollection mirrors that of Mr. Korsmo.