About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1987 Nebraska Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1987)

handle is hein.sag/sagne0019 and id is 1 raw text is: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
STATE OF NEBRASKA.
TE.EPHONE 402/471-262-  STATE CAPITOL  LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68509
ROBERT M. SPIRE
STATE OF NEBRASKA  Attorney General
OFFCIAL A. EuGENE CRUMP
0  F  F,  Ay Attorney General
JAN 6  8
DATE:         Lanuary 6, 1987   DEF O J'JST'CE
SUBJECT: ..  ,Exnergy Overcharge Funds
REQUESTED 1   'nator Jerome Warner/Senator Lowell Johnson
Nebraska State Legislature - Appropriations Committee
WRITTEN BY:   Robert M'. Spire, Attorney General
A. Eugene Crump, Deputy Attotney General
You have requested our legal opinion on issues dealing with
the receiptind use of Imonies received as the result of court
awairds in va-ious energy overcharge cases.  Specifically, you
have asked about the -Exxon, Stripper Well, and Diamond Shamrock
cases
These 'casaes -involve suits which were brought on behalf of
consumers  of- ntroeum   products .aga3nst  various petroleum
producers for overcharges to the consumers in the 1970s. The
federal courts awarded refunds and ordered distribution to the
various stat s on behalf of individual consumers. Amounts paid
to each stateW-were _based upon the apparent number of consumers
within the state,
We resptad to each of your questions individually.
I. Legislative Appropriations of the Overcharge Funds.
A. WhIat. is the status of, these overcharge funds? Are
they strfunds or public funds? Are .they trust funds?
Nebraska case law and the Nebraska statutes do not define
either state funds or public funds.   In addition, these,
ove'rcharge f~nds- do not fiE within commonly accepted statutory
definitions - of trust funds involving trust accounts, trust
certificates.   trust companies. As a result, the exact status
of these fD%   (jarge funds is at clear.
However  the .weight of authority from other. jurisdictions
indicates tht',the fact that monies are- deposited within, a state
treasury dock bt-in itself make them state funds. There also is
a i hich indicates that only monies raised by operation of
some geneial state law become state funds. The Navaic Tribe v.
L. Jay, Bartel  Lynnd R. Fritz  Marilyn B. Hutchinson  Harold I. Mosher  James H. Spers
Martal J. Bundy  Yvonne E. Gates  Me Karnrnedahr  Frednck F Ned  Mark 0. Starr
Jane C. Castaneda  Jill Gradwohi  Sharon M. Lindgren  Bernard L_ Packett  John R. Thonpon
Dale A. Corner  Royce N. Harper  Charles E. Lowe  Use D. Martin-Pce  Susan M. Ugs
Laura L. Frepoel  Willam L. Howland  Steven J. Moeller  LeRoy W Slevers,  Und  L Wiard

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most