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14 Minnesota Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1981)

handle is hein.sag/sagmn0018 and id is 1 raw text is: JANUARY 1981

MINNESOTA LEGAL REGISTER
Vol. 14, No. 1

Opinions of the Attorney General
-on. WARREN      SPANNAUS
IN'TOXICATING LIQUOR: MUNICIPALITIES: SUN-
DAY SALES: Sunday liquor sales may be prohibited
by ordinance on certain Sundays of the year in the
discretion of the governing body of the municipality
issuing Sunday on-sale liquor licenses.

Kent E. Nyberg, Esq.
Keewatin City Attorney
20 Northeast 4th Street
Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744

January 9, 1981
218-g-19

In your letter to Attorney General Warren Span-
naus, you state substantially the following
FACTS
The City of Keewatin currently does not have au-
thority to issue Sunday on-sale liquor licenses. The
Keewatin City Council wishes to seek voter approval
of Sunday sales as provided by Minn. Stat. § 340.14,
subd. 5(c) (1978), as amended. Assuming voter ap-
proval, the Council wishes to prohibit Sunday liquor
sales on certain, specified Sundays of each year.
Minn. Stat. § 340.11, subd. 17 (1978) provides:
any local authority shall have power to impose
further restrictions and regulations upon the sale
and possession of intoxicating liquor within its
limits.
You then ask substantially the following:
QUESTION
May a municipality prohibit its Sunday liquor lic-
ensees from selling intoxicating liquor on specified
Sundays of the year?
OPINION
It is our opinion that a municipality may forbid
sales of intoxicating liquor on whatever days that it,
in its discretion, decides.
By reason of Minn. Stat. § 340.11, subd. 17 (1978),
quoted above, it is clear that the legislature has em-
powered municipalities to further regulate and restrict
sales of intoxicating liquor within its borders beyond
those restrictions contained in Minn. Stat. Ch. 340
(1978). We believe that the prohibition of intoxicating
liquor sales on designated Sundays is clearly among
the powers conferred by Minn. Stat. § 340.11, subd. 17
(1978).
Thus, even after voter approval of Sunday sales,
the Keewatin City Council may ordain specific Sun-
days on which it shall be unlawful to sell intoxicating
liquor. We construe this to be a permissible further
restriction on days of sale contained in Minn. Stat.
§ 340.14, subd. 5(a) (1978). We therefore answer your
question in the affirmative. This opinion supersedes
Op. Atty. Gen. 218-g-19, June 6, 1974, to the extent
that it is inconsistent herewith.
WARREN SPANNAUS, Attorney General
James M. Campbell, Spec. Asst. Atty. Gen.

IN THIS ISSUE
Subliject                   Op. No.       Dnted
INTOXICATING LIQUOR: Municipalities, Sunday
Sales.                       218-g-19    1/9/81
MUNICIPALITIES: State Building Code: Applica-
biliLy In Newly Annexed Areas.  59a-9   1/14/81
MUNICIPALITIES: STATE BUILDING CODE: AP-
PLICABILITY IN NEWLY ANNEXED AREAS; A
City having adopted the state building code may en-
force that code in territory newly annexed to the city
even though the code was not previously applicable in
that territory by reason of an election under Minin.
Stat. § 16.868 (Supp. 1979)

Larry C. Minton, Esq.
Hibbing City Attorney
2007 Fourth Avenue East
Hibbing, Minnesota 55746

January 14, 1981
59a-9
(CR 59a-1)

In your letter to Attorney General Warren Span-
naus you present substantially the following
FACTS
In 1975 the City of Hibbing adopted (by reference)
the Minnesota State Building Code as a part of its
city code. On October 12, 1979, St. Louis County held
an election pursuant to Minn. Stat. §16.868 (Supp.
1979) at which the voters voted against having the
Minnesota State Building Code apply in those areas
of the county outside home rule charter cities, statu-
tory cities, or towns which had adopted the state
building code prior to January 1, 1977. One of those
outside areas was the Township of Stuntz. There-
after, effective December 31, 1979, the entire Town-
ship of Stuntz was annexed to the City of Hibbing
pursuant to an annexation order previously issued by
Minnesota Municipal Board dated July 25, 1979.
You then ask substantially the following question.
QUESTION
Can the City of Hibbing enforce the state huildin.-
code in the area that was formerly the Town of Stuntz?
OPINION
Your question is answered in the affirmative.
The state building code was initially adopted in
1971. Minn. Laws 1971, ch. 561. Pursuant to the provi-
sions of Minn. Stat. § 16.851, subd. 1 (1978), all muni-
cipalities within the state were required to adopt the
state building code. See Op. Atty. Gen. 59a-9 (Feb. 14,
1979). In 1979, the legislature amended the statutory
provisions governing the applicability of the state
building code and granted to non-metropolitan coun-
ties the authority to hold a referendum allowing voters
in the county to decide whether the state building
code would be applicable within certain areas of the
county. Those changes are contained in Minn. Stat.
§ 16.868 (Supp. 1979) which provides in part:
If the majority of the votes cast on the proposi-
tion is in the negative, the state building code shall

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