195 P. 841 | Mont. | 1921
delivered the opinion of the court.
This is an original application for an injunction to enjoin the issuance and sale of bonds of the state of Montana proposed to be issued by the defendants under authority contained in Initiative Measure No. 19, passed by the people at the general election held on November 2, 1920, “for the construction, repair and equipment of buildings at the State University, Missoula; College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Bozeman; School of Mines, Butte; Normal College, Dillon; Orphans’ Home, Twin Bridges; School of Deaf and Blind, Boulder; Industrial School, Miles City; Yoeational School for Girls, Helena”—all under the control of the state board of education. Hearing was had in response to an order to show cause why an injunction should not be issued. Defendants have appeared by general demurrer, and upon the facts set out in the complaint the questions arising must be determined.
The facts presented, in so far as material, relating to the passage of said measure and the proceedings had since its enact
Initiative Measure No. 19, the validity of which is called in question, as filed with the secretary of state, is not a model draft of an initiative measure, in our opinion. It contains eight sections, providing, in substance, as follows:
The first section authorizes and empowers the state board of examiners of the state of Montana to issue bonds in the name of the state, in an amount not exceeding $5,000,000 in excess of the constitutional limitation of indebtedness and over and above any bond indebtedness theretofore incurred, the money derived from the sale of said bonds to be used for the purpose of constructing, repairing and equipping necessary buildings at the several educational institutions of the state of Montana, under the control of the state board of education, which are named and include those which constitute the University of Montana, and also the State Orphans’ Home at Twin Bridges, the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind at Boulder, the Montana State Industrial School at Miles City, and the State Vocational School for girls at Helena.
Section 2 provides that the bonds shall be issued at such times and in such amounts as the state board of examiners may
Section 3 leaves the denomination of the bonds to the determination of the state board of examiners and provides that they shall bear date as of the date of issuance, that they shall be due twenty years from their date, redeemable at any time after ten years, and bear interest at the rate of five and one-half per cent per annum, payable semi-annually.
Section 4 relates to the form of the bonds, provides for signature by the state board of examiners and the affixing of the seal of the state, and makes provision for interest coupons.
Section 5 authorizes the state board of examiners to dispose of the bonds in such manner as they deem for the best interest of the state, provided that no bonds shall be sold for less than par.
Section 6 provides that all money derived from the sale of the bonds shall be paid into the state treasury and constitute a special fund for the construction, repair, and equipment of necessary buildings at the institutions named in the first section, and shall be expended only for such purpose and disbursed by the state treasurer on warrants properly drawn against such fund. This section also provides for the apportionment of the money derived from the sale of the bonds as between those institutions comprising the University of Montana and the other institutions named, providing that no more than $3,750,000 shall be expended at the University institutions, and not more than $1,250,000 at the other institutions.
Section 7 provides for an annual levy upon all property in the state of Montana subject to taxation, of a tax of 10/12 of a mill, which tax, when collected by the county treasurers of the several counties, shall be paid into the state treasury and placed in the “State Educational Bond Sinking and Interest Fund,” which fund shall be used exclusively for the
Section 8 merely provides that the Act goes into effect from and after its approval and proclamation.
Five grounds are urged in the complaint why the injunction should be granted, as follows:
(1) That said Initiative Measure No. 19 is a law relating to appropriations of money and therefore not subject to the initiative under the provisions of Article Y, section 1, of the Constitution.
(2) That said Initiative Measure No. 19 does not provide for the levy of a tax sufficient to pay the interest and extinguish the principal of the debt authorized by the Act within the time limited by it for the payment thereof, as required by Article XIII, section 2, of the Constitution.
(3) That said initiative measure contains more than one subject, in contravention of Article Y, section 23, of the Constitution, and attempts to authorize the issuance of bonds for several purposes which are not related or connected.
(4) That the title of said initiative measure exceeds one hundred words, in contravention of Section 110, Revised Codes, as amended by Chapter 66 of the Laws of 1913, and that the title on the ballot contains more than ten words, in contravention of section 111, Revised Codes, as amended by Chapter 66 of the Laws of 1913.
(5) That the petitions for said initiative measure were not filed within the time required by law, and persons, committees or organizations opposing the measure were not permitted or given the opportunity to place with the secretary of state for distribution any pamphlets they might desire, as provided by section 112 of the Revised Codes.
Before entering upon a discussion of the questions presented, we take occasion to compliment counsel upon the manner in which the case has been briefed and presented. Heretofore we have indulged in criticism of counsel for failure to submit briefs of aid to the court (Wing v. Brasher, ante, p. 10, 194 Pac.
The law is settled that the constitutionality of a legislative
Having before us the rule above stated, favoring the constitutionality of a law enacted, unless it is clearly a nullity in consequence of constitutional provisions or limitations, we now venture a discussion of the several objections raised to Initiative Measure No. 19.
The first objection to the Act is that it violates the provisions of section 1, Article Y, of the Constitution, which section reads in part as follows: ‘ ‘ The legislative authority of the state shall be vested in a legislative assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representatives; but the people reserve to themselves power to propose laws, and to enact or reject the same at the polls except as to laws relating to appropriations of money, and except as to laws for the submission of constitutional amendments, and except as to local and special laws, as enumerated in Article Y, section 26, of this Constitution, independent of the legislative assembly; and also reserve power at their own option, to approve or reject at the polls, any Act of the legislative assembly, except as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, and except as to laws relating to appropriations of money, and
This constitutional provision is clear and unambiguous, and
It is settled that in so far as the Constitution of the state
Generally, the word “appropriation,” as used throughout
Article V, section 23, reads thus: “No bill, except general appropriation bills, and bills for the codification and general revision of the laws, shall be passed containing more than one subject which shall be clearly expressed in its title. # * # >>
Article Y, section 33, reads thus: ‘ ‘ The general appropriation bills shall embrace nothing but appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the legislative, executive and judicial departments of the state, interest on the public debt and for public schools. All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each embracing but one subject.”
Article Y, section 34, reads thus: “No money shall be paid out of the treasury except upon appropriations made by law, and on warrant drawn by the proper officer in pursuance thereof, except interest on the public debt.”
Article Y, section 35, reads thus: “No appropriation shall be made for charitable, industrial, educational or benevolent purposes to any person, corporation or community not under the absolute control of the state, nor to any denominational or sectarian institution or association.”
Article VII, section 13, provides that—The governor “shall have power to disapprove of any item or items of any bill making appropriations of money, embracing distinct items, and' the part nr parts approved shall become a law, and the item or items disapproved shall be void. * * * ”
Article X, section 4, reads thus: “The legislative assembly shall make no appropriations or expenditures for eapitol buildings or grounds until the seat of government shall have been permanently located, as herein provided.”.
Article XII, section 10, is particularly enlightening with reference to the manner in which the word “appropriation” is used throughout the Constitution. It reads thus: “All taxes levied for state purposes shall be paid into the state treasury,
Article XII, section 12, reads thus: “No appropriation shall be made or any expenditures authorized by the legislative assembly whereby the expenditures of the state during any fiscal year shall exceed the total tax then provided for by law, and applicable to such appropriation or expenditure, unless the legislative assembly making such appropriation shall provide for levying a sufficient tax, not exceeding the rate allowed in section nine (9) of this Article, to pay sueh appropriations or expenditures within such fiscal year. This provision shall not apply to appropriations or expenditures to suppress insurrection, defend the state, or assist in defending the United States in time of war. No appropriation of public moneys shall be made for a longer term than two years.”
Article XIY, section 3, reads as follows: “The legislative assembly shall provide by law for maintaining the militia, by appropriations from the treasury of the state.”
The right to initiate or refer laws relating to “appropriations”
“Appropriation,” as used in section 1 of Article V of the Constitution, unquestionably refers to moneys in the general fund, or at most a specific designated fund in esse, or for which provision has been made, as hereinafter pointed out, as is indicated by the very language used prohibiting the initiative or referendum of such measures for the very apparent reason that an initiative measure might be proposed and passed by the people without sufficient knowledge of the necessity therefor or the amount of funds available; and a referendum of any such measure might easily cripple or destroy the administration of governmental affairs even to the extent of requiring the legislative, executive or judicial branches of the government, or all of them, to cease to function. The restriction in this constitutional provision is clearly directed to the exclusion of appropriation measures from the operation of -the initiative and referendum with which the legislative body and not the general public are familiar. (Bartling v. Wait, 96 Neb. 532, 148 N. W. 507.) “The obvious reason for the exception of appropriation bills and bills for the codification and general revision of the laws, is that the first are necessary, for the maintenance of the government, and hence their validity ought not to be open to question for informality; and the latter are extraordinary in their character and both the members of the legislative body and the public are presumed to know what is being done. Furthermore, it would be impracticable to formulate a title which would cover every subject embraced in such a bill.” (State ex rel. Cotter v. District Court, 49 Mont. 146, 151, 140 Pac. 734.)
It is not necessary, to constitute a valid appropriation, that the fund be then in the treasury. As a matter of fact, it is very rarely the ease that there are funds to meet an appropriation at the very time that the appropriation is made. As has
The general rule is that no appropriation can be made until the fund is at the time in esse or provision has been made for raising the same. (People v. Brooks, su-pra; Shattuck v. Kincaid, supra; 4 Ency. L. & P. 1227; People v. Chicago etc. Ry. Co., 249 Ill. 170, 94 N. E. 57.) Here, the Act providing for the raising of the fund is contemporaneous with provision for its disposition, so that, unless'there was a fund in the state treasury or one provided for to be placed in the treasury and drawn upon in the future, there is no “appropriation.” As used in this constitutional provision, in our opinion, it relates to the general, or at least to a special, fund of the state, rather than such as may be received in the treasury and credited to a particular fund from the sale of an authorized bond issue. (See State v. Iverson, 125 Minn. 67, 145 N. W. 607; Commonwealth v. Powell, 249 Pa. 144, 94 Atl. 746; State v. Searle, 77 Neb. 155, 108 N. W. 1119, 109 N. W. 770.) The word “appropriations” does not properly describe a proposed bond issue extending over a period of years. (Village of Canandaigua v. Hayes, 90 App. Div. 336, 85 N. Y. Supp. 488; Colbert v. State, 86 Miss. 769, 36 South. 65.) The word “appropriations,”-as 'used in the Constitution, means the setting apart of money in the state treasury for a specific purpose aftef it has been placed therein or duly provided for. In State ex rel. Bennett v. Board, 40 Mont. 59, 104 Pac. 1055, this court, speaking through Mr. Chief Justice Brantly, said: “Section 12, Article XII, supra, construed together with section 6, Article V, section 11, Article VII, and section 1, Article XII, necessarily requires the conclusion that provision must be made for reve
The Act in question is self-executing, the money derived
We are of the opinion that there is no merit in the first contention made by the plaintiff, as it would necessitate a distorted construction of language to hold that money raised by virtue of a bond issue constitutes an “appropriation” within the meaning of this constitutional provision, although the measure places limitation upon the amount which may be expended for any specific purpose. Were this objection not so seriously argued by counsel, it would be by us dismissed with far less extended consideration.
The second objection raised to the Act is that it violates section 2, Article XIII, of the Constitution. This section provides
The third ground of attack is that the Act contains more
In State ex rel. Hay v. Alderson, 49 Mont. 387, Ann. Cas. 1916B, 39, 142 Pac. 210, this court stated the true rule applicable, in the following language: “We have repeatedly held that the unity required by this section is served notwithstanding the existence of many provisions in .an Act, where such provisions are germane to the general subject expressed,”
The fourth ground of attack is that (1) the title of the
There is no merit to the first phase of this objection, as this section of the statute does not require the title of the bill itself, as filed for the submission of an initiative measure to vote of the people, to be limited to one hundred words; it merely requires the secretary of state, in certifying such measures to the county clerks of the several counties, to use for each measure a title furnished by the organization presenting the measure, not exceeding one hundred words. The title of the Act proposed, as filed with the secretary of state, may, as the title of the Act in question does, contain a title in the nature of a table of contents in excess of one hundred words; but that is not the title referred to in the statute. This law places such word limitation only upon the title as certified by the secretary of state. The apparent reason of this rule is so as to prevent lengthy and cumbersome titles confusing to the voters. The title as certified and printed upon the official ballot is less in number of words than the limitation, as to such number, prescribed by the statute.
As to the second feature of this objection to the Act in
*87 “□ For Initiative Measure No. 19. Providing for $5,000,000 Bonds for Buildings at State Educational Institutions.
“□ Against Initiative Measure No. 19. Providing for $5’,000,000 Bonds for Buildings at State Educational Institutions. ’ ’
The contention of the plaintiff is without merit, for there has been a substantial compliance with statutory requirements in the submission of the question to the electors. The words “For Initiative Measure No. 19,” and “Against Initiative Measure No. 19,” are properly excluded from computation of the number of words in the legend on the ballot, and the only
Further objection is made upon the ground that the
The complaint shows on its face that the last of the petitions were filed on July 2, 1920. Section 112 in question provides as follows: “The secretary of state shall, not later than the first Monday of the third month next before any general or special election, at which any proposed law is to be submitted to the people, cause to be printed a true copy of the title and text of each measure to be submitted, with the number and form in which the question will be printed on a separate official ballot. * * * The persons, committees or duly authorized officers of any organization filing any petition for the initiative, but no other person or organization, shall have the right to place with the secretary of state for distribution, any pamphlets advocating such measure, not later than the first Monday of the fifth month before the regular general or special election at which the measure is to be voted on; any person, committee
The Constitution (Article V, sec. 1) provides that initiative petitions shall be filed not less than four months before the election at which they are to be voted upon. In respect to the Act under consideration, then, the filing of the petitions was completed just four months before the day of election, not
As to whether thirty days is a sufficient time within which to place arguments in opposition to an initiative measure proposed after the date prescribed or the placing of arguments in favor thereof with the secretary of state, or whether the notice to the public of the filing of initiative petitions is adequate, is clearly a question for legislative determination. If the law does not permit a sufficient time to provide adequate notice, it may be amended by the legislative department. Courts have no concern as to the expediency, the wisdom, or the propriety of legislative Acts. (6 R. C. L. 107; Godbe v. McCormick, 1 Mont. 105; Jay v. School District, 24 Mont. 219, 61 Pac. 250; State v. Holland, 37 Mont. 393, 96 Pac. 719; In re Pomeroy, 51 Mont. 119, 151 Pac. 333; State ex rel. Campbell, v. Steivart, 54 Mont. 504, Ann. Cas. 1918D, 1101, 171 Pac. 755;
The order to show cause is set aside and the proceeding dismissed.
'Dismissed.