1 Nev. 264 | Nev. | 1865
Opinion by
full Bench concurring.
The Legislature of the State of Nevada, at its last session, passed a law for the issuance and sale of State bonds to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, to raise a fund for the purpose of encouraging enlistments and paying bounties, etc., to volunteer soldiers. The same Act provides that a tax
The Commissioners now come in and for cause say the law requiring the levy of this particular tax is unconstitutional and void, for the reason that the Legislature, before the passage of this Act, had already provided for a levy of ninety-five cents on the one hundred dollars for ordinary State purposes ; five cents for university and school purposes* and twenty-five cents for territorial debt. That the Board had assessed these taxes, and they constituted the limit beyond which the Legislature could not go in levying taxes for State purposes.
The only question for this Court to determine is, whether the law raising the twenty-five cent tax in question is or is not constitutional. The 24th Section of the XVIIth Article of the Constitution is in these words:
“ For the first three years after the adoption of this Constitution, the Legislature shall not levy a tax for State purposes exceeding one per cent, per annum on the taxable property in the State; provided the Legislature may levy a special tax not exceeding one-fourth of one per cent, per annum, which shall be appropriated to the payment of the indebtedness of the Territory of Nevada, assumed by the State of Nevada, and for that purpose only, until all of said indebtedness is paid.”
This is, if taken by itself, a clear prohibition of taxation beyond one and a quarter per cent, for State purposes, during the first three years of the existence of the State. The tax is undoubtedly for State purposes, and levied within the period mentioned.
The next question to be considered is, whether any other section of the Constitution qualifies this section and permits
First — The Act authorizing the creation of the debt must specifically mention the purpose or purposes for which it is to be created.
Second/ — It must provide a specific tax especially set apart for that debt, sufficient in amount to pay the interest semiannually, and extingush the principal within twenty years. If these conditions precedent are performed, then it would appear that the indebtedness might be incurred for any object of extraordinary expense which the Legislature are not specially prohibited in other sections from incurring. There would be no difficulty in interpreting this section if it only contained these two sentences.
The third sentence is in these words: “ Every contract of indebtedness entered into or assumed by or on behalf of the State, when all its debts and liabilities amount to said sum before mentioned, shall be void and of no effect, except in cases of money borrowed to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, defend the State in time of war, or if hostilities be threatened, provide for the public defense.”
This sentence, taken literally, excludes the possibility of allowing the State debt in any instance to exceed three hundred thousand dollars, unless the excess be created for the
"Whether the Convention meant to provide for two or three classes of State debts it may not be necessary to determine in settling this question. It may have been intended to provide for three classes of debts:
First — Three hundred thousand dollars, with no restriction as to the manner or time of borrowing' or paying.
Second — Debts for any extraordinary- expense, not to be contracted except upon the conditions precedent, that the Act authorizing the debt should specify the purposes for which it was contracted, and provide the necessary taxation to- pay semi-annual interest and extinguish the principal in twenty years.
Thi/rd — Debts contracted to repel invasion, etc.
If it was intended to provide for three classes, doubtless it was intended that the Legislature should be as unrestricted in the mode and manner of contracting the third as the first named class of debts. Rut it may have been the intention of the framers of the Constitution to provide for only two classes of debts. The first class of three hundred thousand dollars, as we have mentioned; the second class debts for such ext/raor» dina/ry expenses as might be incwrred in repelling invasion, etc.
If, however, the Constitution provides for only two classes of debts, then no money to protect the State, however urgent the necessity, can be borrowed (after the three hundred thousand dollars limit has been reached), without providing- the means to pay all, principal and interest, in twenty years. And it is argued that the State cannot borrow anything to repel invasion, etc., without coming in conflict with Article XVII., Section 24. That the one and a quarter per cent, allowed by that section to be levied, is all appropriated to special purposes and cannot be set apart for payment of interest, etc., on money borrowed to rejjel invasion; and that it could not have been the intention of the Convention to so tie up the State and render it helpless for three years. The premises in this argument are not altogether correct. The whole one dollar and twenty-five cents of taxes allowed by section 24, to be collected for State purposes, are appropriated for this year, and if only two classes of debt are provided for, it would be impossible before the first day of January next to borrow any money for defense of the State without exceeding the one dollar and twenty-five cents limitation in section 24. This state of things would not necessarily continue three years. Ninety-five cents of the one dollar and twenty-five cents will be under the entire control of the next Legislature (if the debt for which it is pledged is paid this year, as it probably will be), and they may, if any emergency arises, set apairt the whole or any portion of that ninety-five cents on the huMred dollars to pay interest, and gradually extinguish the principal of a debt contracted to repel invasion or suppress insurrection.