140 Fla. 248 | Fla. | 1939
Lead Opinion
This appeal is from a final decree of the Circuit Court validating a single issue of refunding bonds to supplant several issues of original bonds of the City of Manatee, Florida. A proceeding in bankruptcy had been held for the purpose of composing the city's bonded indebtedness, a plan had been affected and approved by decree of the Federal Court which is admitted to have been very beneficial to it. The validating decree was predicated on a resolution of the City authorizing the refunding bonds which was adopted pursuant to its charter, Chapter 6772, Acts of 1913, as amended by Chapter 10891, Acts of 1925, and Section 6, Article IX of the Constitution, and Chapter 15772, Acts of 1931.
It is contended that the decree below should be reversed because it is proposed to issue the refunding bonds supported by an unlimited tax levy without an approving vote of the taxpayers as required by Section of Article IX of the Constitution when some of the original bonds were issued under a limited tax levy. City of Fort Myers v. State,
It is quite true that some of the original bonds were issued pursuant to Chapter 6772, Acts of 1913 (City Charter) which carried limited taxing provisions to support them and that the latter Act was amended by *250 Chapter 10891, Acts of 1925, which removed the tax limitation and provided an unlimited tax to support all the outstanding bonds of the City. It was competent for the legislature to do this. The factual conditions in this case are materially different from those in the Fort Myers case.
In the case at bar, it appears that all the original bonds issued prior to the effective date of Chapter 10891, Acts of 1925, were issued by an approving vote of the free-holders while in the Fort Myers case, it did not appear that the bonds were so issued. In the Fort Myers case, it appears that the legislature passed an Act, Chapter 18532, Acts of 1937, limiting the supporting tax to that in effect when the bonds were issued. These facts would distinguish the Fort Myers case from the case at bar.
In our view, the case at bar is ruled by State v. Special Tax School District No. 7-B, Santa Rosa County.
In municipal bond refunding cases, statutes may under Section 8, Article VIII of the Constitution, remove statutory limits on taxation for bond paying purposes so that refunding bonds issued under Section 6, Article IX of the Constitution, may not be affected by tax limitations in force when the bonds being refunded were issued. In such cases, bondholders are not injured by a tax limit removal and the municipalities and taxpayers are bound by the sovereign power of the law in removing the bond tax limit. Section 8, Article VIII of the Constitution, gives the Legislature power to prescribe the jurisdiction *251 and powers of municipalities "and to alter or amend the same at any time."
In the special tax school district bond refunding case of State v. Special Tax School District No. 7-B,
There is no similar provision for removing bond tax or other limits affecting county or other district refunding bonds, when amended Section 6, Article IX, is violated by increasing the provisions for paying refunding bonds over those for paying the original bonds without the required vote of the electorate.
The record discloses that all conditions and requirements essential to the validity of the refunding bonds have been complied with as the law directs, that the City was fully authorized to issue said bonds without an approving vote of the freeholders as required by Section 6, Article IX of the Constitution, so the judgment below is affirmed.
Affirmed.
WHITFIELD, P. J., BUFORD, CHAPMAN and THOMAS, J. J., concur.
BROWN, J., dissents.
Dissenting Opinion
I dissent on authority of City of Fort Myers,