Page images
PDF
EPUB

electors of such county, or political subdivision of the county, to issue bonds or otherwise lend its credit in any amount not to exceed onefourth of the assessed valuation of the real property of such county, or political subdivision thereof, and to levy and collect taxes to pay the interest on said bonds, and to provide a sinking fund for the redemption thereof, for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating macadamized, graveled and paved roads and turnpikes, or in aid thereof," be so amended as to hereafter read as follows and that Section 6a creating road districts, and making them bodies corporate, and creating the office of road superintendent in such districts and prescribing his powers, be added, so that said Section will read as follows:

Sec. 5. Before said road bonds shall be put on the market, the county commissioners court of the county in which such election was had shall levy tax not to exceed 25 cents on the $100.00 valuation of the taxable property of such county, if the bond issue be for the whole county, or of the political subdivision thereof, if the bond issue be for a political subdivision, sufficient to pay the interest on such bonds, and to produce a sinking fund sufficient to pay the bonds at maturity; provided the special tax hereby authorized to be levied on the aggregate of all such special taxes shall not exceed in any one year more than 25 cents on the $100.00 valuation on the property situated in such county, or the political subdivision thereof, as the case may be; and provided further that said tax herein authorized shall be assessed and collected in the same manner as now provided by law for the assessment and collection of other road taxes, if for a whole county, and if for a political subdivision of a county, then it shall be assessed and collected as is now provided by law for the assessment and collection of common school district special local taxes. And it is hereby made the duty of such commissioners court, after such election is favorably carried to levy such tax; and it is hereby made the duty of the tax collector and assessor of such county wherein such taxes have been levied to assess and collect the same in the same manner, and at the same time as other taxes. And said taxes when so collected by such collector, shall be by him paid over to the county treasurer of such county as and when other taxes are paid to the county treasurer. And the county treasurer of said county shall be custodian of all funds collected by virtue of this law, and he shall pay the interest and principal, as it becomes due, on such bonds out of the funds so collected, in the same manner as the law directs in case of county courthouse bond funds.

Sec. 6. If after the result of said election is known, it shall appear to the commissioners court of the county in which said election was had that a two-thirds majority of the votes cast at such election, were in favor of the issuance of bonds, it shall be the duty of said commissioners court, as soon thereafter as practicable, to issue said bon is on the faith and credit of said county, or of said political subdivision of the county, as the case may be, which said bonds shall run not less than twenty nor more than forty years, and which said bonds shall be [bear] not more than 5 per cent interest per annum, and which bonds shall be examined by the Attorney General of Texas, and registered by the Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas.

Such bonds when so issued shall continue in the custody of and under the control of the commissioners court of the county in which they were issued, and shall be by said court sold to the highest and best bidder, for cash either in whole or in parcels, at not less than their par value, and the purchase money therefor, shall be placed in the county treasury of such county to the credit of the available road fund of such county, or of such political subdivision of such county as the case may be. Such funds shall be paid out by the county treasurer upon warrants drawn on such fund issued by the county clerk of the county, countersigned by the county judge, upon certified accounts approved by the commissioners court of the county, when such funds belong to the entire county, and when such funds belong to a political subdivision of a county, such funds shall be paid out by the county treasurer upon warrants issued by the county clerk upon certified accounts of the road superintendent of such road district approved by commissioners court of the county. The general laws of Texas relative to county bonds, not in conflict herewith, shall apply to the issuances, approval, registration, sale and payment of the bonds herein provided for.

Sec. 6a. For the purpose of operating and being known under the provisions of this Act, each justice of the peace precinct in each county in this State shall be known as "Road District No. .... of .... county, Texas," taking the same number as that justice precinct, and the name of the county in which it is located. And the bonds herein provided for such political subdivisions of any county shall be known as "Road Bonds of Road District No. .... of county,

Texas," the number being the same as the justice precinct, and the county being the same as the county in which it is located. Provided, this Section shall apply only to districts composing less than a county, and shall not apply to bonds issued hereunder by a whole county which county bonds shall be known as " county Special Road

Bonds," taking the name of the county issuing same.

For the purpose of this Act, any political subdivision of a county accepting the provisions of this Act, by voting such tax, is hereby made and created a body corporate, which may sue in like manner as counties; provided no road district created under the provisions hereof, shall ever be held liable for torts. The county commissioner, in whose commissioners precinct such political subdivision is located shall be ex-officio road superintendent of said road district, with power to contract for and in behalf of said road district, and by such contract to bind said road district; provided all of his said contracts shall be approved by the commissioners court of the county in which such district is situated.

SEC. [2]. The fact that there is no adequate law now on the statutes governing the issuance of bonds for road construction in political subdivisions of the various counties of the State constitutes an emergency and an imperative public necessity requiring the suspension of the Constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved March 20, 1909.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

[ocr errors]

[The foregoing Act was repealed by Chapter 7, General Laws, First Called Session of the Thirty-first Legislature, which became a law April 8, 1909.]

PENITENTIARIES-PROVIDING COMMITTEE TO

S. B. No. 159.]

INVESTIGATE.

CHAPTER 105.

An Act to provide for the appointment of four members of the Senate by the Lieutenant Governor and five members of the House by the Speaker thereof, who shall constitute a committee on investigation to visit the penitentiaries located at Huntsville and Rusk, respectively, and such other places as in their judg ment may be necessary, to the end that a thorough investigation of the penitentiary system may be made; providing for the recommendations as to the future employment of convict labor, empowering the committee to summons witnesses, and administer oaths in the name of the State, and to employ expert accountants and such other help as needed, their report together with evidence taken to be submitted to the Governor of this State when completed; and providing, that said committee shall sit in vacation; and making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. That a committee of four Senators be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, and a committee of five members of the House be appointed by the Speaker, who shall constitute a committee on investigation, who shall visit the Huntsville and Rusk penitentiaries, and all other places as in their judgment may be necessary, and are hereby authorized to hold their meetings at such places within this State as they may deem advisable.

SEC. 2. They are hereby instructed to make a thorough and complete examination of the financial conditions of the penitentiary system. employing such help as may be deemed necessary to the end that a full, fair, complete and exhaustive examination be made of the entire penitentiary system covering a period from January 1st, 1907, or prior to that time if deemed necessary by the committee, to the present time. The committee is further instructed to make an investigation of the iron industry at Rusk, and in its report, make such recommendations as to the future operation of such iron industry as they believe, after such investigation, would best subserve the State's interests, and especially to recommend whether or not, in their judgment, such industry should be abandoned or its operation continued by the State. Said committee shall investigate the conditions of the said penitentiary and of all farms, camps, and trains where convicts are worked or kept, as to the food, clothing, health and treatment of the convicts, and all matters pertaining to their discipline, safe-keeping and reformation.

SEC. 3. This committee shall have the power to issue all necessary process to summon witnesses, in the name of the State, to appear before it under oath, swear witnesses summoned before it, and by a majority vote punish for contempt in like manner, to the same extent and under the same rules as a district court, and a record shall be kept of all testimony taken. The committee shall, as soon as appointed by the presiding officers of the Senate and House, respectively, meet and elect one of its

members chairman and the chairman may designate certain members of the committee to visit any or all places in the State where convicts are detained, said members making an inevstigation and reporting same to the full committee.

SEC. 4. Said committee shall perform its duties as soon after the adjournment of the Legislature as it may deem practicable and when its labors have been performed it shall make a written report to the Governor of the State together with all the evidence taken during the investigation.

SEC. 5. The members of this committee shall receive as compensation for their service the sum of five dollars ($5.00) per day.

All traveling, hotel, and other necessary expenses of said committee shall be paid out of an appropriation hereinafter provided for. The account of each member must be itemized and approved by the chairman, after which the Comptroller of Accounts is authorized to issue voucher for same.

SEC. 7. The sum of five thousand dollars ($5000) or so much thereof as may be necessary is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated to defray the expense of said investigation.

SEC. 8. The fact that the penitentiary system is one of the most important departments of the State government involving as it does, the management and control of a large number of convicts, and the annual expenditure of vast sums of money; and that the Governor of Texas in his recent message to the Legislature has recommended that an examination and investigation be made of the management and conduct of the system, to the end, that abuses, if found, may be corrected, and improvements in the methods of the employments of convicts may be provided wherever practicable, creates an emergency and imperative public necessity requiring the suspension of the Constitutional rule which requires bills to be read on three several days in each House, and the rule is hereby suspended, and this Act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

Approved March 20, 1909.

Became a law March 20, 1909.

CITIES AND TOWNS-PERMITTING TO ADOPT COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

[blocks in formation]

An Act to permit all villages, towns and cities having a population of less than ten thousand inhabitants, whether incorporated or unincorporated, to adopt the commission form of government, consisting of three commissioners, one of whom shall be the mayor, to be elected at large from said village, town or city to fix duties and powers of same, terms of office and compensation, and declaring an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. That after the taking effect of this Act, whenever ten per cent of the qualified voters of any village, town or city in this State,

having a population of less than ten thousand inhabitants to be determined by the last preceding Federal census, or if no such census has been had, then of the vote cast for Governor at the last preceding primary election, shall petition the county judge when such village, town or city shall be unincorporated, or if incorporated, then to the mayor of such village, town or city requesting that an election be ordered to determine whether such village, town or city shall adopt the commission form of government, then said county judge or mayor shall order such election to take place in thirty days after posting, and shall give notice of the same by posting three written or printed notices at three public places, and by publishing same in some newspaper, if one be published in said village, town or city, under the official signature of said county judge or mayor, as aforesaid.

SEC. 2. A qualified voter under this Act, shall be any one entitled at the time of the election to vote at a general election. Each voter shall have written or printed on the ballot "For Commission," "Against Commission."

SEC. 3. The said county judge or mayor shall appoint two judges, one of which shall be designated as the presiding judge, and two clerks to hold said election. The election shall be held under the general election laws of this State, and the returns made to said county judge or mayor, as aforesaid, within two days after said election, and if a majority of the votes cast are "For Commission," then said county judge or mayor, as the case may be, shall enter an order to this effect upon the minutes of said commissioners court or mayor's court, and after said entry of said order, said village, town or city shall be under the commission form of government.

SEC. 4. At such election, there shall be elected from the qualified voters of said village, town or city, a mayor and two commissioners, who shall serve until the first Tuesday in April following. The term of office of said commissioners and mayor shall be two years, and they shall be elected on the first Tuesday in April every two years, after said first election. In case of death or resignation of the mayor or commissioners, the others shall fill the place by appointment, and in case of a tie vote the county judge shall vote off the tie.

SEC. 5. Said commission shall have authority to appoint some one to be clerk of said commission, and said clerk shall perform the duties of clerk, assessor, collector of taxes and treasurer. Said clerk shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, enter into a good and sufficient bond with two or more sureties in double the estimated amount of the annual current revenues of such village, town or city, said estimate to be made by said mayor and two commissioners, said bond to be approved by said mayor and commissioners and filed and recorded in the minutes of said commission, and they shall have authority to appoint such police force and city attorney as they may deem necessary, and shall fix the salary of all such officers.

SEC. 6. The said commissioners shall have all the duties, authority and powers conferred by the general laws of the State in force at the time of the taking effect of this Act, applying to city councils of villages, towns and cities of less than ten thousand, and such other duties,

« PreviousContinue »