Carter v. Beeler

219 S.W.2d 195, 188 Tenn. 328, 24 Beeler 328, 1949 Tenn. LEXIS 344
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 11, 1949
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 219 S.W.2d 195 (Carter v. Beeler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Beeler, 219 S.W.2d 195, 188 Tenn. 328, 24 Beeler 328, 1949 Tenn. LEXIS 344 (Tenn. 1949).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Burnett

delivered the opinion of the Court.

[331]*331The validity of Chapter 846 of the Private Acts of 1947-is attacked in this case, (1) on the ground that the Act contains two subjects in violation of Section 17, of Article 2, of the Constitution; (2) that the Act violates Article 2, Section 29 of the Constitution in that it levies a tax for the payment of bonds and interest thereon which will not be for a County purpose, and that there was not a referendum to the qualified voters which received the assent of three-fourths of the votes cast; and (3) that said act suspends the general law contrary to the provision of Article 11, Section 8, of the Constitution of Tennessee.

The caption of the Act is:

“An Act to authorize Bradley County, Tennessee, through its Quarterly County Court,, upon the' approval of a majority of the qualified voters of said County, to issue not to exceed Four Hundred Thousand ($400,000.00) Dollars Coupon Bonds for the purpose of acquiring a necessary site for location for a hospital to be erected in or near Cleveland, Tennessee, to provide for equipping said building; to provide for a Board of Five Directors, who will have charge of the construction and supervision of the hospital after its construction, and to provide the manner and means of election of said Hospital Directors ; and providing for a tax levy to retire said bonds with interest.”

The body of the A°t provides for a county hospital for Bradley County; for the issuance of bonds for the purpose of acquiring á necessary site for said hospital; for the erection thereof; for its equipment and for a Board who will have charge of the construction and supervision and government of said hospital.

[332]*332It is argued that the Act embraces two subjects, (1) the issuance of bonds for the purpose of acquiring a necessary site or location for a hospital and (2) for the equipping of said building and that it does not provide for the erection of a hospital in the caption thereof. The Act does provide specifically, in Section 6 thereof, for the erection and construction etc., of the hospital. It is thus argued that since the caption is specific in the instances above mentioned, and the question of construction is not mentioned in the caption, that by reason of these specific designations, one must assume that the only purpose of the Act was to issue the bonds and acquire a site and not to construct a hospital. It is said one might assume that the construction of the hospital would be done or borne by a separate agency.

We cannot agree with this theory and contention.

“The two-subject clause of the Constitution was intended to prevent a combination in the same act of laws upon wholly different subjects; to avoid the union of incongruous matters in one statute; to secure unity of purpose in Legislative enactments.” (Citing authorities) Bell v. Hart, 143 Tenn. 587, 223 S. W. 996.

In Davis v. Hailey, 143 Tenn. 247, 252, 227 S. W. 1021, 1022, the late Chief Justice Green who delivered the opinion for the Court in the case last above quoted from said:

“So far as section 17, article 2, is concerned, if the various provisions of an act are directed toward a common purpose, and that purpose is-expressed in the title, it would make no difference if the several provisions of the act involved all powers of the Legislature. This section of the Constitution regulates the syntax of statutes. It imposes no restriction upon the powers exerted, [333]*333nor upon the commingling of such powers, so long as the provisions of the statute are not incongruous and are germane to the subject expressed in the caption.”

The one purpose of the act under attach is a County hospital for Bradley County. Accomplishment of such a single purpose necessarily requires that bonds be issued, a site acquired, the building constructed and equipped for the purpose of a county hospital. One reading this Act can get from it only such a single purpose.

“Plurality of the title is not an objection when the several plural provisions deal with, and by necessary construction are but, constituent parts of one subject.” Kizer v. State, 140 Tenn. 582, 589, 205 S. W. 423, 425.

In the instant case the one subject is a county hospital. The two or more purposes indicated relate to different parts of that one subject — a county hospital. In the Kizer Case, supra, the point we are attempting to make is thus aptly stated:

“The unity of the subject is to be looked for in the ultimate object of the statute; it cannot with reason be held that each step towards the accomplishment of an end or object should be embodied in a separate act, and so long as the steps are of the same general nature and legitimately parts of one system, end, or object, the act' is constitutional.”

The Act in question is bottomed on Public Acts of 1945, Chapter 184 which is carried in Williams Code as Section 4406.127 to 4406.147. The title to this Act is: “An Act authorizing counties of this State to construct, acquire, improve, extend, operate and maintain public works, undertakings and projects; prescribing the mode of procedure for and regulating the issuance and sale [334]*334of bonds and other obligations to finance such -works,” etc.

By express provisions of this Act, as carried in "Williams ’ Code 4406.128 under Subsection (d) thereof, “hospitals” are included under the term “public works project.” This Act, last above referred to, is the general law of the State of Tennessee on the subject.

It is argued: “ The ends sought to be served by the Acts in question, no matter how laudable, are not public but restricted to considerably negligible ratio of the general public whose personal health may from time to time require hospitalization, without regard to whether the disease of the patient be communicable and without regard to whether or not the patient is financially capable of obtaining hospitalization on his own account unsubsidized by application of public funds to the costs thereof.”

We cannot assent to this argument because under the general law hospitals are part of public works and are authorized by a county. A county thus erecting, maintaining and operating a hospital in Bradley County is doing so for the use and benefit of its residents. This Court in many cases has held that in so doing the hospital was being operated for a public purpose.

“It is settled law that such an enterprise or undertaking does not violate that part of Article 2, Section 29, of the Constitution of Tennessee, on which the appellants rely.” Dodd v. Roane County, 174 Tenn. 267, 268, 124 S. W. (2d) 953, 955. (Citing- authorities.)

It is further said that three-fourths of the electorate of Bradley County did not vote in favor of this issue and therefore under the Constitutional provision, last above referred to, this special or private act must [335]*335fail. This is incorrect because where the act is passed for a public purpose as for erecting a hospital for the county it is for the county purposes and under such situations the provision of the Constitution, referring to three-fourths of the electorate voting in favor thereof, is not applicable.

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Related

State ex rel. Baugh v. Williamson County Hospital Trustees
679 S.W.2d 934 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1984)
McConnell v. City of Lebanon
314 S.W.2d 12 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1958)
Wilson v. Beeler
245 S.W.2d 620 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
219 S.W.2d 195, 188 Tenn. 328, 24 Beeler 328, 1949 Tenn. LEXIS 344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-beeler-tenn-1949.