Evans v. Huston

150 P. 14, 27 Idaho 559, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 74
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 150 P. 14 (Evans v. Huston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evans v. Huston, 150 P. 14, 27 Idaho 559, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 74 (Idaho 1915).

Opinion

SULLIVAN, C. J.

— This is an original application to this court for a .writ of mandate to Fred L. Huston, as auditor of the state of Idaho, to require the defendant as such auditor to issue a state warrant in payment of the January, 1915, salary to G. A. Axline, principal of the Albion Normal School, and to charge the same against money of the Albion Normal School fund which had accrued thereto previous to the first day of January, 1915. A sufficient part of said fund to pay said warrant remained in said fund on said date.

The alternative writ was issued and the return made thereto, admitting the main allegations thereof and averring that all of the provisions of the general appropriation act for the biennium of 1913 and 1914 must be construed together, and that the provisions of said act place the income accruing to the Albion Normal School from its endowment fund upon [562]*562exactly the same basis as the appropriations made in the said act from the general fund in the state treasury, and under the provisions of the first paragraph of sec. 1 of said act, such appropriations are made "for the support and maintenance of the several state institutions for the period commencing on the first Monday of January, 1913, and ending on the first Monday of January, 1915,” and for no other period, and prays that the temporary writ of mandate be denied.

It is the position taken by the state auditor in this proceeding that in view of the provisions of see. 13, art. 7, of the state constitution, to wit, "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in pursuance of appropriations made by law, ’ ’ and the statutes, that the income accruing to the Albion Normal School during the biennium of 1913 and 1914 and not expended in the payment of claims originating in that biennium cannot be used for claims arising in the biennium of 1915 and 1916 unless the same has been made especially available for this purpose by direct appropriation of the legislature. In other words, the position of the auditor is that in view of the proviso found in sec. 6 of chap. 193 (Sess. Laws 1913, p. 637) (commonly known as the general appropriation act)., the income accruing to the Albion Normal School during the biennium of 1913 and 1914 was appropriated to that institution for that biennium and was made subject to the provisions of the general appropriation act, limiting the appropriations made for that biennium to the payment of claims arising therein, and prohibiting their use at any other time or for any other purpose, at least until a lawful appropriation was made of them by the legislature.

In the first section of said act we find the following provision :

"That the following sums of money, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are hereby appropriated for the payment of salaries and compensation of the state officers and employees of the state of Idaho and the general expenses of state government, and for the support and maintenance of the several state institutions for the period commencing on the first Monday of January, 1913, and ending on the first [563]*563Monday of January, 1915.....That the amounts specifically appropriated for stated purposes by this act constitute the whole amount appropriated, and to be used for any purposes during the years 1913 and 1914.”

That section construed with sec. 13, art. 7, of the constitution above quoted does not permit the auditor to draw his warrant upon said fund until a proper appropriation is made of the balance remaining in said fund after the payment of claims originating during the biennium of 1913 and 1914.

The sole question for determination by this court is whether or not the position of the state auditor is correct, or if a legal appropriation of said funds has been made by the legislature.

It is contended by counsel for plaintiffs that under the statutes there is a continuing appropriation of said funds and that warrants may be drawn upon them for all legal claims against such funds without any further legislative appropriation. In order to determine this matter, we shall have to refer to certain enactments of the legislature touching the question here at issue.

By the fourth section of the act creating and establishing a normal school fund, etc. (Sess. Laws 1905, p. 393), it is provided “That perpetually from and after the first day of January, 1907, one-half of all moneys which may accrue to the said normal school fund shall be, and the same are hereby, appropriated and set apart for the support and maintenance of the said Albion State Normal School and that the same shall be, and they are hereby, made available for such purpose immediately upon their being credited to the said fund. ’ ’ By that act the legislature has attempted to perpetually appropriate and set apart for the support of the Albion Normal School the fund therein mentioned. Of course, that act is not binding on any subsequent legislature, or at least not so binding as to prevent them from amending it.

Subd. 66 of sec. 17 of the Rev. Codes, which were adopted in 1909, continued in force said act of 1905 establishing the normal school fund. The general appropriation act of 1905 (Sess. Laws, p. 277) contains the following section:

[564]*564“Sec. 3. That all moneys belonging to funds created by law for specific purposes are hereby appropriated for such purposes. ’ ’

In sec. 7 of said act the following proviso is found:

“That the income accruing to any state institution after the same has been certified quarterly to the board of trustees of such institution by the auditor shall be deemed an appropriation to such institution, and shall be governed by the provisions of this act regarding appropriations and regarding the creation of indebtedness in excess of such appropriations. ’ ’

The general appropriation act for the biennium of 1907 and 1908 (Sess. Laws 1907, p. 457) contains identically the same provisions above quoted from the general appropriation act of 1905. The general appropriation act of 1909 (Sess. Laws, p. 134) contains similar provisions. Said sec. 3 of the general appropriation acts of 1905, 1907 and 1909 is not found in the general appropriation act of 1911 (Sess. Laws, p. 319), nor in the general appropriation act of 1913 (Sess. Laws, p. 637). In both of the later acts, however, the second provision above quoted from the general appropriation act of .1905 and repeated in subsequent appropriation acts appears.

The general appropriation act of 1915 does not contain either of those provisions, although they appear in the bill as it was originally introduced, but were stricken out. .

There is no question but that the act of 1905, quoted above, which created the normal school fund and perpetually appropriated the income accruing from said fund to the uses of the normal schools of this state, is a sufficient appropriation of this income for the purposes of those institutions until repealed by the legislature, and the only question to be determined in this proceeding is whether or not the language used in the general appropriation act of 1913 constitutes a limitation of such appropriations, — such a limitation as will render it impossible to use in the biennium of 1915 and 1916 any part of the income accruing in the biennium of 1913 and 1914 without a special appropriation by the legislature.

The first section of said appropriation act of 1913 is above quoted, and among other things it provides that the amounts [565]

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174 P. 122 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1918)

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Bluebook (online)
150 P. 14, 27 Idaho 559, 1915 Ida. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-huston-idaho-1915.