Jeffreys v. Huston

129 P. 1065, 23 Idaho 372, 1913 Ida. LEXIS 55
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 11, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 129 P. 1065 (Jeffreys 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
Jeffreys v. Huston, 129 P. 1065, 23 Idaho 372, 1913 Ida. LEXIS 55 (Idaho 1913).

Opinions

STEWART, J.

— This is an application for a writ of mandate. The case is submitted upon the pleadings. The facts as disclosed by the complaint and answer are as follows: That, the defendant, Fred L. Huston, is the state auditor; that the plaintiff, during the month of January, 1913, was the duly appointed, qualified and acting assistant adjutant general of [375]*375the state of Idaho; that on the 1st day of February, 1913, the petitioner presented to the defendant, the state auditor, at his office, a duly verified claim against the state of Idaho for the sum of $125; that such claim conforms in all respects to the requirements of law governing the presentation of such claims, and represents the amount due plaintiff from the state of Idaho for services rendered during the month of January, 1913; that he demanded that the defendant issue a warrant on the state treasury for the said sum of $125, and the defendant refused to issue said warrant and has since said time refused to issue the same.

In the answer of defendant it is claimed that the reason for refusing to issue the warrant to pay plaintiff’s claim is based upon the fact that no appropriation has been made by the legislature for the payment of the salary of the assistant adjutant general for the month of January, 1913, or for any period subsequent to the first Monday of January, 1913.

The contention made by the state auditor arises by reason of the conflict between two acts of the state legislature. The plaintiff relies upon secs. 11 and 101 of chap. 72 of an act providing for the organization, discipline and regulation of the organized militia of this state, known as the National Guard of Idaho, Laws of 1911, p. 202. See. 11, among other things, provided: ‘ ‘ There shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Adjutant General, an Assistant Adjutant General who shall have the rank of Major. The Adjutant General shall receive as a yearly compensation the sum of $2,000, payable in equal monthly instalments, and the Assistant Adjutant General shall receive as a yearly compensation the sum of $1,500 payable in equal monthly instalments.”

Sec. 101 provides: “To carry out the provisions of this act, a continuing appropriation of $25,000 per annum is hereby made out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, and the use or expenditure of the same sum hereby appropriated shall not be limited to any particular year.”

It will be seen from these two sections that the assistant adjutant general is to receive $125 a month, payable in [376]*376monthly instalments, and under the provisions of sec. 101 an appropriation is made of money in the state treasury in the sum of $25,000 per annum as provided for by the legislature, and this appropriation is not to be limited to any particular year.

The foregoing chapter providing for the organization of the National Guard of Idaho was approved March 10, 1911. The same legislature enacted chap. 86, Laws of 1911, p. 319, entitled “Making appropriation for the payment of salaries and compensation of officers and employees of the state of Idaho and the general expenses of state government and the supporting and maintaining of the state institutions for the period commencing on the first Monday of January, 1911, and ending on the first Monday of January, 1913.” This is a general appropriation bill providing for an appropriation of the funds óf the state for carrying on the state government for the time fixed hy the act and includes the compensation of officers and employees of the state. In that chapter is 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, 1911, and ending on the first Monday of January, 1913 .... Adjutant General. For all expenses relating to the National Guard of Idaho, and the Idaho Reserve Militia, including the salaries of officers and subordinates, as per House Bill No. 156, $45,000.” House Bill No. 156 is chap. 72, above referred to, in which is found the continuous appropriation of $25,000 for the purposes of carrying out the act.

The question thus presented is: Does see. 1 of chap. 86 as above quoted, repeal the provisions of sec. 101, chap. 72, Laws of 1911, quoted above? Sec. 13, art. 7 of the constitution of this state clearly limits the power of any officer created under the constitution and laws of the state in paying out of the state treasury money, except upon appropriation made by [377]*377law. This section provides: “No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in pursuance of appropriations made by law. ’ ’ This limitation of the power of the state auditor makes it necessary to determine whether the provisions relating to the continuous appropriation provided in the act approved March 10, 1911, were in force after the first Monday of January, 1911, for the years 1911 and 1912. This court, in the case of Gilbert v. Moody, 3 Ida. 3, 25 Pac. 1092, in discussing a similar statute, held: “The act in question makes the appropriation. It fixes the compensation, the time of payment, and authorizes the comptroller to draw his warrant to pay the same when due.”

The supreme court of Wyoming, in the case of State v. Burdick, 4 Wyo. 272, 33 Pac. 125, 24 L. E. A. 266, in discussing a similar statute, says: “The first state legislature provided for the compensation of presidential electors in a special act regulating their duties and time and place of meeting. No specific appropriation was made otherwise than by this act, and none was necessary, as the appropriation in the act itself was sufficient, and is a perpetual one, so long as the law is in force. It is clear that the act creating the office of state examiner does, in see. 27 thereof, make an appropriation at least for the salary of such officer, which is a continuing appropriation. ’ ’

There can be no question but that the act of March 10, 1911, made an appropriation of $25,000 per annum for carrying out the provisions of the act providing for the organization of the national guard, and that such appropriation was made a continuing appropriation and was not limited to any particular year. In using this language the legislature intended that the appropriation was not limited to any particular year, and that the legislature waived the right to fix a different appropriation for any particular year. Exigencies might arise, or necessities might appear which would necessitate either a suspension of the amount appropriated by this act, or the fixing of a higher or lower appropriation, as such necessities might justify. This intention of the legislature is clearly demonstrated by the provisions of chap. 86, wherein [378]*378the same legislature passed a general appropriation act just four days later than chap. 72, and in said later act a special appropriation is made “for all expenses relating to the National Guard of Idaho and the Idaho Reserve Militia, including the salaries of officers and subordinates, as per House Bill No. 156, $45,000.” This appropriation was for a period commencing on the first Monday of January, 1911, and ending on the first Monday of January, 1913, and covered the entire years of 1911 and 1912, and suspended the continuous appropriation made of $25,000 per annum as provided in chap. 72 of the act of March 10, 1911.

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Bluebook (online)
129 P. 1065, 23 Idaho 372, 1913 Ida. LEXIS 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeffreys-v-huston-idaho-1913.