Pope v. Oliver

117 S.W.2d 1072, 196 Ark. 394, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 194
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 13, 1938
Docket4-5183
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 117 S.W.2d 1072 (Pope v. Oliver) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pope v. Oliver, 117 S.W.2d 1072, 196 Ark. 394, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 194 (Ark. 1938).

Opinion

Baker, J.

Appellant filed suit in the White chancery court to enjoin city officers of Searcy from collecting a fee of fifty cents, charged for inspecting his automobile, as provided under act 300 of the Acts of 1937, and as provided by certain ordinances enacted pursuant to authority under said act 300. We pretermit a discussion of any legal principles involved insofar as an- injunction proceeding may be invoked to prevent the particular criminal prosecution. If that were the only question and it were free from any contention as to property rights, the real issue presented upon this appeal perhaps might not be determined. The matter for decision argued not only by briefs of counsel for appellant and for the appellees, but also by briefs amici curiae, is the legality of a portion of § 1, act 11.of the Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of 1938. Practically the same contention is made by all parties representing' the appellant and almost identical responses have been filed-by those having the different view. The matter really involved is the constitutionality of a portion of § 1, act 11, of the Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of 1938. This particular portion of said section in controversy repeals that part of act 300 of the Acts of 1937 which provides for the charge and collection of a fee for testing automobiles, as provided by % 135 of said act. Section 1, as approved, is as follows: “The authority of the Arkansas State Highway Commission and the Commissioner of Revenues to fix and collect tolls for passage on any state toll bridge in this state is hereby revoked, and said toll bridges are declared to be free. In consideration of the refund to the state by the' Federal Government of a portion of the cost of the construction of said toll bridges, the state hereby pledges itself forever to keep said bridges free of tolls, and to maintain and repair said bridges, and the approaches thereto, in such manner as may be necessary. In order to partly replace the revenues which may be lost to the Highway Fund by reason of the discontinuance of collection of tolls on the bridges herein mentioned, no inspection fee on automobiles as is now provided by law shall be collected, thereby increasing the number of automobiles which operate on the highways of state and a consequent increase in revenues from gasoline taxes and automobile license taxes, which revenues under the law are paid into the Highway Fund.”

That portion of § 1 aforesaid which is questioned is the last sentence in said section and 'begins with the words “In order to partly replace,” etc. This was inserted in the original bill by way of amendment.

- It is urged by appellant, and also argued by those supporting appellant’s position, that the only authority under which the Legislature acted in the passage of the above disputed and quoted portion of § 1, act 11, must be found in paragraph 6 of the proclamation of the Governor calling the General Assembly into the Extraordinary Session, if indeed, it be found at all. We may say it is conceded by all parties interested that if this particular bit of legislation cannot be held to be within the purview of said paragraph 6 of the proclamation, then it was not authorized by the call and must be declared unconstitutional. Paragraph six of said proclamation reads as follows: “To provide for the removal of authority to collect tolls on bridges and to pledge the state to keep the said bridges forever free.”

The chancery court sustained a demurrer to the complaint, the effect of which was to hold that the questioned portion of § 1, act 11, above quoted, was in contravention of the Constitution and is, therefore, invalid.

It is argued that every reasonable presumption must be indulged to sustain the legislative enactment and that if it can be determined under the proclamation, or by the indulgence of such reasonable presumptions, that the particular portion of § 1, act 11, in controversy, was within the purview of.the Governor’s call, when considered from the broad or comprehensive view of the entire field of legislation probably within the legislative mind and intent, then the act, including the questioned portion, must be upheld. We agree that within the scope of the call or proclamation the legislative bodies are sole and exclusive judges of what is proper action.

In recognition of the independence of each of the three departments of the state government, we are inclined to yield to that viewpoint as far as may be practicable wherein such yielding wil] not do violence to statements simply and plainly made and concerning which there can be no question in reasonable minds as to what such statements mean or imply.

We think it must appear to anyone considering this matter fairly and impartially that if the foregoing contentions, made to support the questioned portion of § 1, of act 11, aforesaid, could 'be accepted without any reservation then the result would be to ignore such provisions of the Constitution of the state as § 19 of art. VI iiutL § 21 of art. V. Almost any astuto representa-' live or legislator could assert or allege some reason or purpose in regard to matters wholly unrelated, and by so declaring an affinity which was in truth non-existant preclude further investigation or consideration, and in that way nullify constitutional provisions that would otherwise be deemed as impaired, or infringed upon by such action. Because it seems reasonable that a statement of such proposition is a sufficient answer to the contention, we refrain from further discussion of it.

•There can be no misunderstanding about paragraph 6 of the Governor’s call and any legislation under the provision of said paragraph 6, which is to provide for the removal of authority to collect tolls on bridges and to pledge the state to keep them forever free, does not embrace within its terms, or any reasonable implication, as such language is ordinarily understood, the authority to enact any law for the collection of revenue. But it is contended that in order to keep the bridges forever free from tolls, revenue should be raised to take the place of the tolls that were eliminated by the first part of the act, and it is further argued that when the Governor signed the bill and it became a law he thereby, as far as he was able, declared this questioned portion as within the call made by him. In response to that argument it may be said that after the Chief Executive had made the proclamation any interpretation which imagination might conceive that he gave to it, when not found in the language itself, is wholly beside the question and without merit. It can be argued, with perhaps greater show of reason, that the matter of raising revenue, so that the bridges might be freed of tolls, was one considered by the' Governor before the call was made, and, doubtless, it would not have been made had it not been determined before hand that such loss of revenue, as occurred on account of the repeal of authority to collections, was one that the state could afford, particularly in view of the fact that we must and do presume that by freeing the bridges from the collection of tolls the state would be entitled to receive perhaps more than five millions of dollars to be paid into the State Highway Fund by the National Government. This sum, if not completo compensation for any loss that may have occurred, at least, justified the issuance of the proclamation contained in paragraph 6 above.

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Bluebook (online)
117 S.W.2d 1072, 196 Ark. 394, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pope-v-oliver-ark-1938.