Protest of Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co.

1931 OK 506, 2 P.2d 937, 151 Okla. 139, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 571
Supreme Court of Oklahoma·Decided September 8, 1931·No. 22277·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

ANDREWS, J.

This is an appeal by the protestant from a judgment of the Court of Tax Review in favor of the protestee. The protest involved the sinking fund levies for Pottawatomie county and Earlsboro township in that county for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1930. The basis of the protest is that interest accruing from the deposit of the sinking fund in the various banks should be apportioned and credited to the sinking fund and not to the common school fund of the county.

The rule with reference to the sinking fund of a county and the rule with reference to the sinking fund of a township are materially different. For that reason those rules will be discussed separately.

In 1905 the Territorial Legislature provided that the county treasurer should deposit daily all of the funds and money of whatsoever - kind that shall come into his possession by virtue of his office as such county treasurer in his name as such county treasurer, in one or more responsible banks located in the county and designated by the board of county commissioners as the county depositories. That was what is commonly known as the county depository law. The provision was revised by the commission that prepared the Revised Laws of Oklahoma of 1910, and as revised the same appears in that Code as section 1540. It was revised by the Legislature at the 1919 Session, page 405, c. 284, and that revision appears as section 5727, O. O. S. 1921. It was revised by the 1925 Session, at page 138, c. 88, and by the 1929 Session, at page 454) c. *140 327. The history of that legislation reveals an intent that county funds should be deposited in banks that would pay interest on daily balances. There is nothing therein to indicate what disposition should be made of the interest so earned and collected. Attention is called to the fact that the county depositories provided for therein are entirely distinct from another county depository subsequently provided for. .That distinction will be pointed out hereinafter.

At the 1913 Session, the Legislature provided, by section 2, ch. 12, S. L. 1913 (section 8581, C. O. S. 1921), that, on the 30th day of June of each year, the county treasurer shall apportion and place to the credit of the sinking fund account of the various school districts of the county, all interest collected from the investment of sinking-funds, as provided by section 1 of that act, and “all interest loaned and collected upon such sinking fund from every source whatsoever ; provided, that the amount so credited to the sinking fund account, of each district, shall bear the same ratio to the whole amount of interest so collected as the amount to the credit of the sinking fund account of such district bears to the whole amount credited to the sinking fund account of all the school districts of the county.”

The Legislature, at the 1915 Session, bisection 2, ch. 94, S. L. 1915 (section 8578, O. O. S. 1921), provided that “all interest loaned and collected upon such school district sinking fund money from every source whatsoever” should be “credited to the sinking fund account of each district” and that the “amount so credited to the sinking-fund account of each district shall bear the same ratio to the whole amount so collected as -the amount to the credit of the sinknig fund account of such district bears to the whole amount credited to the sinking fund account of all the school districts of the county.” Thereby the interest on' county funds provided for by section 8581, supra, was eliminated. The interest directed to be apportioned by section 8578, supra, was the-interest arising from the investment of school district sinking funds. That section provided a method for distributing interest arising from the investment of school district sinking funds held by the county treasurer, but it made no provision for the interest accruing from the investment of county funds-. Under the provisions of that act the interest on sinking funds of independent school districts accrued to the independent school districts, each common school district received its fair share of the interest on the investment by the county treasurer of the school district sinking funds held by the county treasurer and the county received the interest on the investment of its sinking fund.

Had there been but one act adopted at the 1915 Session there would be no question as to the intent of that Legislature, but that Legislature also adopted chapter 146, S. L. 1915. That act was subsequently amended and does not appear in O. O. S. 1921. Section 1 of that act required the county treasurer to place to the credit of the common school fund of the county, for distribution as all other common school funds, “all the interest money now on hand accrued on the daily balances of the various county school district and sinking fund accounts.” That provision applied only to funds on hand and it was not prospective in effect. It is material to the discussion herein for the reason that it was the first legislative expression of an intent that interest should be credited to the common school fund of the county, rather than to the sinking fund of the school districts, as theretofore provided. In our opinion it was not in conflict with any provision of chapter 94, S. L. 1915, which chapter was prospective in effect and did not apply to interest then on hand. Section 2 of chapter 146, S. L. 1915, provided that the county treasurer should place to the credit of the several funds the pro rata share of interest received on daily balances, in proportion to the average amount of each fund on deposit during the month. There was no conflict between that provision and the provisions of chapter 94, S. L. 1915. By the provisions of both of the acts adopted at the 1915 Session, interest accruing on the county sinking- fund in the fubure was to be credited to the county sinking fund.

The 1917 Session of the Legislature again changed the provisions for the disposition of interest accruing from the deposit of the county sinking fund in banks. Chapter 221, S. L. 1917. By section 1 thereof (section 8583, C. O'. S. 1921), section 1 of chapter 146, S. L. 1915, was amended to provide that the county treasurer shall “place to the credit of the common school fund of the county for distribution, as all other common school funds, all the interest money now on hand accrued on the average daily balances of money deposited with banks in pursuance of the provisions of the county-depository law,” and that “all such interest moneys hereafter collected shall at the close of each month be apportioned and credited *141 to the common school fund of the county.” By that provision the Legislature definitely stated that the interest on hand and thereafter collected from the county sinking fund deposit in banks should be credited to the common school fund. That intent is clear from the repeal, by section 2 of this act, of section 2 of chapter 146, S. L. 1915. The provisions of chapter 221, S. L. 1917, have not been changed by subsequent legislation. They are now in force. Under those provisions the interest arising from the deposit of the county sinking fund in the county depositories should be credited to the common school fund of the county and not to the sinking fund of the county. The Court of Tax Review so held, and its judgment thereon must be affirmed.

The decision of this court in State ex rel. Power v. Wenner, Co. Treas., 121 Okla. 190, 249 Pac. 408, relating to interest arising from the deposit of a special road fund by the county treasurer, is to the same effect.

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Protest of Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co., 1931 OK 506, 2 P.2d 937, 151 Okla. 139, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 571 (Okla. 1931).

1931 OK 506 (Protest of Chicago, R. I. & P. Ry. Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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