This is an original mandamus application to compel the State Auditor to sign refunding bonds for (1) “The Washington State Ferry System Refunding Revenue Bonds, 1955,” and (2) “The Washington Toll Bridge Authority, Ferry and Hood Canal Bridge Revenue Bonds, 1957.”
The total original face value of the two issues was $40,-500,000, of which $37,920,000 is unpaid. In order to avoid impending default, the legislature of 1961 chose to refund both issues. While retaining the original plan of payment from tolls, a new fund denominated “The Puget Sound Reserve Account” was established, from which temporary loans were sanctioned.
Pursuant to Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapters 7 and 9, pp. 2551 and 2569, by resolution No. 362, the Toll Bridge Authority authorized a bond issue of $38,000,000 to refund both issues, which bond the State Auditor refused to sign. This proceeding seeks to compel him to perform that statutory duty.
[31]*31We find the ten arguments advanced by the auditor in support of his refusal to be without merit.
We are met at the threshold by respondent’s contention that “he is not that member of the Authority who is required by law and Resolution No. 362 to sign the proposed bonds.” No useful purpose would be served by restating, even in abridged form, the respondent’s supporting argument for it is sufficient to say that RCW 47.60.060 requires the member of the Toll Bridge Authority who is State Auditor to sign the bonds, and that the auditor is a member of that agency, albeit by the Governor’s appointment. The constitution, by Art. 4, § 4, confers original jurisdiction in mandamus on the Supreme Court to all state officers. The objection is devoid of merit.
The title of the Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 7, p. 2551, is:
“An Act Relating to revenue and taxation; increasing the motor vehicle fuel tax, the use fuel tax and motor vehicle license fees, gross weight fees, fees in lieu of gross weight fees, seating capacity fees, providing for the distribution of said revenue; establishing an urban aid account in the motor vehicle fund; establishing a Puget Sound reserve account; providing for the use of the urban aid account and the Puget Sound reserve account; authorizing investment of the Puget Sound reserve account; . . . [amending and repealing certain designated sections of prior statutes]; providing effective dates; and declaring an emergency.”
Respondent makes two contentions that the statute is in violation of Art. 2, § 19, of the constitution,1 which prohibits the enactment of a statute containing more than one subject, which must be expressed in the title. Respondent argues that (1) three subjects are included in both the title and body of the act, and (2) one subject in the title is not included in the body.
In considering such claimed defects, it is well to remember that the constitutional provision is an admonition [32]*32addressed to the legislature and such objections do not involve any invasion of private rights. It was explained in Holzman v. Spokane, 91 Wash. 418, 420, 157 Pac. 1086, as follows:
“. . . The doctrine that all reasonable doubts as to the constitutionality of an act of the legislature should be resolved in favor of upholding the act has peculiar force in the solution of the question of whether or not the act has been in form constitutionally passed, because such a constitutional question has to do with legislative procedure. In other words, it has to do with the methods of transacting public business by a co-ordained branch of the state government, and not with those constitutional guaranties of personal rights which it is the peculiar province of the courts to protect.”
The respondent contends that the subjects of revenue and taxation are unrelated to the Puget Sound reserve account. Resort is had to dictionary definitions of the terms from which the conclusion is drawn that such relationship is lacking. This but exemplifies the comment of a great jurist that it is misleading to make a fortress out of the dictionary in an attempt to interpret statutes.2
The general subject in both the title to chapter 7 and in the body of the act is revenue and taxation. The distribution of the tax and the creation of the Puget Sound reserve account are integral parts of the scheme. Respondent’s argument is a mere assertion to the contrary. The simultaneous creation of a special account, for the distribution of the proceeds of a tax in the act imposing it, is a common legislative device and has been held to be germane to the title of an act relating to revenue and taxation. Commonwealth ex rel. Bell v. Powell, 249 Pa. 144, 94 Atl. [33]*33746; Winter v. Barrett, 352 Ill. 441, 186 N. E. 113, 89 A. L. R. 1398. It was said by the Supreme Court of Indiana in State ex rel. Test v. Steinwedel, 203 Ind. 457, 467, 180 N. E. 865:
“ . . . Section 19, Art. 4 does not by restricting the contents of an ‘act’ to one subject, contemplate a metaphysical singleness of idea or thing, but rather that there must be some rational unity between the matters embraced in the act, the unity being found in the general purpose of the act and the practical problems of efficient administration. It is hardly necessary to suggest that matters which ordinarily would not be thought to have any common features or characteristics might, for purposes of legislative treatment, be grouped together and treated as one subject. For purposes of legislation, ‘subjects’ are not absolute existences to be discovered by some sort of a priori reasoning, but are the result of classification for convenience of treatment and for greater effectiveness in attaining the general purpose of the particular legislative act. ...”
The Puget Sound reserve account is embraced within the general subject of revenue and taxation.
However, the main argument in support of the claim that chapter 7 violates the single subject and title limitations of the constitution is that the Senate was misled by the inclusion in the title of the words “establishing an urban aid account in the motor vehicle fund” while no such provision is in the body of the act. Respondent resorts to the printed bill and entries in the legislative journals to establish that the Senate was misled because the bill, as it originally passed the Senate, created an urban aid account which was stricken by house amendment without changing the title, so that the Senate accepted the house amendments in the belief that the urban aid provisions remained in the bill.
The short and simple answer is that we will not embark upon such an investigation because the enrolled-bill doctrine, long a citadel in our law, forbids, and matter embraced in the title not included in the body of the act is disregarded as surplusage. Whitfield v. Davies, 78 Wash. 256, 138 Pac. 883; State ex rel. Wolfe v. Parmenter, 50 Wash. 164, 96 Pac. 1047.
[34]*34Again we decline to discard the enrolled-bill rule and substitute in its place the journal-entry rule. It is just short of 70 years since the enrolled-bill doctrine was first announced in State ex rel. Reed v. Jones, 6 Wash. 452, 34 Pac. 201. That case is extraordinarily persuasive because it was written by Judge Hoyt, who, but 4 years earlier, had served as President of the Constitutional Convention. It is unnecessary to repeat the arguments for and against each theory because they are adequately summarized in Derby Club, Inc. v. Becket, 41 Wn. (2d) 869, 252 P. (2d) 259, and Roehl v. Public Util. Dist. No. 1, 43 Wn. (2d) 214, 261 P. (2d) 92.
The matter was simplified by Judge Mackintosh in State ex rel. Dunbar v. State Board of Equalization, 140 Wash. 433, 249 Pac. 996, in a single sentence:
“. . . Finding an enrolled bill in the office of the secretary of state, unless that bill carries its death warrant in its hand, the courts will make no investigation of the antecedent history connected with its passage, except as such an investigation may be necessary in case of ambiguity in the bill for the purpose of determining the legislative intent. ...”
The enrolled bill is fair on its face and carries its own passport to validity, which is impervious to collateral attack.
The first of five arguments that Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, p. 2569, violates Art. 2, § 37, of the state constitution in amending existing law without complying with the constitutional formula is that it amends RCW 47.60.140,3 which requires the toll bridge bonds to be paid solely from tolls.
Chapter 9 does not relieve the toll revenues from [35]*35the burden of the complete payment of the bonds plus interest because the authorized loans from the Puget Sound reserve account must be repaid. Attention was directed to this circumstance in State ex rel. Hoppe v. Meyers, 58 Wn. (2d) 320, 363 P. (2d) 121.
The legislature has, from the very beginning, insisted that such bonds should be paid solely by tolls. Those bonds are not general obligations of the state. That is the inherent character of revenue bonds. The original provision of Laws of 1949, chapter 179, § 4, p. 489, 490, made this perfectly clear. The language of the act is:
“ . . . Each such revenue bond shall contain a recital that payment or redemption of the bond and payment of the interest thereon is secured by a direct charge and lien upon the tolls and revenues pledged for that purpose and that such bond does not constitute an indebtedness of the State of Washington. ...”
But the legislature at the same time recognized that there would be emergencies requiring temporary advances. The same section authorized the Toll Bridge Authority to include interest on the bonds during the construction period and for 6 months thereafter, but required repayment.
“. . . All such costs and expenses as well as any thereof heretofore incurred shall be reimbursed to said Motor Vehicle Fund out of any proceeds derived from the sale of bonds or out of tolls and revenues to be derived by the Authority through its operations hereunder.” Laws of 1949, chapter 179, § 4, p. 489, 492.
Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, § 3, p. 25704 specifically requires repayment to the motor vehicle fund of all advances made from the Puget Sound reserve account. Neither act abandons the requirement that the bonds and interest thereon ultimately be paid from tolls. Neither act makes them general obligations of the state.
[36]*36Respondent contends that chapter 9, § 2, which creates the ferry improvement fund, is “contrary to the self-liquidating unit-financing scheme authorized in RCW 47-.60.140-.160” and that this section amends chapter 7, §§ 18 and 20, “which do not contemplate that the Puget Sound reserve account shall be used to insure payments into the ferry improvement fund.”
But this argument overlooks the plain terms of chapter 9, § 2, which limits the annual amount to $250,000 and specifies that it shall be allocated only after all other charges during the year have been met.
In a seven line paragraph, respondent’s brief argues that chapter 9, § 5, eliminates the requirement that it shall be self-liquidating. We find the argument to be devoid of substance because of the plain mandate that all loans must be repaid.
Respondent argues that chapter 9, §§ 5 and 6, amend the existing statutory provision respecting tolls and bridges. We find no substantial change in the scheme, but, in any event, if minor changes can be discovered, chapter 9 is a complete act and, therefore, impervious to the charge that it violates Art. 2, § 37. State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 56 Wn. (2d) 86, 351 P. (2d) 493; State ex rel. Port of Seattle v. Department of Public Ser., 1 Wn. (2d) 102, 95 P. (2d) 1007; State ex rel. Hansen v. Salter, 190 Wash. 703, 70 P. (2d) 1056; In re Peterson’s Estate, 182 Wash. 29, 45 P. (2d) 45; In re Hulet, 159 Wash. 98, 292 Pac. 430; Swanson v. School Dist. No. 15, 109 Wash. 652, 187 Pac. 386; State ex rel. Hunt v. Tausick, 64 Wash. 69, 116 Pac. 651.
Respondent argues that the ferry improvement fund is likewise a violation of the constitutional one-subject limitation.5 Chapter 9, § 2, creates a ferry improvement fund but limits the annual diversion into it to $250,000. Respondent is mistaken in asserting that it is for the general pur[37]*37pose of constructing or bettering the ferry system. The Toll Bridge Authority had that power from the time of acquisition of the ferry system. It is granted by RCW 47.60.010, and was originally Laws of 1949, chapter 179, § 1. Thus it is that the Toll Bridge Authority had the power to improve, better and expand the ferry system at the time chapter 9 was enacted. It needed no new power and no new power was conferred. Chapter 9, § 2, merely creates a fund which will insure the efficient operation of the system in the future, and is germane to the financing of toll bridges and ferries which is the subject of the legislation, and it is adequately reflected in the title.
It is a matter of common knowledge that the ferry system was purchased and the Hood Canal toll bridge was built with the proceeds of revenue bonds. State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 56 Wn. (2d) 86, 351 P. (2d) 493. It is, likewise, a matter of common knowledge that interest payments are frequently in jeopardy. With both the financial and judicial history of the problem freshly in mind, an informed legislature dealt with the problem in Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, p. 2569, and endeavored to put the outstanding revenue bonds upon a sound financial basis by eliminating the possibility of default. There is such an intimate relationship between the public highways and the revenue bonds for both ferries and toll bridges that the refunding of such bonds is a single legislative purpose. The possible default of the revenue bonds of 1955 and 1957 was a matter of grave concern when the 1961 legislature convened in extraordinary session. It exercised an informed judgment that it would be in the public interest to consolidate them into a single refunded issue, which is authorized by chapter 9.
Under Laws of 1949, chapter 179, § 4 (RCW 47.60.060), the Toll Bridge Authority is vested with power to issue bonds upon such conditions as it deems necessary.6 That [38]*38portion of chapter 9 dealing with parity bonds limits, rather than expands, the Toll Bridge Authority’s power to issue such bonds, which, nevertheless, still require future legislative approval. The only bond issue authorized by chapter 9 is one to refund the 1955 and 1957 issues. Thus it is that the act in question is not general legislation within the principle enunciated in State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 56 Wn. (2d) 86, 351 P. (2d) 493, that a general purpose may not be commingled with a single or special purpose in the same act.
The respondent contends that chapter 9, § 2, authorizes the Toll Bridge Authority to improve and expand the ferry system by use of the ferry improvement fund. This is not so. Such power is conferred by RCW 47.60.010, while the act in question merely provides for the financing of the system which is not expanded or enlarged by it. It is not general legislation because its operation is limited to the refunding of existing bond issues.
Respondent further contends that the inclusion of an appropriation in chapter 9 is, likewise, a violation of the double-subject prohibition of the constitution. Of course, this appropriation is not of a continuing nature, and its object is to carry into execution the principal purposes of the act.
Respondent claims that chapter 9 is not complete in itself. The respondent’s argument is that chapter 9, in sanctioning the use of tax money if the revenue from tolls is insufficient to pay the accruing bond issues, is amendatory of RCW 47.60.113 and RCW 47.60.115, which provide that the bonds shall be payable exclusively from tolls. Respondent asserts that such was the decision in State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 54 Wn. (2d) 545, 342 P. (2d) 588.
[39]*39In this contention the respondent is mistaken.7
Chapter 9, § 38, merely authorizes the temporary borrowing from the Puget Sound reserve account of such funds as may be necessary to make payments of bond principal and interest and specifically requires the repayment of all amounts so borrowed. This was emphasized in State ex rel. Hoppe v. Meyers, supra. It is an interim expedient to preserve the integrity of the issue while requiring the ultimate payment to be made from the funds derived from the tolls.
The argument is made that Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, p. 2569, is invalid because it violates Art. 2, § 19, of the state constitution. The argument is that it embraces [40]*40two subjects, bridges and ferries, and is based upon our decision in State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 32 Wn. (2d) 13, 200 P. (2d) 467, which, however, we do not find of controlling importance because the statute there under consideration, Laws of 1945, chapter 266, p. 858, purported to amend Laws of 1937, chapter 173, p. 654, which dealt solely with toll bridges, whereas the amenda-tory act, both in the title and in the body thereof, dealt with ferries in addition to toll bridges. The purpose of the 1945 amendment was to enable the state to purchase the ferries. The decision is no more than that such legislative purpose cannot be achieved by the amendment of an act limited to toll bridges.
At the ensuing legislative session in March of 1949, following the filing on December 4, 1948, of State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 32 Wn. (2d) 13, 200 P. (2d) 467, the legislature enacted Laws of 1949, chapter 179, p. 487, which dealt with both toll bridges and ferries in a single act, both of which were referred to in the title9. No suggestion has ever been made that the legislature could not, in an independent act, deal with both toll bridges and ferries, as a single operational unit. Under Laws of 1949, chapter 179, § 1, p. 487, the state acquired the Puget Sound ferry system. That section deals with both toll bridges and toll ferries, and was codified by the legislature in Laws of 1961, chapter 13, p. 469. The legislature has continuously considered toll bridges and ferries as a single operational unit for legislative purposes since 1949. Both form an integral part of the state highway system and cannot be regarded as separate subjects within Art. 2, § 19, of the state constitution. Gross v. Washington State Ferries, 59 Wn. (2d) 241, 367 P. (2d) 600; Jeff Hunt Mach. Co. v. South Carolina State Highway Department, 217 S. C. 423, 60 S. E. (2d) 859; Deans v. County of Coconino, 41 Ariz. [41]*41253, 17 P. (2d) 801; Puget Sound Nav. Co. v. United States, 107 F. (2d) 73; Puget Sound Nav. Co. v. Department of Public Works, 156 Wash. 377, 287 Pac. 52; Savage Truck Line v. Commonwealth, 193 Va. 237, 68 S. E. (2d) 510.
Respondent argues that chapter 7, § 21,10 and chapter 9, § 411, are in violation of the fourteenth amendment to our state constitution, the first sentence of which states that the power of taxation shall never be suspended, surrendered, or contracted away. The plaintiff and inter-venors rely on Gruen v. State Tax Comm., 35 Wn. (2d) 1, 211 P. (2d) 651, and cases in accord therewith, to support the constitutionality of these sections.
We place no reliance on the reasoning of that opinion in arriving at our conclusion that there has been no violation of the constitutional provision to which we have just referred. The eighteenth amendment to our state constitution provides that all excise taxes on the sale, distribution, or use of motor vehicle fuel shall be placed in a special fund to be used exclusively for highway purposes.12 [42]*42In State ex rel. Bugge v. Martin, 38 Wn. (2d) 834, 232 P. (2d) 833, we held that, because of the eighteenth amendment, bonds issued for highway purposes payable out of the special fund created by the amendment did not constitute a state debt within the purview of the state’s constitutional debt limitation (Art. 8, §§ 1, 2, and 3), and, by implication, approved that section of the act then before the court (Laws of 1951, chapter 121, § 4, p. 306), which read:
“. . . The proceeds of such excise taxes [on motor vehicle fuels] are hereby pledged to the payment of any bonds and the interest thereon issued under the provisions of this chapter, and the legislature hereby agrees to continue to impose the same excise taxes on motor vehicle fuels in amounts sufficient to pay the principal and interest on all bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter when due.”
What justified such a provision in that statute and the provision of similar import in the statutes now before us is that the people of this state — conceiving that excise taxes on the sale, distribution, and use of motor vehicle fuels were, in a very real sense, tolls for the use of the highways — provided, by a constitutional amendment, that such excise taxes should be paid into a special fund for [43]*43highway purposes only; and, since the state can issue bonds for highway purposes payable from that special fund, the implication is that it can covenant that the excise taxes directed by the constitutional amendment to be paid into the fund will be adequate for the payment and servicing of the bonds.
Respondent contends that chapters 7 and 9 violate the eleventh amendment to the state constitution because, it is said, there is an appropriation extending past the biennium.
In arguments before this court, counsel for the respective parties agreed that each succeeding legislature will be required to enact the necessary appropriation measure, if the bonds are to be serviced.
While it is a sufficient answer to say that the act does not contain any appropriation extending beyond the biennium, the respondent contends, nevertheless, that, because the state is bound until the bonds are retired, the spirit of the noticed constitutional limitation is violated. However, this overlooks the cardinal principle that state constitutions are limitations of power and not grants. In other words, the state is sovereign and possesses all of the attributes of sovereignty except as limited by the constitution itself.
The Supreme Court of Florida has aptly observed that the respondent’s argument would restrict highway development to piecemeal construction.13 The New Jersey Supreme Court [44]*44pointed out the axiomatic principle of constitutional law respecting continuing obligations in a single sentence:
“And it is fundamental in the Constitution that, while the Legislature may within constitutional limits, lay a contractual obligation upon the State, one Legislature cannot charge succeeding Legislatures with the duty of making appropriations.” McCutcheon v. State Building Authority, 13 N. J. 46, 66, 97 A. (2d) 663.
The Supreme Court of Louisiana held an act creating an extended obligation not to be an appropriation but a dedication to .a specific use, which does not violate the constitutional limitation.14 Similar views were expressed by the South Carolina Supreme Court. It said:
“It is a universally accepted tenet of constitutional law that a legislature may enact statutes which result in contracts which may be of effect beyond the life of the enacting legislature. The bonds here contemplated and the pledge of revenue for the payment of them will constitute such contracts and are therefore within the legislative power. The obligations of them will be protected from impairment by the federal and state constitutions. U. S. Const., Art. 1, sec. 10 S. C. Const, of 1895, R. I., sec. 8. To give force to relator’s contention hereabout would render impracticable, if not impossible, the issuance of bonds at all. Wolff v. New Orleans, 103 U. S. 358, 26 L. Ed. 395. State of Indiana ex rel. Anderson v. Brand, 303 U. S. 95, 58 S. Ct. 443, 82 [45]*45L. Ed. 685. Our gasoline tax ‘diversion cases’ demonstrate this court’s fidelity to the principle. State ex rel. Edwards v. Osborne, 193 S. C. 158, 7 S. E. (2d) 526. State ex rel. Edwards v. Osborne, 195 S. C. 295, 11 S. E. (2d) 260.” State ex rel. Roddey v. Byrnes, 219 S. C. 485, 499, 66 S. E. (2d) 33.
The Supreme Court of Minnesota holds that the constitutional provision does not restrict the legislature from binding its taxing power to provide for the state’s contractual obligation to pay.15
Respondent urges as an additional objection that chapters 7 and 9, by authorizing a retention of a million dollars in the Puget Sound reserve account as a guaranty fund, violate the restriction in amendment 18 to the state constitution16 which requires all license fees and excise taxes derived from the sale of motor vehicle fuels to be used exclusively for highway purposes.
The Puget Sound ferry system and the Hood Canal bridge are both integral parts of the highway system.17 From what has been said, it is apparent that any loan from the Puget Sound reserve account will ultimately be repaid from tolls. Consequently, it is idle to say that the temporary employment of such funds to assist the development of the state highway system is within the diversion interdicted by the eighteenth amendment. The Puget Sound ferries operated by the state and the Hood Canal bridge are all indispensable links in the state highway system. [46]*46This was recently exemplified in Gross v. Washington State Ferries, supra, in which we said:
“. . . The state of Washington is acting in a governmental capacity when it operates the Puget Sound Ferry System by its statutory agent, the Washington Toll Bridge Authority. The operation is an integral part of the highway system; its operation is an exercise of a traditional and essential governmental function, although, at one time, a portion of the ferry system was operated by private enterprise. In Riddoch v. State, 68 Wash. 329, 335, 123 Pac. 450 (1912), this court held:
“ ‘. . . the state is inherently sovereign at all times and in every capacity. . . . If it may constitutionally take over any enterprise, though usually of the nature of a private business, the very taking over is an exercise of this sovereign power. It seems much more logical and much more consonant with the idea and genius of sovereignty that the enterprise thus taken over should be impressed with the sovereign character of the state than that the state should become hampered by the private character of the enterprise. The latter result is incompatible with the concept of sovereignty.’
“A ferry is a continuation of a public highway from one side of a body of water, over which it passes, to the other. It serves as a bridge and is part of the highway system. It has been held that the operation of a ferry by the state, or by a subdivision or agency of the state, is not subject to the federal transportation tax because the state is acting in its governmental capacity. United States v. King County, Wash., 281 Fed. 686 (C.C.A. 9th; 1922); United States v. State Road Department, Florida, 255 F. (2d) 516 (C.A. 5th; 1958); United States v. Washington Toll Bridge Authority, 190 F. Supp., 95 (D.C.W.D. Wash., S.D.; 1960) (Currently on Appeal to Court of Appeals for 9th Circuit.).”
We find the contention that such use of the funds violates the eighteenth amendment to be devoid of merit.
Respondent contends that the concluding paragraph in Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, § 6, p. 2572, is unconstitutional because it delegates legislative power to the consulting engineer. The paragraph is:
“Tolls and charges shall not be increased in any case when in the opinion of such engineering firm the increase would so reduce traffic that no net gain in revenue would [47]*47result. The provisions of this section shall be deemed a covenant for the benefit of the holders of such bonds.”
The respondent’s argument, that there is an attempted delegation of legislative power because the independent engineers would control the discretion of the Toll Bridge Authority, is a pure non sequitur, for only administrative authority, and not legislative power, is involved. Relator’s comment, that if the advice of the employed consulting engineering authority is unfavorable others may be substituted, is unimportant for the same reason.
Legislative power is nondelegable, but there is no delegation of legislative power here for the fixing of tolls is purely an administrative function. Very definite standards are prescribed, to which any action of the Toll Bridge Authority must conform. The standards are that the tolls must be fixed so as to produce sufficient revenue to pay the principal and carrying charges of the outstanding bonds, and that, if the tolls are insufficient for this purpose, they must be increased but no increase shall be made if the net return thereby would be diminished.
That the fixing of tolls is an administrative function and not a legislative function was pointed out by the Supreme Court of Kentucky in Bloxton v. State Highway Comm., 225 Ky. 324, 329, 8 S. W. (2d) 392. The significant portion of the opinion in that case is:
“It is insisted that the act violates sections 27 and 28 of the Constitution, in that it attempts to delegate legislative powers to the state highway commission. These sections of the Constitution divide the powers of the government of the state into three distinct departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, and provide that no person or persons of one of these departments shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others. It is insisted that the provisions of the act authorizing the commission to fix the rate of toll for each bridge, the terms and maturity of the bonds, and the terms upon which bids may be made, confer upon the board legislative powers. While legislative powers may not be conferred upon any executive board, administrative powers may be conferred upon a board. The rate of toll to he charged, the rate of interest to [48]*48be paid on the bonds, and the time the bonds shall run before maturity, are all matters to be determined under the facts and circumstances according to a reasonable judgment. Such matters are administrative; they are not legislative. Such business details are, by many acts, committed to the boards having charge of the business, and it is well settled that such details of administrative matters may properly be left by the Legislature to the sound judgment of the board. Tolls are not taxes within the meaning of section 181 of the Constitution. For tolls are collected from every one who uses the bridge, whether a resident of this state or a non-resident, while taxes may only be levied upon residents of this state, or property having its situs in this state. Tolls are, strictly speaking, compensation paid for the use of the bridge and are similar to the tolls paid to a ferryman where a ferry is used. See Klein v. Louisville, 224 Ky. 624, 6 S. W. (2d) 1104.” (Italics ours.)
Our cases are in accord: State ex rel. Banker v. Yelle, 183 Wash. 380, 48 P. (2d) 573; and State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 195 Wash. 636, 82 P. (2d) 120.
The two cases relied upon by respondents (State ex rel. Scofield v. Schaaf, 185 Wash. 354, 54 P. (2d) 1014, and Trudeau v. Pacific States Box & Basket Co., 20 Wn. (2d) 561, 148 P. (2d) 453) do not touch this question but are solely concerned with tariff orders of the Department of Public Service.
The final contention is that, in the agreement provided for in the resolution authorizing the refunding bonds, the Toll Bridge Authority has “unlawfully assumed legislative power in violation of Article II, section 2, amendment 7 of the constitution of the state of Washington.”
The resolution (No. 362, § 30)18 provides (1) that a copy [49]*49oí the resolution authorizing the parity bonds is to be filed with the trustee; (2) that the certificate of the authority as to the net revenue of the ferry system for an annual period will amount to 1.25 times the average annual principal and interest requirements of the then outstanding bonds; and (3) that the resolution authorizing the parity bonds shall provide for the deposit of sufficient funds for the average annual debt service requirements in the principal and interest reserve account in the bond fund.
Laws of 1961, Ex. Ses., chapter 9, § 1, p. 2569, authorizes the issuance of parity bonds,19 but provides that such addi[50]*50tional bonds shall not be issued without further express legislative sanction. RCW 47.60.060 empowers the Toll Bridge Authority to include in any bond resolution any provision deemed necessary for the use of the “revenues from the undertaking.”
The legislature obviously could not know all of the details necessary for the successful marketing of this particular class of bonds. It has habitually, therefore, authorized the administrative agency to negotiate such details. Similar agreements were considered in State ex rel. Washington Toll Bridge Authority v. Yelle, 56 Wn. (2d) 86, 351 P. (2d) 493, and approved. While no such bonds have been authorized, and cannot be without further legislative sanction, it is inconceivable that it would be found desirable to transcend the reasonable minimal requirements of the resolution.
We find the objection to be devoid of merit.
Two remaining matters require mention:
(1) Respondent claims that the Budget Director has not approved and allotted the $1,700,000 appropriation to the Toll Bridge Authority, for which reason it is asserted that the application for our mandate is premature. Relator advises, without contradiction, that the director has since approved and allocated to it the appropriation in question.
(2) The answer of the respondent challenges the authority of the State Finance Committee to sell the state toll bridge bonds now held by it, and the authority of the State Employees’ Retirement Board and of the Washington State Teachers’ Retirement System to sell the Toll Bridge Authority bonds held by them, but we find ample authority therefor in RCW 41.40.070, RCW 41.32.200, RCW 51.44.100 and Laws of 1907, chapter 12, p. 16, as amended by Laws of 1935, chapter 76, p. 167 (cf. RCW 43.84.010).
The writ will issue.
Finley, C. J., Hill, Weaver, Hunter, and Hamilton, JJ., concur.
Ott, Acting C. J.
— The foregoing opinion had been prepared by Judge Harry Ellsworth Foster before his death. [51]*51A majority of the remaining members of the court have adopted it as their opinion, and, for the reasons therein assigned, the writ will issue.