Walker v. Polk County

223 P. 741, 110 Or. 535, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 216
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 11, 1924
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 223 P. 741 (Walker v. Polk County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walker v. Polk County, 223 P. 741, 110 Or. 535, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 216 (Or. 1924).

Opinion

RAND, J.

The plaintiffs, as taxpayers, sue to enjoin the sale of certain road bonds issued by Polk County for the purpose of raising money to be used for the construction and maintenance of permanent roads within that county.

It appears from the complaint that pursuant to Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, a petition was presented to the County Court of Polk County petitioning the County Court to call a special election to be held for the purpose of submitting to the voters of the county the question of the issuance by the county, for the construction and maintenance of permanent roads within the county, of bonds to the amount of $265,000, which bonds were to run for fifteen years and to bear interest at a rate not to exceed 6 per cent per annum. There is no allegation in the complaint that the petition was not signed by the requisite number of registered voters of the county, or that the amount of the proposed bond was in excess of the amount of bonds which the county was authorized to [538]*538issue for that purpose, or that the said petition was not sufficient in all respects. It is alleged that pursuant to this petition the County Court made and entered an order calling for the holding of a special election to be held on June 3, 1919; that an election was held in pursuance thereof, and that at said election a majority of the votes cast were in favor of the issuance of said bonds, and that the bonds have been issued by the county and are about to be sold. These bonds, it alleges, are invalid for the reasons hereinafter stated.

1. Section 10 of Article XI of the Constitution, until amended, limited the power of counties to create any debts or liabilities which should singly or in the aggregate exceed the sum of $5,000, except to suppress insurrection or repel invasion. This constitutional provision remained in force until amended in 1910. It was again amended in 1912. As so amended and in force at the date of the entry of the order complained of, it provided:

“No county shall create any debts or liabilities which shall singly or in the aggregate with previous debts or liabilities, exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, except to suppress insurrection or repel invasion or to build and maintain permanent roads within the county; and debts for permanent roads shall be incurred only on approval of a majority of those voting on the question, and shall not either singly or in the aggregate with previous debts and liabilities incurred for that purpose exceed two per cent of the assessed valuation of all the property in the county.” See Laws 1913, p. 9.

It is conceded that the amount of the bonds in question, either singly or in the aggregate with previous debts and liabilities incurred by Polk County for road purposes, did not exceed 2 per cent of the assessed valuation of the property of the county, and [539]*539that at an election authorized by and held pursuant to Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, the issuance and sale of these bonds has received the approval of a majority of those voting upon that question at said election. Under this admitted state of facts, Polk County, by virtue of said constitutional provision and of the provisions of Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, was authorized to issue and sell bonds to the amount of $265,000 for the purpose of providing money to be used in building and maintaining permanent roads within that county.

2-5. But it is contended that the County Court of Polk County had no lawful authority to call an eléction to authorize a bond issue where a part of the proceeds arising from the sale of the proposed bonds is to be used in the construction of a state highway. It is admitted that the sum of $10,000 to be realized from the sale of said bonds is to be used in the construction of what is known as the West Side Pacific Highway, which is a state highway. For this reason it is contended that the order calling the election and the election held in pursuance thereof are void. This contention is based upon the fact that Section 13 of Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, provides:

“All moneys raised under the provisions of this .act shall be used in constructing permanent public roads in that county, which roads shall be constructed by the County Court under its exclusive jurisdiction and such expert assistants as they may employ.”

Chapter 103, Laws' of 1913, provides the procedure whereby an election may be called and held for the purpose of authorizing a county to issue and sell bonds to build and maintain permanent roads within the county. Plaintiffs contend that said act is a legislative interpretation of Section 10, Article 21, [540]*540of the Constitution, to the effect that the power of the county to issue bonds to build and maintain permanent roads is limited and restricted to county roads within the county, and that the county is without authority to issue and sell bonds for the purpose of raising any money which is to be expended upon a state highway. “The uniform legislative interpretation of doubtful constitutional provisions, running through many years, and a similar construction of statutes, has great weight.” 2 Lewis’ Sutherland on Statutory Construction, § 476. Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, is purely a legislative act. It has none of the characteristics of a constitutional provision. Like all other legislative acts where vested rights, growing out of a statute and arising upon contract or transactions in the nature of a contract, have not intervened, that is, if no constitutional provision prohibits it, subsequent legislatures have the power to amend, revise or repeal all or any of its provisions. The legislative assembly also has power, without expressly repealing the provisions of a former law, to enact other laws upon the same subject which by implication necessarily operate to repeal the former law. We think that Section 13, Chapter 103, Laws of 1913, furnishes no evidence whatever of any legislative interpretation of Section 10 of Article XI, Constitution, but if any such interpretation can be found in it, it can be claimed with equal force that a contrary legislative interpretation may be found in subsequent legislation upon the same subject.

Section 7 of Chapter 237, Laws of 1917, provides:

“Whenever any county desires to construct or improve any part of a state road lying within such county, the county court of such county may make application to the State Highway Commission for the definite location and grade for such road, and the [541]*541State Highway Engineer shall canse snch road or portion thereof to be definitely located and the grade thereof established, and the cost thereof shall be charged to such road on the books of the State Highway Department as a part of the cost of construction.”

Section 10 of the same chapter provides:

“All construction work done by counties upon any of the State highways to which the State contributes not less than twenty-five per cent of the cost of construction shall be subject to the supervision of the State Highway Department. All moneys raised by counties for road purposes, and expended or to be expended upon roads within such counties other than' State Highways, shall be under the exclusive control of the county court of such counties. Nothing in this Act contained shall be construed so as to prohibit the county from co-operating with the Federal Grovernment under Section 8 of the Federal Aid Road Act for the construction and maintenance of roads in or partially within the National forests.

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Related

State of Oregon v. Kuhnhausen
272 P.2d 225 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 P. 741, 110 Or. 535, 1924 Ore. LEXIS 216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-polk-county-or-1924.