The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1879-08-15
THAT ONE MILL TAX.
What Our County Attorney Thinks
About 1t.

THAT ONE MILL TAX.
What Our County Attorney Thinks
About 1t.
WIN. F. EWING, ESQ, COUNTY CLERK
DEAR SIR In response to your re-
quest for an opinion as to whether by
law you are required to extend upon the
tax roll of Lyon county a levy of one
mill upon the dollar for a general school
fund tax, give you my judgment upon
the matter as follows: A law requiring
the levy of one mill upon the dollar an
nually for the general school fund is
found in section rs of chapter so of the
general statutes, and reads as follows, to-
wit:
"SEC. 76 For the purpose of affording
the advantages of free education to the
children of the state, the state annual
school fund shall consist of the annual
income derived from the interest and
rents of the perpetual school fund, as
provided in the constitution of the state,
and such sum as will be produced by
the annual levy and assessment of one
mill upon the dollar valuation of the tax
able property Of the state; and there is
hereby levied and assessed annually the
said one mill upon the dollar for the sup
port of common schools in the state, and
the amount so levied and assessed shall
be collected in the same manner as other
state taxes"
In 1876 the legislature enacted another
law upon the same subject, as shown by
section of chapter 122 of the laws of
1875. This law of 1875 is are-enactment,
word for word, of said section rs above
quoted. There is not single change
made by this law of 1876, in either pune
tuatIon or phraseology, from this sec
ton rs, and as the law of 1876 neither ex-
pressly or implicitly repealed section rs,
the first question arises as to the con-
structIon to be given these two statutes
concerning the same matter. Are they
to be construed as separate and indie
pendent statutes, or are they to be con-
strued together as one statute? Fortu-
nately, our statutes answer this question.
By the provisions of section l of chap
ter 1O4 of the general statutes. it is pro-
vided, among other rules for the con-
struction of statutes, as follows, to-wit:
1.-THE provisions of any statute, so far
as they are the same as those of any prior
statute, shall be construed as q continual
tiOn Of such provisions, and not as a ae'c
enactment"
The two statutes being just the same,
under this rule of construction given by
the statutes, as above quoted, there can
be no question but that the law of 1876,
was only in effect continuation of this
section rs of chapter 90 of the general
statutes. In other words, it was and is
only declaration of the legislature of
1876 that section 76 of chapter 80 of the
general statutes should continue in full
force. If am correct in the conclusion
thus reached, it follows, as a matter of
course, that the only law in existence, if
any there be, which would authorize you
to place this one mill tax upon the tax
roll, is this section rs above quoted, con-
tinued in force by the law of 1876 above
referred to. This section rs was repeal
ed by the legislature last winter, as shown
by section of chapter 149 of the laws of
1879. The repeal of this section carried
with it, as matter of course, the law of
1876, which only had the effect of con-
tinuing the law repealed, as we have al
ready seen; for it would be absurd to say
that although the law of 1876 had only
the effect of continuing this section 76 in
force while it was unrepealed, yet that
as soon as section rs was repealed the
law of 1876 acquired new force and
power which it never had before, and be-
came co-instanter a new enactment of
the Legislature. If am wrong in the
reasoning by which have arrived at my
conclusion, then say that there is yet
another reason which shows that my
conclusion is right, Notwithstanding my
previous wrong reasoning.
If the law of 1876 is still in force, ii
provides that the general school fund
shall consist of the revenues derived from
the interest and rents of the perpetual
school fund, and such fund as will be
derived from the levy ofthis one mill tax.
The legislature of last winter, by section
4 of chapter 149 of the laws of 1879, ex-
pressly provided that the general school
fund should only consist of the income
derived from the interest and rents of the
perpetual school fund; hence there is a
direct conflict between these two laws,
as to what shall constitute the general
school fund. In such case the rule of
construction is that the latest expression
of the legislative will must control. I'm
der this rule of construction, the law of
last winter implicitly repealed the law
of 1876.
/ lam very respectfully yours.
T. n. SEDGwICK,
| Co. Atty. Lyon Co., Kans.
| Per C. N. s., deputy.