The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-03-15
SIX BILLS YET UNSIGNED.
One of Them Provides for Paying
Taxes in Semi-Annual
Instalments.
The Five Others Malks Appropria-
lions for tho Educational
Institutions.
Reasons Which May Induce Gov. Rick
ards to Withhold Ills Signature From
Ono or All Of Them.

Gov. Richards has only six bills of the
last legislature before him that have not
yet received his approval or disapproyal.
Lie has until midnight next Monday ia
make up his MUD about them. After TINT
time, II not approved, they are rs valuelesa
ns tho paper they are written on under the
provision OF the constitution which says:
mo bill shall become a law after the final
Adjournment of the legislative assembly,
unless approved by the governor within
fifteen days after ouch adjournment" Az
the constitution, In the same section, OK
cludes Sundays from tho days allowed for
executive action on a bill while the legisla-
ture il in session, tho governor concludes
that the snme exception ia made in cases of
bills acted on after final adjournment.
Excluding Sundays from the fifteen days,
the governor has until Monday at midnight
to act on the bills before him. II. how
ever, Sundays are not excepted in this case,
he has only until Friday night.
The governor has good reasons to give
for the delay in acting OF the bills yet be-
fore him.. He wished to consult tho attor-
ney general about them. but that officer be-
Ing sick. he has not been able to do 80.
Gov. Richards hopes that by the time he
gets back from Butte tomorrow Attorney
General Haskell will be sufficiently re-
covered to get to the office. and then the
governor will be in a position 10 net with
more definite knowledge of the exact state
of affairs.
Only one bill Of a general nature Is in
oluded in those yet before the governor.
1t 10 that introduced by Representative
Jockey and has for it's object the semi.
anIual payment Of taxes. The idea is to
allow taxpayers to pay one-half their
taxes in December and the other half in
June, though they can, if they see fit, pay
1t all at once. Coy. Richards thinks 1t is a
very good law. and would like to see his
way clear to approve it. The difficulty he
ne sees in tho way is the question as to
whether the payment of only one-half the
state taxes in December will bring in
enough money to pay the running expenses
OF the government until the next semi
annual payment is due and collected. If it
should not the state, in view of the heavy
appropriations made by the Legislature,
would lind itself in a position where the
resources would be inadequate to meet the
demands on the treasury, even by borrow
ing or running in debt to the constitutional
limit of 800. 900.
The five other bills on which action is de-
.SAAoo w tHoso naklnR appropriations for
the school of mines, the Agricultural COL
lege. the state university. the normal
school and the deaf and dumb ASYLUM. The
appropriation for the latter is ST. 200. For
each of the four others it Is SIS. 600. The
appropriations for the five institutions foot
NJ $4,000. The governor has serious
doubts as to whether the treasurer would
be able to raise this amount in addition to
the appropriations already approved, with
out exceeding the 800. 900 limit of indebt-
eoness. he recognizes the fact that dis
approval of the bills would not effect the
various institutions otherwise than to de-
lay the beginning of work on them, Ono
or tie institutions, the agricultural COL
ieRe, he says he would like to see begun SO as
TO get the benefit of the appropriation made
TOR 1t by the federal government. With the
Others 70 such question is involved. If he
should sign tho bills and the,e should be
no, money in the treasury to pay the
amounts named, the institutions would be
no better off than if he dlsapproved them
or allowed them to die by being Enacted on
fifteen DAYS after the legislature adjouyns,
The fact that the treasurer could not pay
the money if he didn't have it may induce
the governor to sign the bills, II by SO do
ing he does not constructively rut the state
in the position of exceeding its limit of
debt. 1t is on this and similar points that
the governor wishes to consult the attorney
general.
Gov. Richards says he will very likely
make up his mind about these bills before
Saturday night. If he vetoes them he will
file the bills and his objections to them
with the secretary of state.