Arizona weekly citizen., 1894-08-18
WHY THE NEW FUNDING BILL
 PASSED.
Details of the Amendment of the
 Funding Act.

Chairman Judicial Committee of the { House:
 SIR;-Yo our sub com mittee in charge of House Bill No.- beg leave to respect fully report as follows:
 The Harrison Act limits the power of the Territory of Arizona to create in- debtedness In any amount exceeding one per cent, upon the assessed valua- ton of all property in the Territory. This limitation has been greatly ex- ceeded by the Territory at the time of the passage of the Act just mentioned. An Act untitled "An Act approving, with amendments, the Funding Act of Ari zona," approved June 9, 1890, author izes the funding of all Territorial in- debtedness then existing by the issu- ance of bonds bearing five per cent. in- terest, to be sold at DO less than par, and also authorizes the funding of all war rants issued by the Territory for neces- sary and current expenses thereafter until December 31>t, 1890, and expressly declares that no Indebtedness shall thereafter be created by the Territory ln excess of the provisions of said liar rison Act, and that no warrants or other evidences of indebtedness shall there after be issued by the Territory except to pay interest on said bonds, or to meet cash deficit iu the revenues.
 The entire territorial indebtedness created prior to December 8, 1891, has already been funded under said act, but unfortunately no steps were taken by the Territorial Legislature towards placing the affairs of the Territory for the future upon a cash basis The to- tal assessed valuation of property in the Territory is S2S,000,000. A territorial statute limits the power of the board of equalization to levy assessment for the general fund for territorial pur- poses to 8 cents on each one hundred dollars of property. The total amount Chst can be raised at this rate is demon- strated. by simple arithmetical calcu. latiOn, to De S98,0O0.
 It IS customary to estimate that 15 per cent of the taxes will go delinquent and remain .unpaid, thus leaving but S03,OOU as the probable amount that can be collected. As matter of a fact dur ing these stringent times, more than one third of the taxes have become un- collectable.
 The cost of maintaining the two most important pubic institutions, the Ter ritorial prison and the Territorial in ane asylum, is respt ctively S60,00O per year and S3O,OOO per year. It IS appar- ent, therefore, that in ordinary times there IS certain to be dificIt of S7,O00 h addition to the cost of maintaining the territorial government by the pay ment of salaries of its necessary and pro- per officials, the repairing of public buildings etc, which amounts to about s45,OOO per year upon the most con- servative and economical basis. To meet this certain and inevitable deficit in the revenues, the Territory has been compelled to issue warrants since De- cember 31, 1890, and IS still continuing so to do, and each and all of said war raDts are utterly and absolutely void, although all of them have been issued solely for the purpose of paying the nec- cessary current expenses of the gov ernment. The remedy for the future lies with the territorial legislature which must increase the maximum limitation on the rate of assessment which can be believed for the purpose of raising revenue for the general fund, or, pro- vlde for the raising of the necessary funds wherewith to maintain the ter rltOrial prison by a special tax, which is within it's power to do.
 The present administration took of ice on the last day of the last meeting of the legislature, when 1t was too late 10 suggest these remedies or to make any provision for raising of the revenue to meet the certain deficit, which it was apparent must arise, and to pay which the Harrison Act precludes the Terri tory from issuing valid warrants or other evidences of indebtedness.
 We recommend that the bill under c Dsideratlon be reported favorably by your committe, as it's sole purpose is to validate the indebtedness necessarily created by the present administration, and also that created to meet current and necessary expenses by the proceed Ing administration since Decem Der 3lst, 1890 as we'll as all indebtedness that must unavOidably be created for the nec- eesary and current expenses of the gov ernment of the territory until Decemb- CT 3l, 1895. The lat'er date is fixed as a proper limitation for the reason that the territorial legislation does not meet again until February 1895, and the ! board of equalization does not levy assessments for territorial purposes un- til August of said year, and taxes SO levied are not collected until December | of the same year. The proper legisla- | tion to remedy the evils mentioned can be had in February 1895, and the money raised hereby will reacn the territorial treasury by December of said year, and thus enable the territory on and after January l, 1896, to do business on a cash basic, as required by the provisions of said Harrison Act.
 Respectfully Submitted.