The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-03

The wisdom of the creation of bonded
Indebtedness by municipal corporation,
the extent to which large public improve
ments are needed by San Francisco, and
the particular improvements, if any, which
should be undertaken, are among the re-
lated questions which will come up for
discussion, and concerning them there Will
be much difference of opinion.
The present legal possibilities of the
creation of bonded Indebtedness by San
Francisco present a pertinent question,
however, which is one of the first which is
necessary to consider and which is of gen.
eral interest. 1t is a question which has
never been extensively discussed or COM
prehensively answered. Probably ma
jority of the citizens of San Francisco
understand that further legislation would
be necessary before the City could issue
bonds and proceed with badly needed i'm
provements. Most people would likely
say off-hand that the new charter, which
contains provisions to that end. would
have to be adopted first.
San Francisco. however, could at once
and during this year issue bonds to the
extent of per cent of its assessed valu-
alton. 1t will be news to most people that
the way to the issuance of bonds by this
City is clearly open. This being the case
the issue whether or not San Francisco
shall improve itself, as nearly every other
large city has done, may be taken up at
any time, with no impediments to make
any efforts in that direction useless.
This, at least, is the opinion of Attor-
ney John Z. Richards, given after study
of the laws bearing on this question. Mr..
Richards was an attorney at San Jose
when that city Used bonds for $500, 900
three or four years ago, and had occasion
to officially examine the laws in question
at that time as he has done critically since.
ION hnor tha
powers of the Board of Supervisors and
other officers of the City of San Francisco
is deeply involved one. The law for San
Francisco must be found by painstaking
care and by hunting through the acts of
the Legislature and the decisions of the
Supreme Court for a generation. Never
theless, the question of the present power
of San Francisco to issue bonds appears to
be one fairly easy to answer. Taking
broad view of the legal situation and con-
sidering but the most salient points the
legal history and condition of this matter
have been found by Attorney Richards to
be as follows:
The original consolidation act was
passed as a special act of the Legislature
in 1856. In the succeeding years, up to
1879, it was amended by long succession
of special acts, which, with the original
act, constituted the charter of San Fran
cisco in 1879. The original consolidation
act contained in section II of article 1, an
express prohibition of the creation of any
debt by the City or any governing body
thereof
Up to 1879, when the new constitution
was adopted, the Legislature did not by
any special act confer the pow er to create
an Indebtedness.
The old constitution merely made it the
"duty" of the Legislature, concerning
cities, to restrict their power of taxation,
assessment, borrowing money, contracting
debts and loaning their credit, SO as to
was thus vested with discretion in author
izing municipal debts and could pass acis
OF special legislation. This was the sit
uation when the new constitution was
adopted.
The new constitution of 1879 prohibits
special legislation, and in section Is of
article XI, slightly amended in 1892 pro-
yides for public debts as follows:
Section 10. No county, city, town, township,
Board of Education or school district shall
incur any Indebtedness or liability, in any
manner or for any purpose, exceeding in any
year the income and revenue provided for it
for such year without the assent of two-thirds
of the qualified electors thereof, voting at an
election to be held for that purpose nor unless,
before or at the time of mourning such indebt-
edness, provision shall be made for the colec-
ton of an annual tax sufficient to pay the in
terest on such Indebtedness as 1t falls due, and
also provision to constitute sinking fund for
the payment of the principal thereof on or be-
fore maturity, which. she'll not exceed forty
years from the time OF contracting the same.
Any indebtedness or liability incurred contrary
to this provision shall be void.
General laws based on this section of the
con stitution and prescribing various
things concerning the creation and pay
ment of public debts have been passed
since 1879. Another section of the consti-
tuition has bearing in this matter In
section of article XI it is provided that
cities and towns heretofore or hereafter
organized shall be subject to and con-
trolled by general laws. In quite long
line of decisions the Supreme Court has
held that the charter of any city is in fact
amended by any general law which is in
conflict with or supplementary to it. So
general law not specifically referring to
any charter is in fact amendatory Of it
where any conflict arises For this reason
the consolidation act has been amended
by long succession of general laws passed
since 1879, as it was by "a long succession
OF special laws passed before that year. So