The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-29

Two very important opinions were
rendered yesterday by the attorney gen
eral. and by reading the first, it will
be seen that the young men who have
been taking the testimony in the sew
eral courts of the state will have to
wait until the next session of the legis-
lature ere they can hope to receive any
salary for what they have done since
the first OF the year up TO about the Goth
day of March.
The state auditor called for an opin-
ion few days ago III rela ton to this
matter. He was applied to for war
rant for the compensation of a steno-
grapher and refused to pay the same
until he had consulted the states
counsellor.
Yesterday the latter sent him the fol-
/ lowing:
Salt Lake City, April %, 1896.
Hon. Morgan Richards, jr., State Audi
tor, Salt Lake City.
Dear Sir-I have your favor of the
22nd inst, in which you submit for my
/ opinion the following questions, to-wit:
/ Under which law, the old or the new
should district court stetnographers be
paid for services rendered during the
quarter ending March 81, 1882"
The law relating to the compensation
of these officers may be found in section
3099 OF the compiled laws of Utah. 1883,
and amendments thereto, as follows:
Section 10, chapter 6S, laws Of 1890; sec
ton 8, chapter "a, laws OF 1892; section
s, chapter 10, laws of 1884, and an act
passed by the first legislature of the
state of Utah, found on page SO of the
published Emergency Acts" of said
session.
All laws relating to the subject prior
to the admission of the state are re-
pugnant to section l, article q, of the
constitution for the reason that fees
are provided for therein. Section 9, of
chapter 70, of the laws of 1894, which
is the latest law upon the subject, pro-
vides that thereafter, and until other
wise provided. photographic reporters
in territorial criminal cases shall re-
ceiVe six dollars per diem for taking
testimony and other proceedings of the
court in said cases, and ten cents per
one hundred words for tranScribing
the same and shall be paid upon pre-
sentation CT the certificate of the clerk
of said court as hereinafter provided"
etc. Section l, article q, of the consti-
tuition provides "All state, district, city,
county, town and school officers, ex-
cepting notaries public, boards of arbi-
tration, court commissioners, justices of
the peace and constables, shall be paid
fixed and definite salaries; provided
that city justices may be paid by sala-
ry when so determined by the mayor
and council of such cities" Section 3
of article q, of the constitution pro-
vides ''All laws of the territory of Utah
now in force not repugnant to this con-
stitution shall remain in force until
they expire by their own limitations
oil % Cd
lature,' etc.
In my opinion the territorial laws
relating to this subject matter are re-
pugnant to the constitution, and there
fore would not be carried forward or
continad in force under it, and there
fore ceased to exist upon the admission
of the state into the union If this be
true we are required to look to some
future legislation in reference to this
matter, and the only thing we find con-
corning it is the act of the first legis-
lature entitled 'An act providing for
the employment of stenographers OF
courts" etc, which took effect March
-. 1896 This act, however, cannot be
said to be retroactive in any sense. The
result, therefore, is that no law relating
TO compensation of court stenographers
was in force from January 4, 1896, to
March -, the day upon which the act
of the first legislature supra took effect.
While the matter may not be entirely
free from doubt l am Of the opinion
that there is no AUTHORITY in law for the
pavrnent of court stenographers for SER
vices rendered in criminal cases since
the admission of the state and until
the taking effect of the act aforesaid
of the late legislature, and that 1t would
be q question of doubtful propriety for
YOU to issue warrants therefor, and /
advise you not to do so. These parties
can present their claims to the next leg
islature for allowance and payment.
have the honor to be, very respect
fully yours,
STATE UNIVERSITY.
The auditor had another question
which he was in doubt upon as Will be
ssan by reading the following, when
explains itself:
Salt Lake City, April %, 1886.
Hon. Morgan Richards, jr., State Audi !
tor, Salt Lake City,
Dear Sir:-Your favor Of the 23d inst. |
received, in which you ask for advice
upon the following point, to-WIt; Is
the state auditor authorized to draw i
a state warrant for entire approprla-
ton of $25, 600 in favor of the unlver- |
sity of Utah at any time when applied |
for?" In reply thereto, 1 beg to call
your attention to section 8 of An act
relating to the University of Utah,
ETC., found on page 1873 of the publish
ed Emergency Acts of the first ses.
sion of the legislature of the state of
Utah, which reads as follows: The
fiscal year of the university shall here
after commence in the 1st day of July
and end on the Both of June of each
year, and bielnially appropriations for
shall be deemed to be for
the two years beginning on the LIST day
Of July next after the appropriations
are made unless otherwise specified,
and the proper pro rata thereof may
be drawn from the state treasury quar-
in advance on auditors war
rants
1t would seem to have been the in
tention of the legislature to Greats
fiscal year beginning on the LIST day
of July and ending on the Both day of
June following, and that the appro-
priations made should be applied to the
of the university for two
fiscal years beginning July l, there
y.i<,fi ion