The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-05-06
State CODE COMMISSIONERS.
Lack Of Appropriations Has Not Daunted
Them.
They Will Provide Themselves with
Supplies and Have Buckled
Down to Work.

The Code Commissioners are NOT at
all disheartened by the discovery that
Secretary of State Brown Will not Iur-
nish them with books and stationery
necessary to carry on their work, on
account of no appropriation being made
for that item of expense.
They have got into harness ana
buckled down to work, and were hard
at it yesterday, having laid out a thor
Ough system of procedure.
You can say" said Commissioner
Bulla, in answer to a question by
Record Union reporter, that we in
tend to go right along and do the work
that we have laid out and if Secretary
Brown does not see his way clear to
supply US with stationery we will open
a credit and supply OURSELVES through
some other source"
Yes" said Commissioner Caminetti,
I'VE shall not let that stand in our
way, but we'll manage the matter some
way and do not propose to lose any
time
Commissioner Shanahan expressed
himself to the same effect and from the
work they had already gone over and
were putting in shape for the Secretary,
it was evident that they were paying
but little attention to the snag they had
struck.
In the plan they have laid out the
first thing on the programme is to as
certain, starting from the codifying
of the laws by the commission in 1873
and 1874, what statutes are continued
in force and which have been repealed,
what changes should be made and if
the statutes ought to be codified. 1t
is proposed to segregate all laws re-
latlng to any one subject, so that it
can be readily ascertained just what
the law is in regard to that subject.
For instance, all laws relating to asy
1umS will be collated and put in one
group, all relating to prisons in an
other, all relating to municipalities in
q third, etc. This will allow the Com
misSionerS to ascertain which are still
in effect and which have been repealed,
either directly or by implication.
This is work of no mean magni
tude, for at present things are badly
mixed. Laws pertaining to criminal
proceedings are in the Civil Code or the
Political Code and vice versa. Pro-
visions pertaining to the County Gov
eminent bill are scattered through the
Codes and it is not known how many
are still in force and to what extent
they may affect the County Govern
ment Act, or whether or not they have
been repealed.
The work of revision, which comes
first, will be enough to take up much
of the Commissions time, it being its
purpose to prepare practically four
bills, corresponding to the four Codes.
1t will be broad enough to incorpor-
ate all, or very nearly all, the statutory
laws OF the State as far as possible in
the Codes, in such form that county
and other officials, as well as other
persons, can understand them and their
status The new Constitution changed
many of the laws codified in 1873 and
1874. and there was much of special
legislation INDUCED in prior to its
adoption that was repealed by it. That
is one of the tangles TO be straig htened
out.
The commission wishes to report four
bills, containing the laws in force and
those that in its opinion should be con-
tinued in force, to the Legislature for
re-enactment. After that work is fin
ished, it will take up, if time allows,
the question of new laws or changes
that experience has demonstrated are
needed in the existing laws, and will be
ready to listen to suggestions on that
point. A report such as is indicated
viii much simplify the work of the
Legislature, as well as economize it's
time and enable it later on to consider
new laws.