The San Francisco call., 1898-04-19
ARTICLE XII.
ACQUISITION OF PUBLIC UTIL-
 TTTES

It is hereby declared to be the pur-
 pose and intention of the people of the City and County that it's public utilities shall be gradually acquired and ultl- mately owned by the City and County.
 To this end it is hereby ordained:
 SECTION 1. Within one year from
 the date upon which this Charter shall go into effect, and at least every two years thereafter until the object eX-
 pressed in this provision shall nave
 been fully attained, the Supervisors must procure through the City Engl- neer plans and estimates of the actual cost of the original construction and completion by the City and County or water works. gas works, electric ngne works, steam, water or electric power
 works, telephone lines, street railroads
 and such other public utilities as the Supervisors or the people by petition to the Board may designate.
 In securing estimates of the original
 cost of the construction and competitor of water works by the City and County, the Supervisors must procure ana place on file plans and estimates of the cost of obtaining from all of the several available sources sufficient and per
 manent supply of good, pure water TOT | the City and County, in order that propositions for the acquisition, con-
 structiOn and completion thereof, ana
 the mourning of municipal indebtedness therefor, may be submitted to the elec- 1 tors of the City and County as hereln- after set forth.
 Sec. 9 After such plans and esti- mates shall have been procured and | filed the Supervisors shall, at as early | a date as they may deem for the pest l interests of the City and County, enter l into negotiations for the permanent ac-
 uuisition by the City and County, by | original construction, condemnation or
 purchase of such or any of said public utilities as they may regard most important to the City and County | to be first acquired, and to formulate
 and submit to the electors of the City | and County, at a special election, prop | ositions for the permanent acquisition
 and ownership thereof.
 Before submitting propositions to | the electors for the acquisition by orig | inal construction or condemnation, of public utilities, the Supervisors must
 solicit and consider offers for the sale 1 to the City and County of existing util- | tties in order that the electors shall
 have the benefit of acquiring the same l at the lowest possible cost thereof.
 Sec 8. When a petition or petitions l signed by electors of the City and l County equal in number to fifteen per
 centum of all the votes cast at the last
 preceding general election shall be pre-
 sented to the Supervisors, setting forth
 that the signers thereof favor the &C.,
 quisition by the City and County of any
 public utility, and requesting the
 Board to prepare for submission to the
 electors of the City and County, as
 hereinafter provided proposition for i the acquisition of such utility, 1t shall
 be the duty of the Board to immediate
 ly take such steps or to enter into such
 negotiations as will enable 1t to formu-
 late such a proposition for submission
 to the electors as aforesaid. Such prop
 osition shall be so formulated and com- l pleted within six months from the date
 of the filing of such petition. The Clerk of the Supervisors must, Immediately upon the filing of the aforesaid petition or petitions, after examining and veri- | fying the signatures thereto, transmit an authenticated copy thereof, without the signatures, to the Board of Election Commissioners, and another such copy
 to the Mayor together with certi1- cate that the required number of sigma lures are appended to the original The
 Mayor shall also have the right to for
 mulate and submit to the electors & separate proposition from that formu- lated by the Supervisors for the acquf- l sition of the utility named in said petf- tion. At the next municipal election af- ter the formulation of such proposi- tions by the Supervisors and the May- or, the Board of Election Commission
 CTS shall submit to the electors the two | alternative propositions. The proposi- ton receiving majority of the votes cast thereon shall be adopted; but in case the votes cast in favor of both