The San Francisco call., 1898-04-06
ARTICLE XII.
ACQUISITION OF PUBLIC UTL-
 ITIES.

It is hereby declared to be the pur- pose and intention of the people of the City and County that its public utilities shall be gradually acquired and ulti- To this end it is hereby ordained:
 SECTION l. 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 have been fully attained, the Supervisors must procure through the City Engi- neer plans and estimates of the actual cost of the original construction and completion by the City and County of water works, gas works, electric light 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 completion of water works by the City and County, the Supervisors must procure and place on file plans and estimates of the cost of obtaining from all of the several available sources a sufficient and per manent supply of good, pure water for the City and County, in order that propositions for the acquisition, con- Struction and completion thereof, and the mourning of municipal indebtedness therefor, may be submitted to the elec- tors of the City and County as herein after set forth.
 Sec. 2. 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 best interests of the City and County, enter into negotiations for the permanent ac- quisition 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 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 to the City and County of existing util- itieS in order that the electors shall have the benefit of acquiring the same at the lowest possible cost thereof.
 Sec. 3. When a petition or petitions signed by electors of the City and County equal in number to fifteen per centum of all the votes cast at the last preceding general election shall be pre- scented to the Supervisors, setting forth that the SfgnerS 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 the acquisition of such utility, it shall be the duty of the Board to immediate ly take such steps or to enter into such negotiations as will enable it to formu- late such a proposition for submission to the electors as aforesaid. Such prop osition shall be so formulated and con- 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- flying 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 a certif1- 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- sition of the utility named in said petit ton. 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 a majority of the votes cast thereon shall be adopted; but in case the votes cast in favor of both