The record-union., 1899-03-30
prospects for early adjustment seem as

prospects for early adjustment SEEM as
sured"
The report was placed on file.
Bills aggregat ting So, 79031, mostly for
contracts ON cut off work on the san
Joaquin River, were approved, and one
for S11.5O for repairing typewriter was
disallowed. It was found that the
typewriter in question had been rented,
and did not belong to the State.
Commissioner Leake brought up the
question of his standing under the pres
ent laws, and, the talk which followed
developed the fact that if any one pres
ent had an idea on the subject he held
it close.
Two bills Zone S. B. 300 providing for
the creation of a Commissioner of Pub
lie Works, defining his duties and
powers and fixing his compensation; the
other CA. B. 644) amending the Act of
1897, appointing an Auditing Board to
the Commissioner and authorizing and
directing it to perform certain duties,
had reached the Governor.
Senate Bill 800 was approved, but As
sembly Bill 644 has not yet been signed
and according to the statement yester-
day given out at the Governors office,
it nSver will be. Section l of the new
law provides for the appointment of a
Commissioner by the Governor. Sec
ton 2 enumerates the duties of such
Commissioner. and reads as follows:
THE Commissioner shall perform
SUCH duties in the examination of lands
subject to inundation and overflow by
f1oodwaters, and of the waters causing
and making such inundation and over
flow, and in the preparation of plans
and estimates of cost for works to
regulate and control such food-waters,
as he may be directed to perform from
time to time by the Governor; and such
other duties in the examination, super
vision and management Of public
works, constructed or carried on by the
State, or under State authority, or
under any law of the State, as he may
be directed to- from time to time by
law
He shall, subject to the approval of
the Auditing Board, have the power to
employ such engineers and assistants
as he may deem necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act, or TO perform
any duties imposed by any law upon
said Commissioner, and to fix their
of the board
The bill, as originally drawn, did not
attempt to repeal the Act of 1897,
which provided for the appointment of
a Commissioner and Senator Bulla,
owing to the dissimilarity of the duties
of the Commissioner as set out in the
bill, and in the Act of 1897, raised the
point that unless the Act was repealed
q nd Va h H.
would be two Commissioners of Public
Works.
Cutter, who had the bill in charge.
accordingly had a third section added.
providing for the repeal of the Act of
1897, and as so completed the bill was
approved.
In talking the matter over yesterday
the members of the Auditing Board
discovered that, while the repeating
section had been embodied in the bill,
no mention was made Of the fact in the
title, which, it was believed, under the
Constitutional provision that nothing
should appear in the body of the bill
which was not set forth in the title,
would render the section void.
The members of the Auditing Board
also discussed the provisions Of Assem-
bly, bill GA, which was amendatory to
the Act of 1897, providing for the ap-
pointing of an Auditing Board to the
Commissioner of Public Works. and
which is among the batch of unsigned
bills still in the hands of the Governor.
The bill was intended to widen the
scope of the Auditing Board-in short,
TO make the Commissioner of Public
Works secondary to it.
The two Acts of 1897 were brought
forward, and the constitutionality of the
first one-that creating a Commissioner
CT Public Works-reeeived some atten-
tion. The Act is peculiarly drawn, and
the third section seems to attempt to
amend the second
The second section provides that the
Commissioner of Public Works shall
hold office until his successor is ap-
pointed, and the third section provides
that the office shall become vacant on
March 1, 1899 Commissioner Leake
wanted to know whether or not he was
Commissioner of Public Works. and no.
body seemed able to answer him.
The theory was advanced that under
Chapter CXIV. of the statutes of 1897
providing for the appointment of an
Auditing Board to the Commissioner
there was a possibility that Chapter
XVIII. was repealed, the latter hav-
ing been approved earlier in the ses-
sion.
After getting thoroughly mixed uD.
Mr.. Doty moved that a committee con
sisting of Captain T. B.. Hall and En-
g1neer NJ. A. Nurse be appointed to
wait on the Attorney General and re-
quest him to furnish an opinion con-
corning the status of existing laws ap-
plying to the Auditing Board and 10
the Commissioner. He, too, wanted to
know where he was at," and the re-
mark applied to the other members of
the board.
The motion was carried and the com
mittee was appointed
1t was explained that the Governor.
by giving Assembly bill GA pocket
veto, left little or nothing for the Aud
iting Board to do. The bill was in
tended to expand the authority of the
board so that the money now in the
treasury might be applied to the i'm
proyement of other streams in the
State Its veto meant, according to
the construction of the board, that i'm
proVements We're to be confined to the
Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.
and that even on those streams it was
hedSeQ in bV the teyt of tba rCo,,, 49,