The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-03
Failure Of Printing Contractors De-
layed Time to June /.
PUBLICATION IS REQUIRED
MEANING OF THE CoNSTITU-
TON Is QUESTIONED.
Excepting the Mining Law and the
District Attorney Act, All Meas
ures Passed by the Legislature
and Approved, Whether Emergen-
cy Laws or Not, Were Delayed.

All the laws enacted by the Third
legislature of Utah became effective on
June 1, more than three weeks later
| than would have been the fact had
careless printing contractors kept falth
with the state. However, two imp0r-
| tant laws, the new act relating to To-
| cation of mining claims and recording
! of notices, and the act creating me
Office of district attorneys and defining
their duties, became effective at the
dates intended, because of the fact that
| they were published in the manner
deemed to be-required by the state con-
stitution. But there are very many
| laws known as emergency measures,
| that is, acts passing the legislature py a
| two thirds vote, which were intended TO
have effect upon executive approval,
| but by reason of no publicity being
given to them they must be considered
to rank with the legislative measures
which were to have gone into effect
at the end of sixty days from the legis-
lature's adjournment, which was
March 8.
Requirements of Constitution.
Section % of article 6 of the consti-
tuition states that no law passed by the
legislature shall take effect sooner than
sixty days after adjournment, unless
both houses, by a two-thirds vote, or
ders otherwise, and in no case shall
any law become effective until the same
has been published. This section does
not provide the specific manner or pub
fishing laws, and much discussion mas
been had as to the intent or the pro-
vision. Secretary of State Hammond,
who has posted himself fully on the
question, holds the opinion that the CIV
ing out of printed copies of the session
laws, duly certified, in the manner done
by him since statehood, is substan-
tial compliance with the CONSTITUTIONS
requirements.
Delinquent Contractors.
The contract for printing the last
session laws required delivery of the
work by May l, date amply early TO
give publicity to all acts that were not
intended to be emergency measures.
June / came and no copies of the laws
were in sight, but by poking the con-
tractors up every few minutes the ex-
asperated secretary of state managed
to get fifty copies of the new laws,
minus the index, and to forward them
by mail to county clerks, state officers,
district attorneys and district judges
before the day had entirely gone. To
the secretary of states regret there is
no forfeiture clause in the contract.
Only Two Laws Safe.
AS to the mining law, Secretary of
State Hammond stated last evening
that it was published in pamphlet form
over his signature for free distribution
within a very few days after its appro-
val on March 3, and he cannot see that
a question can arise as to the validity
of such publication, or as to the APP
proximate date at which the law be-
came effective. In the case of the dis
trict attorney law, it was officially pub
lished prior TO May 9. the intended ef-
fective date OF this publication he be-
lieves also there can be no question
May be Serious Complications.
While the secretary of state con-
fesses that all other laws enacted by
the recent legislature and approved by
the governor, whether it We're intended
to have them become operative upon ap-
prevail or on May 8, did not take eff
feet until June l, the fact remains that
because of the failure to give the re-
quired official publicity to the several
enactments of varying Importance, they
were of doubtful validity until the
printing contractor finally delivered the
first bound copies of the session laws.
Even then the doubt has not been
wholly removed.
The whole matter presents a question
that may be fruit for the lawyers, and
no little trouble and needless expense
to litigants until a remedy is devised
for guarding against recurrence of
such breaches of contract and apparent
neglect of duty in the future.