The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-30
CONSTITUTING A VAGUE NEW LAW
AS TO TAXATION OF UNIMPROV.
j, ED RAILROAD LANDS.
An Enactment of the Late Legisla-
ture Questioned, But the Attorney
General Says There Is No Change.

The meaning of the first enactment
of the late legislative session to be
called into question is senate bill No
"a, relating to the powers and duties
Of the state board of equalization in
the assessing of property owned by
railroad companies. The state board
J of equalization was in, a quandary to
| know whether the section in the revised
statutes authorizing county assessors
to assess unimproved railroad lands
was repealed by the recent legislative
enactment, and the duty developed
upon the state board, and Attorney
| General Bishop was appealed to to con-
strue the apparently ambiguous pro-
visions.
In xeply to the state boards query,
the attorney general yesterday submit
ted the following:
In your communication of recent
date you ask to be advised, under the
law, as amended by the last legisla-
/ ture, whose duty it is to assess unin-
proved lands belonging to railroads.
The act in question is amendatory of
certain sections of the revised statutes
relating to taxation and defining the
powers and duties of the 0tate board
of equalization, which was approved
and took effect March 9, 1899.
The effect of the bill is to substitute
amended sections in place of those
amended. There is no reference to the
repeal of any provisions of the existing
laws, and, therefore, section 2 of said
act, which purportS to repeal all acts
and parts of acts in conflict Herewith,
is broader than the title; and, under
the Well-established rule of construc-
ton, it would have no force or effect.
The result would be as if this section
had not been enacted, and, therefore,
the only effect of the bill is to amend
the sections referred to in the title.
1T must be assumed that the legis-
lature, in enacting these amendments,
had full knowledge of section 2514 of
the revised statutes, so that the pro-
visions of the mandatory act must be
read in connection with the provisions
of that section. which expressly pro-
vides that: All railroad lands in this
state, not actually used as a roadbed
or right-of-way, or for depot, yard or
other necessary railroad purposes, shall
be assessed by the county assessor of
the county in which the lands are sit
uated.'
THE only amendment to section 2513
of the revised statutes is the striking
out of the words operating in more
than one. county, and thus amended it
takes the place of the old section of
the revised statutes. Then follows sec
ton 2514, and the two necessarily must
be read together.
so, too. in sections 2559 and 1850 of
the revised statutes, the only substan-
tial amendment relating to this subject
is the elimination of the words in
more than one county,
"a II these sections must be read and
construed together, and when SO read
and construed and compared with the
old law which is sought to be amended,
it is quite apparent that it was not the
intention of the legislature to repeal
the provisions of section 2514.
Il am of opinion that. under the law
as amended, it is the duty of the as
SCISSOR of the county to assess all lands
belonging to railroad companies not ac-
tually used as roadbed, right of-way,
or for depot, yard or other necessary
railroad purposes, and that in this par
ticular the law, as amended, is not
different from what it was prior to the
act in question"