Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-03-17
THE GOVERNOR OBJECTS
To Making Street Assessment Liens Supersede
General Taxes.

/ To Making Street Assessment Liens Supersede
General Taxes.
The following is the text of Cover.
nor Mead's veto of House bill No. Al
/ by Lindsey Of Spokane:
STATE OF WAslIINGToN,
! Executive DEPARTMENT.
4" am adverse to the exercise of the
veto prerogative except in extreme
cases. Careful consideration of House
! bill No. fl, entitled An act to provide
! for the payment of assessments for
local improvements against lots or
tracts against which general tax GER
tificates of delinquency are sought to
be foreclosed, convince me that this
measure properly belongs to the class
requiring executive disapproval.
"Under the provisions of this bill
any purchaser OF general tax certifi.
cate of delinquency is compelled to
pay off any street improvement assess
ment before he is permitted to fore.
close his certificate purchased from
the county.
Under the present conditions street
improvement assessments as liens up.
on property affected are inferior in
priority to liens accruing for State,
county and municipal taxes. This
measure seeks to reverse conditions
and has for it's purpose either to place
street improvement taxes upon a par.
ity with general taxes, or worse yet,
to make them paramount in priority
to such general taxes.
1t is certainly the policy of every
State in the Union to consider taxes
levied for State, county, municipal and
educational purposes as first mort.
gage upon all the property OF the
State. Some extraordinary reason
should exist for reversing this policy
and inaugurating system tending to
make street improvement taxes the
highest form of lien upon the statute
books.
Gas taxation is the life blood OF any
State, county, municipality or school
district, any measure that tends to i'm
pair the agencies by which the State
and its different subdivisions are main.
tanned should be defeated.
"The Legislature was compelled to
materially increase the burden of tax
alton in order to provide for our diff
ferent institutions and promote our
general welfare, but the effect OF this
measure, if enacted, would greatly i'm.
pair the State in collecting the reve.
nues to meet the different appropris.
ton bills. If the Legislature in this
instance is considered as the State,
then the passage of this act is an at.
tempt to commit State suicide.
al am aware that the large cities Of
the State are greatly interested in pro-
posed street improvements in extend.
ing their public highways. This policy
should be encouraged but not to the
extent of placing an embargo upon
every school and school district, NUM-
cipality and county in the State, nor
TO the extent of in any manner preju.
dicing the State in the collection of
its revenues to meet the demands
made upon its public treasury. In
urging the passage of this measure,
the authorities Of the larger cities in
this State have apparently lost sight
OF the disastrous results that might
follow under the provisions of this act
| If it should become q law. As street
improvement taxes are frequently the
subject Of litigation between the city
and the property owners. and as this
measure requires purchasers of delin-
quency certificates to protect the city
in the assertion of it's lien upon prop.
erty for street improvement purposes,
no one, after mature consideration,
can, in my judgment, controvert the
claim that such law as intended by
this bill would materially impair. the
value of tax delinquency certificates
in this State, and would to that extent
delay the collectian OF taxes.
"Under the present system it is the
duty Of those interested in projected
street improvements to see to it that
the interests of the State, county, mu.
nicipality and school district are first
protected. Unless property is of such
value as to warrant this protection
upon the part of those interested in
street improvements, then certainly
the equities OF the case would require
the abandonment of such street i'm.
provement or Q delay until the prop.
erty to be benefited reaches such a
value AS to warrant it.
al very reluctantly disapprove this
! measure as it has received the assent
Of q constitutional majority in each
branch of the Legislature. I cannot
believe. however, under the circum.
stances that it was given the careful
consideration that it merits; otherwise
it would have been disapproved by the
Legislature before having reached the
executive. Believing that its enact.
ment would be disastrous to the col.
lection OF the revenueD for maintain.
ing the State government and its diff.
ferent counties and municipalities, in.
GLIDING school districts, 1 am COM
PEELED to disapprove the measure.
Even If the measure received my as
sent, l believe that the prerogative of
the State to enjoy unimpaired q first
mortgage lien upon the property with.
in its limits for its support and main.
tenance would compel the courts to
| declare this measure unconstitutional.
UEov thoao roasouo uousa h;lI NJ