The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1905-06-09
BILLS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE
Two Measures Yet To Be Acted
Upon by the Law.
makers.
Repeal OF a Constitutional Provision
Limiting Introduction of Bills
Has Not Had a Tendency
to shorten Session.

N~AiASAii-s -hiNLA's bhiAt VI - AA'+NN
night tomorrow the Michigan legisla-
, lure Will suspend work and final adj
journment viii take place on the 18th
Instant This is the program agreed
upon last week by the two houses and
Embodied in concurrent resolution
which was adopted 10y both branches.
Midnight, by the way, will be when
ever the end Of the work is reached.
If, perchance. il takes several hours
after - O'Clock to enable the houses
to clear the decks, the official clocks
viii not point to the witching hour"
Until the decks are cleared. Doubtless,
however. 10 O'Clock will see al work
that it is proposed to dispose of COM
pleted
Two Important Measures.
Probably the most important pieces
of legislation yet to be acted upon
inside from some struggling appropria-
non bills at least the bills of greatest
public interest, are those which pro-
vide for the reorganization Of the state
tax commission on the basis of small
er membership, and the Galbraith
bill, which empowers the tax commits
sion to make m equalization between
the assessed valuation of the railroad
property and that Of the general prop
Rrty OF the state Both OF the meas
nres have been passed by the house.
Ae stated last week the question as
regards the tax commission reorgHniza-
lion bf1l is simply whether the present
commissioners shall be continued in Of
Zee until September, 1906, as provided
In the measure passed by the house,
or be retired at once. This is the
problem which the senate has yet TO
Solve. The claim mentioned last week
fhat those who favor immediate re-
tirement have a majority in the SEN
ate is still insisted upon, and it Is
further claimed that If such an amend
n1eht is made 70 the bill. tho house will
concur in the change. 1t is broadly in
Minated that the administration favors
this change and is opposed TO the Gal
braith bill
Has Not Shortened Session.
It is now quite generally conceded
that the repeal OF the constitutional
provision limiting the introduction of
bills to the first day of the legisla-
tive session and permitting bills to be
offered up to the last day in the after
noon, has not had Il tendency to
shorten the session rs was fondly
hoped by those who advocated the
change Indeed, 1t is doubtful if the
result has not been to prolong the ses-
sion, the tendency having been to de-
, lay action ON bills until late I'm the
session because The members were
f1rone to lay low and see if something
else along the same line might not
turnup. Certain it is that practically
all of the most important measures
were this session left to be disposed
pf well along in the spring.
Another feature developed tended to
complicate the situation at the end OF
the session. The matter of printing
the'bil after they were passed in or
der that they may be prepared for pre-
sentation to the governor for his ap-
pfoyal is an important one 1t is the
necessity for giving time for this prep
Rration of bills that explains the fact
that ten days intervene between the
time the work of legislation is sus-
pended this year and the date fixed for
dnal adjournment. At one time the
Officials of the legislature feared it
would be impossible to finally adjourn
On the 18th instant for the reason that
during the last days Of the session sew
eral mammoth bills. one Of which
made more than 500 printed pages,
were introduced and passed. Under
The old plan, all of the bills would have
been on the calendar by the expiration
Of the fiftieth day of the session and
would have been disposed of early, so
ns not to clog the printing Office.
In the Nature Of an Experiment.
1t is possible that the unsatisfactory
working Of the new system during the
present session may be due to the fact
that the practice Hereunder was large
" in the nature of an experiment and
that better practices will hereafter
prevail now that it has been seen how
this years program has worked out.
The people of the state, however,
need not expect TO see any material de-
crease in the length of the sessions of
the legislature until they take steps
TO eliminate local legislation from the
problem. Readers Of these letters
may possibly recall that this is some
what of favorite topic with me. II
certainly is The people complain,
and justly, too, OF the length OF the
legislative sessions, and are prone TO
blame the LEGISLATORS for daliharafeIu