Los Angeles herald., 1906-04-28
MUST AMEND FOR
CONSOLIDATION
LAW COMMITTEE RENDERS ITS
REPORT
Says Present Constitution Prevents a
Greater Los Angeles--Asks Gov
ernor to Embody Matter in
Special Session Call

Special Session Call
Amendments to the state constitution
are necessary before the consolidation
of the cities lying around Los Angeles
into Greater Los Angeles" will be
possible, according to the report of the
law committee of the chamber of COM
merce. The committee. made it's report
last night at the meeting of the gem
eral consolidation committee held in the
directors room of the chamber of COM
merce.
The general belief of the law commit
teemen is that harbor facilities for. Los
Angeles are needed. 1t was suggested
that the name of Port San Pedro be
changed to Port Los Angeles. If this
is done, say the committeeman most
of the shipping trade now being di-
verted to northern coast towns, from
San Francisco will come to Los An
geles.
"Since the disaster at San Francisco
the shipping of the Pacific is looking
for port, and if San Pedro were to be
called Port Los Angeles and sufficient
ly advertised, there is no doubt in the
world that Los Angeles would get a
great deal of the shipping that is now
going to Portland and Seattle" said
Walter F. Haas, a member of the law
committee of the consolidation commit
tee of the city and county of Los An
geles.
The report made by the law COM
mittee was as follows:
There was submitted to this COM
mittee the question as to whether or
| not, under the present constitutional
provisions two cities each having a free
holders charter, adopted pursuant to
the provisions OF section s, article XII
|, of the constitution of the state of CAL
ifornia, would consolidate either alone
or together with other cities and ter
ritory into a city and county; and in
that behalf, whether such new city and
county would supersede the original
freeholder charter governments of
said respective cities having freehold
er charters.
Need Constitutional Amendment
"In passing, it is important to note
that both the city of Los Angeles and
the city Of Pasadena have freeholder
charters, adopted pursuant to the pro-
visions of section of the constitution.
The committee is constrained to report
that the committee is of the opinion
that it will become necessary to frame
and have adopted, constitutional
amendments to sections 7, 8 and 819 of
article XII of the state constitution,
before city and county consolidation
can be adopted and effectively carried
out.
"Any other course would be attended
with extreme hazard, as 1t would be
probable that If city and county con-
solidation were proceeded with under
the present constitutional provisions,
after such consolidation litigation
might ensue which might end disas-
trously after a prolonged length of
time and might create confusion and
chaos in the public affairs.
"The sections of the state constitution
which must be amended are the follow
ing: First, section of article XII pro-
vides, CITY and county governments
may be merged and consolidated into
one municipal government, with one
set of officers, and may be incorporated
under general laws providing for the
incorporation and organization of cor
porations for municipal purposes. The
provisions of this constitution appn-
cable to cities and also those applicable
to counties so far as not inconsistent
or prohibited to cities, shall be appl1-
cable to such consolidated government
Open to Interpretation
"It will be observed that the above
provision provides that city and county
governments may be merged and con-
solidated.' This section Is open to the
Interpretation that only one city is
embraced within the plan of consolida-
ton. The section is likewise open to
the construction that more than one
city or a city and adjacent rural terri
ory could not be embraced in a con-
solidation plan.
SHOULD this construction be upheld
by the courts, it would mean that the
territory proposed to be embraced in
the newly consolidated city and county
would first have to be annexed to the
central city under the annexation laws.
Second. AS to section of the con-
stitution, it has been held by our SUI
prenle court that after the adoption OF
freeholder charter, a second board OF
freeholders cannot be elected to frame
a second charter for the city to be
adopted by a majority vote, but the
first charter must be amended so as to
provide by section g. and that the pro-
visions of the constitution in regard to
the adoption and amendment of such
charters are mandatory and prohibi-
tory; and the mode of amendment of
such charters exclusively commanded,
and all others prohibited. No proviso
is made in section for the disincorpor-
ating of freeholder charter cities, or the
merging of two such cities into one.
The section also provides that once
such freeholder charter is adopted it
becomes the organic law of such city.
The legislature of the state cannot in
any way amend nor change such free
holder charter, but must ratify or reject
same without amendment of any kind.
| Under these conditions, the section
would be open to the construction that
a freeholder charter city could not give
up its identity as such. That being the
case, a consolidation between two free
holder charter cities could not be ef
fected for the reason that each would
retain it's identity and it's charter and
its individual form Of government.
Propose Amendments,
For all of the above reasons and
many others that might be urged this
committee is of the opinion that con-
solidation along the lines contemplated
cannot be effected under the present
constitutional provisions so as to rem
der the same free from question or
doubt on constitutional grounds, and
that inasmuch as an adjudication by
the COURTS after such attempted con-
solidation. that the same had not been