The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-06-01
AN OPINION ON ROAD LAWS.
Attorney Generals Office Interprets
Intent of General Assembly as
to Road Dragging.

| liz OuS Mlll IDA III Aouu VI o6-
ging provided by the last general as
sembly must be levied by township
trustees previous to the general levy
made by the board of supervisors for
1912.
THE public roads of townships
must be divided into permanent
road dragging districts during the
present year and a superintendent of
roads appointed to supervise the
work.
1.-The superintendent of dragging
can not in any instance be a men,
Der of the board of trustees, but may
hold the Office of road superintendent
in conjunction with that of dragging
supervisor.
THE one mill tax for a dragging
fund is independent of the regular
tax which trustees are authorized to
levy for the maintenance of the
roads.
1T was the intention of the legis-
lature to provide road dragging in
1911 and the work must be done by
the trustees, although the regular
fund is not available until 1912.
Funds with which to pay the ex-
penses of dragging during the pres
ent year may be taken from the reg
ular road levy.
Township clerks should call a
meeting of the trustees for the pur-
pose of making the road drag levy
in time for the annual levy made by
the board of supervisors.
A comprehensive opinion on the
road dragging law passed by the last
general assembly and the duties of
township trustees with respect to it's
application and operation, was hand
ed down last week by Nels J. Lee,
special counsel in the office of Attor-
ney General George Cosson.
The opinion was written in res
spouse to hundreds of inquiries which
| have come to the office of the attor-
ney general from county attorneys,
over the state for an Interpretation
of the points which the wording of
the law failed to make clear.
An apparent error in the time pro-
vision fixed by the general assembly
for the law to become effective caus-
ed the greatest confusion among the
road authorities. The section pro-
vided that the law should become
operative on April and at the same
time made it mandatory on the trus-
tees to fix the l mill levy provided
at the first meeting in April, held on
the first Monday of the month.
Couldn't Make Levy.
The first Monday of the month
fell on April s, five days before the
law became operative, making the
| levying of the tax impossible at that
time. The trustees appealed to the
lattorney general to determine wheth-
er the tax might be levied at spec
ial meeting.
With respect to this question the
opinion states: The language quot
| ed does not negative the right of the
| trustees to levy said tax at any other
| time than at the time for making the
annual levy for road purposes, and
| it seems clear that it was the inten-
ton of the legislature that such tax
| should be levied each year, including
| the present year. 1t will follow then,
from what has been said on this ques-
ton, that it will be the duty Of the
| township trustee to levy the one mill
tax for road dragging purposes un-
| der the new road drag law, in time
to be certified to the board of super
visors before that body makes the
annual levy of taxes
Further on this same subject he
says with respect to the duties of the
township clerk in calling a meeting
for the purpose of levying the tax:
There is nothing in the law which
makes it the duty of the clerk, but it
would be entirely proper and tend to
a more effective and uniform enforce
ment of the new law if the township
clerks would take upon themselves
the burden and duty of calling such
meeting
Intention There.
The opinion states that there can
| be no doubt of the intention of the
Legislature in passing the law to
have the public roads divided into
road dragging districts during the
present year and a superintendent
appointed to look after the work. 1t
says: THE language employed makes
it plain that the township is to be
divided into road dragging districts
/ this year and it is equally clear that
it was the intention of the legisla-
| ture, as gathered from the wording
of this act, that superintendent OF
dragging should be appointed this
year. If it was the intention of the
legislature not to make the provisions
of this act as to the dragging of the
roads effective this year, it would
not have repealed Chapter 101 of
the acts of the Thirty-third general
assembly,"
With respect to the funds for
meeting the expense of dragging the
roads during the present year the
opinion states, II think ample au-
thority exists for tpe hayment of the
expense of dragging the roads under
the new law out of the road funds
of the township. The law states that
the dragging fund is to be used for
no other purpose than defraying the
expense of dragging roads, but the
dragging of roads would still be in
the nature of road work and an ex-
pense properly paid out of any road
funds of the township"
Holds Only One Office.
Under the Interpretation placed
upon the law by the attorney gener-