The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1912-01-24
CONTROL BOARD
HAS NO HAND IN
STATE HIGHWAY
Commission Authorized to Ex-
pend SlS,00O,000 Without
Interference
Attorney General Holds That
Successors to Examiners
Are Merely Auditors

The attorney generals office. through
the chief deputy. Raymond Benjamin.
rendered an opinion yesterday to the
effect that the state board of control
had no authority over the acts of the
state highway commission. but that its
duties in respect 10 the commission
were merely those Of an auditor. The
conclusion was summed up in the clos
ing paragraph of the opinion. as fol-
lows:
these reasons and decisions. in view of
The provision of the statute OF 1909 that
the board of examiners CONTROL shall
audit the demands made by the de-
partment of engineering in this work, is
that the duty of the board of control
with respect to this particular work
shall be confined to an ascertainment of
the accuracy of the demands approved
by the department of engineering, as
applied TO contracts executed by the de-
partment of engineering and that their
function in this work is ministerial
only"
Commission Left Free
The effect of the attorney generals
decision is to leave the state highway
commission free TO expend the s1s.o0o.-
900 for the good roads as they deem
proper. The commission will be en-
abled to purchase such materials as 1t
desires through an agency of its own
of control 1t will remain for the board
of control only to check UP the ac-
counts.
In presenting the question to the at
torney general the highway commission
propounded certain definite questions.
1t desired to know. first. II 1t had the
full power of its own initiative TO pur-
chase any and all supplies, materials
and machinery to purchase or lease
rights of way. rock Quarries. lands or
any other property, or do any and all
things necessary or proper for the con-
struction. use or maintenance OF said
system of state highways"
Has Sole Discretion
In its second question thee ommission
asked IL the sole discretion did not rest
with itself.
To the first the attorney generals Of
fee has replied that the highway COM
mission has the power. and to the Sec
ond IT has answered that the commits
sion has the sole discretion.
After reviewing the verious acts
bearing upon the point and the af-
firmative vote of the people which cre-
ated the sis. 1000 bond Issue for
good roads, Benjamin proceeds:
The moneys thereby voted by the
people of the state assume the charac-
ter of a special trust fund. separate
by ordinary methods OF taxation. seq
regated and separated from all other
moneys of the state government, and
when deposited in the state treatury.
to be disbursed for the particular pur-
pose in the particular manner and by
defined in the statute. the terms of
which had met with the approval of
the voters.
NOT SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Whether or no the plan as outlined
in the statute appeared to the legis-
lature, or to any other officer, to be
imperfect or inadequate to accomplish
the object In hand was matter which.
after the Affirmative vote of the people
| had been registered, was not subject to
change at the hands of the legislature.
The proposal after the ajrmative vote.
must necessarily be carried out and
accomplished upon the exact lines and
under the exact conditions specified in
the statute. or not at all. even though
some Of the matters Incorporated with
In the original statute were unneces-
sary or could well have been omitted"