Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-04-05
WATKINS BILL TO
GIVE COUNTIES
BOND POWER

To make each county responsible
for its own improvements by provid-
! ing therefore from its. OWN taxes,
Representative Norman Watkins this
morning introduced 4 bill calling for
a sweeping change in the territory's
| financial and tax system. Briefly, the
bills title explains its intent: ITO
enable counties to provide for county
, leans" ..-. IT,. -.
As the introducer. chairman of the
house finance committee has aptly
said, it would permit and compel each
County 10 rest on its own bottom: as
Governor Frear. in his initial message
10 the present legislature said, IL
would aid to remove the counties
from the state of infancy"
Watkins measure, recorded as
house bill No. 250, would provide for
the issuance of county Improvement
bonds by the county treasurer in
virtually the same manner as terri
toriai bonds are now issued by the
territorial treasurer; this could be
done however. until the county super
Yisors had called an election and
majority of the voters had given their
approval to the proposed floatation.
In issuing the call for. the special
election, the supervisors would be re-
quired to set forth the amount of the
proposed issue. the rate of interest
it would bear, its term, and a detail
cd statement of the uses for which
! it is intended.
No such issue shall be attempted,
however. until the president of the
United States has given his APP
prevail
The measure provides that the
total bonded Indebtedness that may
be incurred by any county shall be
more than three per cent of the as
sessed value of the property In such
county. as shown by the last es-
sessment for taxation, NOR shall the
amount Of such Indebtedness which
may be incurred in any one calendar
year exceed one percentum of such
assessed value"
The new bill covers ten typewriter
pages, containing explicit instruc-
tons as to the method in which the
election shall be held; the form of
the ballots which shall be drawn for
such election by the county clerk;
the instructions to voters, and the
method by which the sale of the
bonds shall take place.
Section II says: "All bonds issued
under the authority of this act shall
bear interest, payable semi-annually,
at. rate Of not more than five per
cent per annum, and be made re-
deemable in not more than FIVE years,
and payable in not more than fifteen
years from the date of issue thereof
or in such other time or times respec.
lively as may be hereafter authorized
by law"
Section IL says: "All such bonds
and the interest coupons thereof shall
be exempt from any and all taxes
whatsoever, and the payment Of the
principal and interest shall constitute
charge upon the consolidated rev.
enue of the county issuing them.
Section Is. The proceeds of all
bonds issued under the authority of
this act shall be devoted exclusively
to the purposes for which the same
are issued, as expressed in the pro-
clamation calling for the election con.
corning their issuance.
Section a. The treasurer of the
county, with the approval of the board
of supervisors, shall determine the
denominations of bonds issued under
the authority of this act. and the place
or places wheer the principal and in
terest of such bonds, or any of them,
shall be payable, and the method Of
their redemption.
Said treasurer shall make such ar
rangements as may be necessary or
proper for the sale of the whole or
any part of each authorized issue.
Such arrangements, shall provide for
the sale of such bonds by the county
itself upon public advertisement for
tenders therefor at least once each
week for not less than nine weeks, in
newspaper of general circulation
published in Honolulu, and in news
paper, if any, or general circulation
published in the county, but no bond
shall be sold at less than two per-
cent below its nominal par value;
provided that before any sale is made
the treasurer shall first secure the
approval of such sale sby the board
of supervisors
One interesting feature of the bill
is disclosed above, in that it would
permit the issue of baby bonds" or
of bonds of small denomination, SO
that the general public might buy
them This could be done by the
county treasurer with the approval of
the supervisors, 49,.
bill, as they believed N regulated