Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-02-13
CODES NOTABLE
EXAMPLES OF WORK
Over 1000 Acts Are Repealed by
the Three Bills Just Sent to
the House


three codes and the general repeater
of obsolete laws introduced into the
House of Representatives this week.
! OF this number about 900 are includ-
ed in the general repeater of laws
which have been found to be in con-
| f1ict with the constitution, which
have been declared invalid on various
points and which have been super
seded
The proposed code on taxation re-
peals 396 acts, the corporation code
repeals 354 and the borough code 26S.
These three codes are the largest acts
drawn by the State Legislative Refer
ence Bureau and were made under au-
| thority conferred by the last legis-
| lature. Except for the school code
and the bituminous mine code they
are the largest pieces of legislation
code alone comprises 10000 words
and includes all of the live" laws on
the subject, no new matter being add
| ed; the taxation code includes 96, 600
words and the borough code $4,000.
The codes were drafted by James
| McKerdy, the assistant chief of the
| Legislative Reference Bureau, and
! have been much commended all over
the State.
Governor Brumbaugh is receiving
the largest mail of any governor since
the days of Daniel II. Hastings, who
| took office on the close of the last
Democratic administration, and addi-
! tional stenographers have been work
| ing for two weeks to keep up with
| the tremendous number of letters that
have been pouring into the executive
| department Very few of these let
| ters are of o personal character, prar-
tically all being on State business. A
large proportion are requests for ap-
| pointments, scholarships and favors
of various kinds, but many contain
suggestions for dealing with work
mems compensation and the highway
problem. Most of these refer to the
| invitation for ideas made by the gov
ernor through the newspapers, but the
gubernatorial mail is by no means
limited to advice on these two sub
| jects, the finances of the common
wealth and every kind of legislation
being topics on which his correspond
ents are writing more or less fiuently
| 1t is the governors policy to have all
letters answered and this task has kept
his otfice force at work until late at
night The governors visitors are
also rather larger than has been the
rule in the early days of the last three
administrations and as nine-tenths OF
/ them come to discuss legislation the
new executive gets little time to him
self and is generally late to his meals.
Members of the House appropria-
tions committee plan to complete all
| inspections of charitable institutions
receiving State aid before April / and
| the committee will be divided into sub
committees to make tours Of State
| institutions and as many of the hospi-
tails and homes that can be conve-
Iniently reached next week. Thus far
203 bills calling for 1S,507 .S2S.54
have been introduced in the House
The framing of the general appropri-
alton bill will be started within short
time. The governor will dispose of the
general deficiency bill next week. 1t
will likely be the first bill to be signed
1t carries over $640.000.
A Reading dispatch says: Read
| ing businessmen are dissatisfied with
existing conditions in the matter of
State provisions for third-class cities
and boroughs, and at to-days meeting
of the board of directors of the Cham
Der of Commerce initiative steps were
! taken toward the formulation of a
Statewide campaign by commercial
organizations to bring about the pass
age of a law at this session of the
/ Legislature creating State Bureau of
| Municipal Affairs The functions of
the proposed bureau, it is suggested,
are TO be purely advisory and could
cover q wide area of subjects, includ-
/ ing the following: clearing house for
the collection and dissemination of in
formation regarding boroughs and
third-class cities; furnish communi-
! ties with intelligent Interpretation of
existing legislation to prevent null
| tiplicity of laws and permit local en-
actment of ordinances under liberal
corporate powers of municipalities; to
obtain uniform methods of tax assess
( ments and tax exemptions; uniform
practice in regard to accounting and
budget making; providing information
| for municipal bond issues and indebt-
edness; to represent the municipalities
| in cases pending before the State
boards or commissions