The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-15
PASS ROAD BILL
Senators Vote "Benefit District
Measure After Long Grind.
Property Owners May Petition
for h Highway Election.
THEY PAY Is Per CENT OF COST
County Must Maintain Roads
After They Are Built.
All Work Must Be Under Dl-
rectiOn of Co. Commissioners.

After five hours of hard grinding
but with no material amehulIieIii1
adopted the senate committee VI ~
whole recommended Tor Passaiso
Wednesday evening the ''bene1lt ois-
trict" good roads bill providing loI me
construction of hard-surface roaus IA
Kansas. With a half dozen soou
roads bills introduced TINS was nv
first to be considered by the senate,
II was introduced by the committee
on roads and bridges and found gen
eral support on the floor. There We're
no attacks upon it as a road bin altho
fault was found with minor features
The popular features of the Dill -
that only 25 per cent OF the cost ~
assessed directly upon the pFoprItS
owners in the district. Another pop
ular feature is that after the ROAD Is
built it must be maintained at county
expense still another is to the erect
that all bridges costing $1,000 or more
must be built by the county at larse'
Under the bill as recommended IoT
massage 81 per cent of the resident
land owners owning at least 80 per
cent of the land within district OF
80 per cent of the landowners oWnlnS
81 per cent of the land within the as
trict may file a petition with the
county commissioners setting forth the
permanent road Improvement desired.
The commissioners then are required
to make the improvement. after nav
ing found that it is a public utility.
State Highway Engineer.
The plans, specifications and esti-
mates must be approved flnally by tIe
state highway engineer bat the county
commissioners take charge of and dl-
rect the work. The actual direction.
however, must be in the hands of the
county engineer. some experienced en-
Eineer or the state highway engineer.
After any possible federal aid fund
has been spent upon the road the re-
nainder of the cost is to be divided
so per cent to the county, rs per cent
to the taxable property within the dis
trict and 25 per cent among the tracts
of land within the benefit district ac-
c0rding to the benefits accruing.
The bill also provides that 10 per
cent of the landowners within coun-
ty may petition the commissioners and
require the submission to the voters
of a proposal to build thirty or more
miles of permanent road within the
county.
The bill was introduced by the SEN
ate committee on roads and bridges
on the subject introduced by individual
members.
Seven Bills to Third Reading.
Seven bills of local or minor i'm
portance were passed~on third read
ing by the senate Wednesday, as fol-
lows:
Senate bill No. 276, by Senator Get
ty, establishes office of county coun-
selor to assist county a torney in
Wyandotte county.
Senate bill No. 1863, by Senator Met
calf, raises salary of adjutant general
to $4,000 and provides additional of
flee help.
Senate bill No. 266, by Senator Cole
man. enable state board of admins
tration to dispose of property and
lease property with restrictions
Senate bill No. SO, by Senator Cole
man, changes ''nepotism" statutes so
as to permit relatives to be employed
in statei educational institutions pro
vided they are not relatives of execu-
tive officers.
Senate bill No. II, by Senator Laing.
enables cities of the second and third
class to provide fund for sprinkling
streets.
Senate bill No. :6s, by Senator
Wark, gives county clerk as county
sealer of weights and measures right
to collect expenses of owners of
weights and measures.
Senate bill No. 169. by Senator
Wark, regulates moving of structures
across public highways