The Yale expositor., 1919-04-03
DOINGS AT THE
STATE CAPITOL
BILL TO REoReANlzE STATE
BOARD OF EQUALIZATION NOW
BEFORE HOUSE MEMBERS.
STEAM ROADS WANT Sc RATE
Measure to Have All Statewide Cam.
2algns For Raising Money Come
Under One Committee.
(staff Correspondent.)
Lansing, Mich.

Lansing, Mich.
Acceptance by the house of repre-
sentatives OF the amendments made by
the senate to the constabulaly bin and
the bill amending the workmen's com.
pensation act have caused those meas
ures to go to Governor Sleeper for his
official signature. The compensation
bill amendments, known as the Nc
Donald Young bill, had the signal for
tune of going through both houses by
unanimous vote.
The Bryant bill, previously passed
In the senate, also has been adopted by
the house and sent to the governor. 1t
limits the states expense in road
building to one-half the cost of the
road, and also allows the state to fill
in gaps in roads constructed by the
various countries, so as to make
through state roads of them.
Considerable importance to small
counties lies in the Wiley bill, adopted
by the house, to permit three or more
rural school districts 10 combine for
the establishment of a rural agricul-
tural school. Little doubt is express
ed that this bill will be passed in the
senate. The house also has adopted
and given immediate effect to the
Moore bill to permit townships con-
tiguous to cities and villages with wa
ter works to contract with them for
water supplies.
The railroads have come to the
front with a bill that seeks the estab-
lishment of Scent mile fares on
steam roads, in place of the long es-
tablished 2-cent rates. The roads
I sought an increase in the 1915 legisla-
ture, the fight for higher rates over
shadowing everything else at that ses-
sion. The roads lost by narrow mar
gin. Again in 1917 they sought an in
crease in passenger fares, only to have
the legislature dispose of the matter
by adopting a bill for a commission to
investigate the matter of rates. The
war interviewed in the closing days Of
the 1917 session and the government
took over the railroads, so the COM
mission to investigate rates never was
put on the job. The government has
been charging cents mile. for pas
senger fares, but this rate would go
back to 2 cents if the roads were re-
turned at this time, or later, with no
change made in the present law.
Hence the bill to authorize the Scent
fare.
The row over the last equalization
of state taxes, following which there
were charges in some quarters that
Wayne county had had too much
Topped off it's total assessed value, has
sequel in bill put in'by Rep. K. G.
Read, of Kalamazoo. This asks that
the state board of equalization be re-
organized so as to consist of the audi
tor general, the secretary of the public
domain commission and the three
member of the state tax commission.
At present the board is made up Of the
auditor general, the secretary OF state,
the state treasurer, the superintendent
of public instruction and the chairman
of the state tax commission. The
proposal to put all the members OF the
tax commission on the equalization
board has been made before and has
been combatted by the argument that
tax commissioners would be a MAORI
ty of a board to review their own
work.
That the state should assume the
taxes on tax-exempt property of vet
Grams Of the civil war and other wars,
is the idea contained in bill intro
duced by Rep. Frank A. Smith. Under
this bill the property to be exempted
from taxes would be assessed like all
other property. but the tax bill sent by
the township, city or county to the
state treasury, which would pay the
amount.
Another interesting tax proposition
is contained I'm a bill introduced by
Rep. White. of Detroit. This would
put into force what is known as the
Hendricks tax bonus plan, being the
idea of G. A. Hendricks, Of Grand
Rapids. Under this plan no taxes
would be assessed before 1925 on any
improvements made to real estate be.
tween now and June 1, 1922. A man
owning a $1,000 vacant lot, for in.
stance, would pay taxes only on the
81 900 valuation until 1925 even If he
nut up a $4,000 house on It. Backers
of the proposal assert that it would
give a tremendous impetus to new
building at this time and in the next
couple of years.
Tax title sales prices would be regu
lated under a measure put in by Rep
Harris, so that huge profits on tax ii
ties would no longer be possible. The
bill provides that II the property own
or redeems the tax title within thirty
days from the time of sale he will pay
only the amount paid by the tax title
purchaser, plus % per cent. II he re
deems Il later than thirty days. but