Imperial Valley press., 1919-03-19
SURVEY OF CAL.
LEGISLATURE
(COrreSnOndencel

tel mortgage. Of all sales under the
leased contract plan Of any mer-
chandise or personal property, from
an automobile, tractor or thTeshing
outfit to the set Of dishes and rugs
of the household. Opponents repre-
senting all lines of business selling
under the leased contract or install
| ment plan were present and advanced
| convincing arguments as to why such
a statute be not adopted. The dis
cussion lasted until well toward mid
night and the bills were killed in ex-
ecutive session.
There is a joint session this aft
ern0on and tonight of the Roads and
! Highways committees over the pro-
posed bend issue Of S35, ,0O0,00 for
state highways. Northern Califor
MIA men are here insisting that they
/ be allotted $600,000 of the issue for
per cent grade from Sacramento
River canyon through Siskiyou coun-
| ty and on down the Klamath river
to Eureka. The federal government
from its forest service will also con
! tribute a like amount and the re-
mainder Of tie required million and
high will be contributed hv the
counties through which the highway
| passes.
Both houses of the Legislature are
apparently working smoothly, SO
smoothly, that occasionally one hears
murmugs, especially from first term
efs, against the settled calm that
peHvades both halls Of legislation and
cody does not Start something. The
veterans in each house smile and say
nothing. They are July aware that
only smaller bills of minor Importance
and over which there is practically
10 contest. are being cleared from
the deck. With these out of the way,
>he,e will come the big ones, which
will probably give the new members
a few thrills they are seeking and
also some experience in legislation,
There are the Worknen's compen-
sation bills, which include every en-
ployer, eXempting none, which re-
quires an employer to pay $500 into
the rehabilitation fund Of the COM
mission, when an employee, without
dependents is fatally injured, if not
insured. Later, if a wife or depen-
dent bobs up, $25OO must be paid
If q group of laborers contract or
agree to do piece of work, harvest
ng or anything else, if no insured
the employer is liable for any acci-
dents or injuries they may sustain
The waiting period is also reduced
to seven days.
The bill limiting hired girls hours
of work to ten per Gay was passed
, out of committee with the recon-
. mendation that it be adopted. II
came up for passage this morning
but the proponents of the bill, see
7 ing they had hard road to travel
, had it referred back to the commit
t tee for amendment.
The bill prohibiting the use of ma
chimes for spraying paint and othel
! materials, which would seriously af
feet every orchardist, vineyardist anC
vegetable grower in the state. haC
[ a joint hearing the other evening anc
the committee will pass judgment
| upon it in executive session Thurs
) day afternoon.
There are numerous forest fire bills
and grain fire bills, which are caus-
ing considerable discussion, especial
ly one requiring every person con-
Quoting any numbering operations in
any forest area, using any engines in
i the work, to maintain for radius Of
twenty rods around such engine a
space clear of everything that will
burn except the necessary fuel. An
\ other forest fire bill, Senate Bill No
399, bill proposed by the state
forester, is meeting with opposition,
which advances the argument that
it makes the state forester practical
ly dictator; that ii is designed to
raise more funds and may result in
creating a political machine. A grain
fire bill, Assembly Bill No. 445,
throws upon the owner of any log
ging, locomotive, donkey or thresh-
ing engine the burden of proof that
they were provided with adequate de-
vices to prevent the escape of fire,
reserving the legal practice of plac-
ing the burden of proof upon the
defendant.
The governors efficiency commit
tee, appointed by him to investigate
and report upon the best method of
consolidating commissions in the in
terests of efficiency and economy, has
made its report and its is now in the
executive hands.
There are a number of bills amend
ing the primary election law, now
before the committee on elections.
These cover almost every phase of
the primary law, from using an in
delible pencil instead of rubber
stamp in marking ballots to bill
permitting old time party conven-
tions and a place on the ballot for
their nominees.
There are numerous irrigation,
damage, swamp and reclamation bills
which are destined to cause some de-
termined contests, especially that
limiting the voting strength of any
person in forming an irrigation dis
trct to GAO acres and 10 per cent of
the aggregate value of the lands in
the proposed district.
Another bill, which is to prevent