Arizona republican., 1921-03-13

Whether the time and energy spent on the production of the omnibus good roads bill, passed by the Arizona legfS- lature on the last day of the session just adjourned, has been worse than wasted is matter of dispute among attorneys who have studied it's pro- visions in detail. Some of them are of the opinion that the appropriations under the bill are limited to the amount that will be raised by the 5-cent levy about $400, ,000-and that the direct appropriations made for dozen or more projects, aggregating $1,125,OO0, will not be effective.
 The doubt lies in one of the provisos of the so-calred Barry amendment, in tended to take the place of the pot clause" of the bill as it was passed by the senate. Whatever might have been in the mind of the presenter of the amendment, the language is as follows:
 Provided that no obligation shall
 be assumed or expense incurred
 under the provisions of this act,
 within any fiscal year, in the
 amount of any sum in excess of
 the levy herein provided, and the
 unexpended balance from the pre-
 vious fiscal year.
 It was probably the purpose. of the amendment to prevent the highway department from mourning obligations beyond the amount of the appropria- tions. as it was charged it had done in the preceding year, and a loose use was made of the word levy" which is a different thing from an appropria- tion. which is a product of levy and not levy itself
 Interpretation the Question
 The possible effect of the proviso escaped the attention of the members of the conference committee, but it has been discussed in overwhelming circles since the adjournment of the legislature
 If the proviso should be interpreted to mean what it says the operations of the highway department for the next two years would be confined within the expenditure of S400,000 a year, to which would be added, of course. the tax on sales of gasoline and the automobile tax. That would s10o0, GOO.
 Governor Campbell was asked last night regarding the controversy. He said that he had not yet had time to give the bill his attention In fact, his time has been so occupied since the adjournment of the legislature that he has had opportunity to consider but fe wof the 10S bills left on his hands at 6 o'clock on the morning of the ad- iournment. Several of them were signed by nm yesterday. including senate bill 126, authorizing the issuance of bonds in anticipation Of tax coIlec- tions: senate bill 146. increasing the salary of the state engineer, and house bill .32 for the regulation of profession al nursing.
 Below is list of bills of both houses which had been signed by the gov ernor and transmitted to the secretary of state: the bills yet in the hands of the governor. The abbreviated titles are those agreed upon by the hurried reporters, and though many of them may be unintelligible to the general public, they will nc doubt be under stood by those who arc interested in them. and doubtless have therefore followed them:
 Tho List of Bills
 SENATE BILLS Transmitted to Secretary of State With
 Governors Approval As at Close
 of Business, March fl, 1921
 70-Abolishing school census mar Ihal
 76-Appropriation mine inspectors ,ffice.
 75-Appropriation Pioneers home. 3-Officials liable for false claims. 9-Blue sky amendment.
 11-Concurrent Jurisdiction police and justice courts.
 20-Change of venue in justice of The peace courts.