The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-03-30
HERE is FINISH
OF LEGISLATION
VETOES TWO Bills
WHILE SIX DIE ON EXECU-
TIVE DESK
Bills that Failed to Receive Cover
nor's Approval Were the Budget,
Highway, Making Deficiencies Ille-
gal, County Printing and Others.


gal, County Printing and Others.
Two vetoes were sent to the secre
tary of state by Governor ]. NJ DixoI
and six measures were allowed to di,
by remaining on the executive desl
Enacted upon after the expiration O
the 15-day period following the tlega
time for adjournment of the legisla
lture.
The vetoes were on the "budge1
bill' regulating and limiting raisine
of revenue and expenditures by cit
les and counties, and H. B. SO, intro.
duced by Representative Henry G.
Rogers, of Beaverhead county tc
limit the bonded and warrant indebt.
edness of incorporated cities anc
towns.
The six measures which were al
lowed to die were: A bill to create
the state highway commission in a
new form, which was drawn up by
the house committee on highways as
substitute for various other meas
ures, which would have provided a
commission of three, headed by an
engineer at $4,000 a year, with two
assistants who would receive $40 a
day for the time actually engaged in
the work of the highway department.
A measure which would have made
deficiency expenditures by state de-
partments, institutions and agencies
illegal and made the head of the de-
partment or institution personally
liable for the deficiency.
Senate bill 1853, fixing terms and
minimum prices on which county
printing should be let
H. B. 40, relating to the borrowing
of money by county commissioners
which was amended under its provi-
sions were virtually the same as the
present law.
A bill to adopt as the laws of Mon
tana the revised codes of Montana
of 1921 prepared by code commits
sioners appointed by authority of the
sixteenth legislature.
A joint resolution calling for an in
vestigation into the affairs of the
Toole county irrigation project.
Accompanying his veto of the bud
get bill Governor Dixon sent COM
munication which said: "As to the
expressed purpose of the bill to eco
nomically control and regulate the
levying and expenditure of public
moneys, I fully subscribe. The bill
covers AZ pages of typewriter mat
ter and is evidently made up from
statutes in half dozen other states
in the hope of trying to adjust these
statutes to Montana conditions. The
hill ic IonU o1,1,o horcono IN tho Nv
tent that it makes it almost impos-
sible for an ordinary person to under
stand the full Importance and the
actual result that would happen from
to enforce its provisions. |
The best estimate of the increased |
cost that would come to the taxpay- |
ers of the state in attempting to put |
The proposed bill into practical use,
based on the findings of the best ex-
Derts that / can secure, is that it |
would entail an annual expenditure
lpon counties, cities and school dis
riots of not less than $250,000 a
rear.
tShould the bill become law it
would devolve upon the state exam
ner the duty of preparing budgets
or city, county and school districts,
md it would require him to pay for
his expense, for which no funds have
,een provided.
1.-THE increased burden of taxation
would be Immediately laid upon the
'eop1e of the state in addition to the
resent burden of taxes. To add this
Ieavy additional cost to administra-
ion of local government, and to pro-
i Sc afl
liquidation of public Indebtedness at
his time is unwise. 1t is the better
art of wisdom to postpone action
or a simple, inexpensive and work
BILE budget law until the legislature
leets two years hence"
In his letter accompanying the veto
f the bill to limit county and city in
ebtedness Governor Dixon said:
more than SO per cent of the cit
IS of Montana have a bonded and a
oating Indebtedness up to or in ex-
sss of per cent on the full taxable
aluation. If this bill were to be
pproved these cities would automa-
cally become from SO to rs per
ent in excess of the limits of the 8
er centum valuation.
''While this bill attempts to vail
ate all outstanding bonds it would
OF provide for the refunding of such
outstanding bonds in excess of the
per centum valuation. Montana is
wner of number of city bonds held
) a part of the permanent school
ind of the state, and believe that
would work a hardship on some of
lese cities to compel them to pay
leir bonds in cash when due instead
refunding them.
montana now owns s141,000 in
1nds issued by the city of Great
alls, due on July 1, 1923, and S135,-
DO in bonds of the city of Living
on, due in 1888. In checking over
le state examiners last report II
nd that the city of Great Falls had
taxable valuation for the year 1921
s12,884,842 and had bonds and
arrants outstanding in excess of
100000. Livingston had a tax
lie valuation for 1922 of S3,016,62OI
Id had outstanding bonds of 1881
20. If this bill we're to become a
w Great Falls, under 1922 valua-
pms, could not legally issue new
,nds or refunding bonds in eycess