The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1923-03-29
HERE IS FINISH
OF LEGISLATION
GOVERNOR VETOES TWO Bills
WHILE SIX DIE ON EXECU-
TIVE DESK 6
Bills that Failed to Receive Cover
nor's Approval Were the Budget,
highway, Making Deficiencies He
GAL County Printing and Others.

J, 1A0hluS DcIlclenCIeS lIIe-
gal, County Printing and Others.
Two yetOeS were SEM to the secre-
tary of,state by Governor J., M. Dixon
and SIX measures were allowed to die
by remaining on the executive desk
Enacted upon after the expiration OF
the l5-day period following the legal
time for adjournment of the legisla-
ture.
The vetoes we're on the sbudget
bilP' regulating and limiting raising
OF revenue and expenditures by cit
les n counties, and H. B. SO, intro
duced by Representative Henry G.
Rogers, of Beaverhead county to
limit the bonded and warrant indebt-
edness of incorporated cities and
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
a 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 1913, 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, it's provi-
sions were virtually the same as the
present law.
tana the revised codes of Montana
,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 a COM
munication which said: GAS to the
expressed purpose of the bill to eco.
nomically control and regulate the
leyying 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 a dozen other states
in the hope of trying to adjust these
statutes to Montana conditions. The
bill is long, cumbersome ito the ex-
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
attempting to enforce it's 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-
perts that I can secure, is hat it
would entail an annual expenditure
upon counties, cities and school dis
tricts of not less than $250,000 a
year.
"Should the bill become a law it
would devolve upon the state exam
mel the duty of preparing budgets
for city, county and school districts,
and it would require him to pay for
this expense, for which no funds have
provided.
"The increased burden of taxation
would be Immediately laid upon the
people of the state in addition to the
present burden of taxes. To add this
heavy additional cost to administra-
ton of local government, and to pro-
vide for this additional burden of
LIQUIDATION of public Indebtedness at
this time is unwise. 1t is the better
part of wisdom to postpone action
for a simple, inexpensive and work
able budget law until the legislature
two years hence"
In his letter accompanying the veto
of the bill to limit county and city in
debtedness Governor Dixon said:
'sMore than SO per cent of the cit
of Montana have a bonded and a
floating indebtedness up to or in ex-
cess Of 8 per cent on the full taxable
If this bill were to be
approved these cities would automa-
tically become from SO to rs per
cent in excess of the limits of the 3
centum valuation.
"While this bill attempts to vail
date all outstanding bonds it would
not provide for the r%efunding of such
outstanding bonds in excess of the
8 per centum valuation. Montana is
Of a number of; city bonds held
as a part Of the permanent school
fund of the state, and I believe that
II would work a hardship on some of
these cities to compel them to pay
their bonds in cash when due instead
Of refunding them.
Montana now owns $~141,000 in
bonds issued by the city of Great
Falls, due on July /, 1928, and $685.
300 in bonds of the city of Living-
,ton, due in 1888. In checking ever4,,
state examiners last report 1
lind that the city of Great Falls had
, taxable valuation for the year 1922
~s12,884,842 and had bonds and
warrants outstanding in excess of
s1~,4OO,O00. Livingston had a tax
able valuation for 1922 of ~$3,016,62O
ind had outstanding bonds of $751;
700. If this bill we're to become a