The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-03-13
CHANGES IN
LEGISLATIVE
BOUNDS VOID
Executive Says House Bill
Fair in Part and Unfair as
To Two Counties
OTHER VETOES MADE
Total Number of Vetoes, En-
cepting Appropriations
Hits Six Measures

Governor K. A. Nestos, acting
ON the last bill of the eighteenth
Legislative assembly before him to
I, day, vetoed the reapportionment
bill.
In disappearing this measure,
which passed the Legislature on a
strict party vote, the Governnl
said that while the reapportion
ment was fair in most respects,
two districts had been overlooked
ln' the enactment and took the view
that the whole reapportionment
question ought to 90 over until the
next legislature. The executive al
so took the view that the reappor
tionment ought to provide for /;
smaller number of members OF
both house and senate.
Three other vetoes by the Gov
ernor brought his total number of
vetoes to six bill out of about 352
reaching him from the legislature,
excluding the appropriation bills.
Every bill was acted upon, none
being permitted to become laws
without action by the executive.
Bills vetoed included house bill
Nc. 226, permitting country agri-
cultural high schools to charge up
to $3.50 per pupil per week tut.
ton; senate bill No. 1926, govern
ing the practice of certified public
accountants and house bill No. 1GG
providing cause of action on ae-
count of injury should survive the
death of the injured if death wera
from some other cause.
Governor Nestos in disapproving
house bill No. 312. the reappor
tiOnment bill, wrote the Secretaly
of State as follows:
Reasons For Veto
TO the Honorable Secretary o.
l file herewith House Bill NJ.
3l2, being an act to amend and
reenact Section a. of the Compil
ed Laws of North Dakota for the
year 1918, as amended and reen-
acted by Chapter of the Session
laws of North Dakota for the year
1915 as amended and reenacted hl
Chapter 2 of the Session Laws of
North Dakota for the year 1917.
relating to Legislative apportion-
ment, without my approval for tho
following reasons:
The constitution provides that
at the first legislative session al
ter each census, the state shall be-
divided into senatorial districts as
nearly equal to each other in the
number of inhabitants entitled 10
representation as possible, ana
that general reapportionment
shall be made on such a basis.
This should have been done in
1921, but it was not attended to.
In my inaugural address, / recon
mended that it be done at this sc5-
sion and that the number of sena-
tors and representative be de
creased
The above act on the face of il.
purports to make general rcap-
portionment, but a careful invest
igation of the provisions of the act
reveals the fact that while there
have been fair and proper change
in few districts, that the act has
failed to correct the inequalities
existing in other districts, and is
therefore not just and equitablc
throughout.
Part of the Fair
1t is apparent that it was fan.
and just to join Grant and Sicux
counties in one district. It is al
so apparent that, since Emmors
county is considerably larger than
Sheridan, that Sheridan and Kid
der should be joined in the same
senatorial district rather than Kid
der and Emmons. 1t is just also
to say that, as between McHerry
and Stutsman counties, if eithe1-
of them is entitled to two sena-
torial districts, it is surely Stuts
man with over 24,0OO people rathel,
than McHenry with less than le,-
600.
Those preparing the act, how
ever, seem to have overlooked tic
fact that in the forty-fir district
Mckenzie and Williams with a to
tai population of 27.524 are corr
bined, though the Missouri river
separates the two, and that if
Stutsman county is entitled to two
senatorial districts, surely Nc
Kenzie and Williams were entitl
ed to be divided into two such dis
tricts
We also find that at the last
census, the ninth legislative dis
trict consisting of Fargo had ap
proximately $4,000 people, and un-
doubtedly has considerably more
at this time, and yet no attempt
Was made to rearrange the lines
OF the senatorial districts in Cass
county.
These, and number Of other in
equalities, still remain and it is my
Judgment that rather than to ap-
prove the above act, it win be
fairer to withhold the apprpval
of the act now, and then to urge
upon the next Legislative 4es-
sion that general reapportion-
ment act be passed to correct all
Of these inequalities and, if possi
BILE, also to reduce the membership
= n a 80 -