Opinion ID: 1777592
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the county's contentions

Text: The County has no dispute with the foregoing rules of statutory construction per se, but it feels that they are not applicable in the instant case. The County maintains the polestar of statutory construction is that the intention of the legislature must be given effect. Boswell v. South Central Bell Telephone Co., 293 Ala. 189, 301 So.2d 65 (1974); State v. AAA Motor Lines, Inc., 275 Ala. 405, 155 So.2d 509 (1963). In determining the intent of the legislature, the Court must look to the language of the statute. State v. Zewen, 270 Ala. 52, 116 So.2d 373 (1959). Furthermore, the Court must look to the entire act and not merely to an isolated part in construing a statute. Ex parte Wilson, 269 Ala. 263, 112 So.2d 443 (1959). It is difficult to understand, says the County, why the legislature would place permissive words in one subsection and mandatory words in four subsections of the same section if the first subsection was intended to be mandatory as well, especially when the Court considers the rule that, in lieu of other factors, words in a statute will be given their ordinary meaning, citing Morgan County Commission v. Powell, 292 Ala. 300, 293 So.2d 830 (1974). Certainly, the legislature could have made subsection (a) mandatory if that had been the true intention of the legislature. Therefore, to construe § 347(a) as being other than permissive would be contrary to the apparent intention of the legislature as expressed by the clear wording of subsection (a) and as evidenced by the balance of the Solid Wastes Disposal Act. Title 22, § 346 et seq. Additionally, the County contends the State's argument that the imposition in § 349 of a two-year deadline renders § 347(a) obligatory ignores the remaining provisions of § 347. § 349 can hardly be said to be useless verbage, says the County, in light of § 347(b) (methods of garbage disposal), § 347(c) (burning garbage), § 347(d) (hauling garbage and rubbish), § 347(e) (exceptions), § 347(a) (disposal of hazardous wastes), § 348(b) (unauthorized dumps), § 348(c) (rodents and insects), all of which are mandatory on their face. § 349, reasons the County, applies to these sections even when § 347(a) is construed as being permissive; consequently, there is no conflict between § 347(a) and § 349.