McClure v. Riley

RICHARDS, J.

The petitioner herein, in his capacity as Director of the Department of Public Works of the State of California, has applied for a writ of mandate to compel the respondent herein, as Controller, to audit and draw his warrant for the payment of certain claims for work done and material furnished in connection with the construction and equipment of the state 'buildings now in course of construction in the city of Sacramento, the said respondent having refused to audit and approve said claims. The facts as set forth in the petition herein are admitted by the answer of the respondent and the only question presented for our determination is as to whether or not the act of the legislature (Stats. 1925, p. 726) constitutes a valid appropriation of the moneys of the state of California available for the payment of such claims. The act reads in part as follows:

“An act appropriating the sum of three hundred thousand dollars for the completion of construction and equipment and furnishing state buildings in the city of Sacramento for state purposes.

“The people of the State of California do enact as follows :

“Section 1. The sum of three hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as shall be necessary, is hereby appropri

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ated out of any money in the state treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended in completing the construction, equipment and furnishing of state buildings in the city of Sacramento for state purposes, for laying out and beautifying the grounds, and also for the rearrangement of the state capítol building. This appropriation is in addition and supplemental to the funds heretofore provided for that purpose by an act entitled ‘An act to provide for the issuance and sale of state bonds to be known as “State building bonds,” ’ ” etc. (Stats. 1913, p. 389.)

The objection which the respondent urges against the validity of the foregoing act of 1925 is that said act violates the provision of the constitution (art. IV, sec. 24), which provides that every act shall embrace but one subject, which subject shall be expressed in its title; and also violates a further provision of the constitution (art. IV, sec. 34) to the effect that no bill making an appropriation of money, except the budget bill, shall contain more than one item of appropriation and for one single and certain purpose, to be expressed therein. In approaching the determination as to what scope and meaning shall be given to the foregoing provision of the state constitution it is to be borne in mind that the rule of interpretation to be applied to these sections is well settled and is conceded by the respondent herein to be substantially that set forth in 36 Cyc. 1017, as follows: “3. Construction of Provisions. The provisions of the various constitutions relating to the subject matter and titles of acts should be construed liberally to uphold proper legislation, all parts of which are reasonably germane on the one hand, and to prevent trickery on the other hand. The restrictions requiring the subject of an act to be expressed in its title should be reasonably construed, considering substance rather than form, to require the expression in the title of the general object but not the details or incidents, or means of effecting the object sought, and to include the subject and not the purpose of the act and the reasons which brought about the enactment of it by the legislature.”