Reclamation Board v. Riley

RICHARDS, J.

The petitioners have applied to this court for a peremptory writ of mandate commanding the respondent, as Controller of the state of California, to issue his official warrant in the sum of $3,661.93, payable out of that certain fund known as “Joint Navigation and Flood Control Project,” as the purchase price of a certain warrant purchased by the State Department of Finance of one W. Me William with the consent of the Reclamation Board of the State of California, one of the petitioners herein, on September 3, 1929, which warrant so purchased had theretofore been drawn on and based upon “ Sutter-Butte By-pass Assessment Number Six” and which warrant had been so purchased in alleged conformity with the provisions of section 37a of that certain act of the legislature approved May 21, 1929, and which became effective on August 14, 1929. (Stats. 1929, p. 707.) The respondent in his answer and return to said application has demurred thereto upon the ground that the same does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the respondent or to entitle the petitioners to the relief prayed for therein or to any relief. The act of the legislature above referred to is entitled, “An act to amend sections 14, 15 and 19 of the ‘Reclamation board act,’ approved December 24, 1911, as amended, and adding two new sections thereto to be numbered 15a and 37a, respectively, relating to the auditing of canceled warrants and providing for the application of moneys released, reimbursed, or appropriated under and pursuant to chapter one hundred seventy-six, California statutes of 1925 and the war department appropriations act of congress of the United States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1930, being public law number eight hundred forty-three, seventieth congress, approved February 28, 1929, and providing for the repeal of all laws in conflict herewith.” Section 37a of the act, after reciting that the purpose thereof

[663]

was to further the provisions of certain previous acts of the state legislature providing plans for the control of the flood waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries and for the improvement and preservation of navigation and for the reclamation and protection of lands susceptible of overflow from said rivers and their tributaries, and after reciting that certain moneys amounting to somewhat over four million dollars had been made available for such purposes pursuant to an act of Congress approved February 28, 1929, by which act said sum had been appropriated by the United States government and directed to be paid over to the state of California for the purposes above set forth, provided that said sum was to be deposited in a fund to be known as the “Joint Navigation and Flood Control Project Fund,” and which fund was to be expended and disbursed by the Reclamation Board for the uses and purposes and subject to the conditions thereafter in said act to be set forth and at such times and in such manner as said Reclamation Board in its discretion should deem necessary or proper, and directing the state Controller to issue his warrants upon said fund upon order by the Reclamation Board, and directing the state Treasurer to pay the same. Section 37a of said act then proceeded to prescribe the uses and purposes to which the moneys thus accumulated in said fund should be expended and which uses and purposes were set forth in said section in three subdivisions thereof. The first of these related to new construction done or required to be done and to lands, rights of way or easements necessary to be acquired by the state of California in carrying forward said work of reclamation and flood control pursuant to the previous legislation upon the subject and to the work of reclamation and flood control which had theretofore been done thereunder. The second subdivision of said section authorized the Reclamation Board to draw upon said fund in a limited amount for administration purposes, but limited the amount to be thus expended to $25,000 in any one fiscal year, and also limited the amount to be expended under the first and second subdivisions of said section to the sum of $200,000 during the current fiscal year. Subdivision three of said section provided that with the balance of said money thus allocated to said fund the State Department of Finance, with the consent of the Reclamation Board, was authorized