Thompson v. Board of Supervisors

Garoutte, J. J. — This is a proceeding by mandate to compel the board of supervisors of Alameda county to accept the bid or tender of one Thompson, the petitioner, [555]and to declare him the highest bidder at the sale of a franchise for an electric railroad upon a certain defined route over the highways of that county. The proceedings of the board of supervisors leading up to the sale of this franchise were taken under a recent act of the legislature found in the statutes of 1893, page 288. That statute is entitled: “An act providing for the sale of railroad and other franchises in municipalities, and relative to granting franchises,” and provides: “ Every franchise or privilege to erect or lay telegraph or telephone wires, to construct or operate railroads along or upon any public street or highway, or to exercise any other privilege whatever, hereafter proposed to be granted by the board of supervisors, common council, or other governing or legislative body of any county, city and county, city, town, or district within this state, shall be granted upon the conditions in this act provided, and not otherwise.” The act then prescribes the character of notice to be given for the sale, the time of the publication thereof, and fixes the day when tenders will be received for such franchise or privilege. The concluding clause of the section is: “ The franchise or privileges must then be awarded to the highest bidder.” It is urged by respondents that the act is unconstitutional as being violative of section 24, article IV, of the constitution of this state, which declares: “Every act shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in its title.” The alleged violation is claimed to consist in this: That the title refers to sales of franchises by municipalities only, while the body of the act also attempts to deal with franchises issued by counties at the hands of their respective boards of supervisors. We' have no doubt but that the word “ municipalities,” as used in the title of the act, is not broad enough to include counties, but the title proceeds further and uses the very general language, “ and relative to the granting of franchises.” These words are broad, not limited in terms to municipalities, and appear by a fair and rea[556]sonable construction to cover all the legislation found in the body of the act.