County of Solano v. McCudden

BRITT, C. Defendant was a member of the board of supervisors of Solano County, and ex officio commissioner of a certain road district. At various times from December 5, 1893, to September 2, 1895, inclusive, he presented to said board, of which he was a member as stated, claims against the county for services performed by him as road commissioner; such claims were allowed by the board and were paid out of the county treasury. They were not presented to the district attorney of the county, and none of them bore his indorsement of approval or rejection. This is an action by the county to recover the amount of the several payments made as aforesaid. The services for which defendant was paid were actually rendered, and there is no charge of bad faith against him. Plaintiff had judgment.

It is provided in section 51 of the County Government Act of 1893 (Stats. 1893, p. 365) that all claims against the county presented by members of the board of supervisors for any service [650]rendered by them must, before allowance, be presented to the district attorney, “'who must indorse thereon in writing his opinion as to the legality thereof; if he declare the claim illegal, he must state specifically wherein it is illegal, and the claim must then be rejected by said board.” It is undisputed in the case that if such requirement was valid the judgment is right. (See County Government Act, sec. 8.)

Subdivision 12 of section 25 of the same act confers power on the board of supervisors “to examine, settle, and allow all accounts legally chargeable against the county,” with a specified exception not material here; and it is contended for defendant that said section 51 of the act conflicts with the general provision of subdivision 12 of section 25 by giving to the district attorney supervisory power over claims presented by members of the board, and on that account is violative of the command of the constitution that'all laws of a general nature shall have a'uniform operation. (Const., art. I, see. 11.)

We are unable to concur in the view of defendant’s learned counsel. Section'51 does not purport to clothe the district attorney with authority essentially different from the power exerciseable by him as to any claim whatever presented to the board for allowance; it is his duty to attend meetings of the board and “oppose all claims and accounts against the county when he deems them illegal and unjust.” (County Government Act, sec. 137.) True, under the section last cited the opposition of the district attorney does not control the discretion of the board to allow the claim opposed, while under section 51 the board is bound to reject the claim of one of its members if the district attorney in writing declares it illegal and states specifically wherein it is illegal; but this is not because of any enlarged power of the district attorney to supervise or usurp the proper functions of the board; it is the mandate of the law which thus discriminates between classes of claims, viz., those presented by the members of the auditing board, and those presented by other persons, and requires the rejection of the former on the unfavorable opinion of the district attorney. We think it quite apparent that claims of its own members áre on a footing before the board so different from daims in general that special conditions for their allowance may be justly imposed by the legislature; and as the requirement