Railroad Commission v. Riley

CURTIS, J. Pursuant to the provisions of section 34 of article IV of the Constitution of the state of California, the governor of the state submitted to the 52d session of the legislature, the state budget for the biennium commencing July 1, 1937, and ending June 30, 1939, accompanied by an appropriation bill itemizing proposed state expenditures for such biennium, known as the budget bill, which included item No. 35 pertaining to support for the Railroad Commission of said state. Said budget bill originally contained the following words and figures relating to said item No. 35:

“Item 35—For Support of Railroad Commission of the State of California, eight hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred one dollars ..........$857,601.00”

The legislature, after making various changes, passed said bill, which was thereupon submitted to the governor for consideration. Said budget bill, as amended by the assembly and passed by the legislature, contained the following words and figures pertaining to item No. 35:

“Item 35—For support of the Railroad Commission of the State of California, eight hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred one dollars, of which the amount of thirty-four thousand one hundred sixty dollars shall be expended for support of the Safety Section of the Railroad Commission of the State of California..........$857,601.00”

Pursuant to the power vested in the governor by sections 16 and 34 of article IV of the Constitution, the governor signed said budget bill as passed by the legislature and appended thereto a statement of the items therein contained to which he objected, together with his reasons therefor. Refer[50]ence was made in said statement to said item 35 in the following language:

“1. I object to and eliminate the item on pages 6 and 7, under the heading, ‘Administrative’, reading as follows: ‘of which the amount of thirty-four thousand one hundred sixty dollars shall be expended for support of the Safety Section of the Railroad Commission of the State of California,’ for the reason that I consider the Railroad Commission of the State of California and the Department of Finance better equipped to make such allocations, and vested with ample authority to provide through fiscal year budgets, for the needs, when known, of such functions.”

Thereafter the assembly reconsidered the budget and appropriation bill, taking up separately each of the items objected to by the governor, but failed to override the governor’s objection to item No. 35, wherein the legislature had provided that of the sum of $857,601, appropriated to the support of the Railroad Commission, $34,160 of said sum should be expended for the support of the safety section of the Railroad Commission of the state.