City & County of San Francisco v. Kuchel

EDMONDS, J. For many years, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (Stats. 1935, p. 1123; 2 Deering’s Gen. Laws, Act 3796) required that one-half of the amount collected by the state as fees for liquor licenses be paid to the cities and counties. In 1947, the Legislature amended the statute (Stats. 1947, ch. 712, p. 1766) to provide that the cities and the counties shall receive all of the amounts so collected. The [365]present controversy concerns the right of the state to one-half of the fees collected in 1947 to September 19th, the effective date of the new enactment.

The amendment was made by striking from the act the italicized words of section 37, which now reads as follows: 1 ‘ § 37. All moneys collected as license fees and under the excise tax provisions of this act shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund, which fund is hereby created. Moneys in said fund are hereby appropriated as follows:

(a) Fifty per cent of all moneys collected from fees, to be paid semiannually to the counties, cities and counties, and cities of this State in the proportion that the amount of the fees collected in the particular county, city and cotmty, or city bears to the total amount so collected throughout the State, and the State Controller shall during the months of April and October of the year, draw his warrants upon said fund in favor of the treasurer of each county, city and county, and city for the amount to which each is entitled hereunder ;

(b) Such amount as is necessary for the allowance of the refunds provided for in this act;

(c) From the remainder of said moneys such amounts as may be made available pursuant to Section 661 of the Political Code for expenditure by the board in carrying out the provisions of this act;

(cl) Any remaining balance to be transferred to the General Fund on the order of the Controller. ’ ’

As the basis for the present proceeding, the city and county of San Francisco takes the position that the amendment to the act is an appropriation measure which provides for a payment to the cities and the counties in October, 1947, without regard to the time of the collection of the fees. The Legislature was aware that the change would be effective before October, says the petitioner, and there is nothing to indicate an intention to give the law retroactive effect. The controller asserts that the money paid into the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund is continually appropriated for the purposes provided by section 37 of the act, which provides for transfers to the general fund of all balances in the fund “on the order of the Controller.” The specification of the dates for the making of payments, he contends, does not freeze the money, other than the 50 per cent to be paid to the cities and the counties, in the fund. The transfers of money from the Aleo