First Security Bank of Boise v. Enking

• Decision Date: 09 August 1934
• Docket Number: 6118,6117
• Citation: 54 Idaho 735,35 P.2d 266
• Parties: FIRST SECURITY BANK OF BOISE, a Corporation, and FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF IDAHO, a National Banking Association, for and in Behalf of Themselves and All Other State Depositories Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs and Cross-Appellants, v. MYRTLE P. ENKING, as Treasurer of the State of Idaho, and BEN DIEFENDORF, as Commissioner of Finance of the State of Idaho, Defendants and Appellants, and FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF IDAHO, a National Banking Association, and FIRST SECURITY BANK OF BOISE, a Corporation, for and in Behalf of Themselves and All Other Public Depositories Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs and Cross-Appellants, v. ADA COUNTY and JANET A. KETCHEN, Treasurer of Said County, Defendants and Appellants
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

35 P.2d 266

54 Idaho 735

FIRST SECURITY BANK OF BOISE, a Corporation, and FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF IDAHO, a National Banking Association, for and in Behalf of Themselves and All Other State Depositories Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs and Cross-Appellants, v. MYRTLE P. ENKING, as Treasurer of the State of Idaho, and BEN DIEFENDORF, as Commissioner of Finance of the State of Idaho, Defendants and Appellants, and FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF IDAHO, a National Banking Association, and FIRST SECURITY BANK OF BOISE, a Corporation, for and in Behalf of Themselves and All Other Public Depositories Similarly Situated, Plaintiffs and Cross-Appellants, v. ADA COUNTY and JANET A. KETCHEN, Treasurer of Said County, Defendants and Appellants

Nos. 6117, 6118

Supreme Court of Idaho

August 9, 1934

DEPOSITORIES-PUBLIC DEPOSITORY LAW-DEPOSITS OF PUBLIC MONEY-RATE OF INTEREST.

1. Statutes requiring public and state depositories to pay interest on public funds at average of interest rates on daily bank balances in clearing-houses at Salt Lake City Utah, and Portland, Oregon, to be determined semiannually by commissioner of finance, which determination shall be conclusive, held not to vest commissioner with discretion but with simple duty of computing such average (I. C. A sec. 55-132, as amended by Laws 1933, chap. 90, sec. 3; sec 65-2641, as amended by Laws 1933, chap. 96, sec. 2).

2. Where plaintiff alleged meaning of statutory phrase to be as found by trial court and defendants did not assign such finding as error, neither party could on appeal complain of definition thus given statutory words by lower court.

3. Where statute fixed interest on state and public funds payable by Idaho depositories as the average of interest rates on "daily bank balances" in clearing-houses at Salt Lake City, Utah, and Portland, Oregon, on certain dates, but, because prohibited by federal statute, there was no interest rate on such balances except on other banks' deposits requiring thirty-one days' and sixty days' notice of withdrawal, respectively, average of such interest rates held the rate payable under statutes (I. C. S., sec. 55-132, as amended by Laws 1933, chap. 90, sec. 3; sec. 65-2461, as amended by Laws 1933, chap. 96, sec. 2).

4. Legislative intent must be given effect by courts, if possible, without regard to wisdom of legislation.

APPEAL from the District Court of the Third Judicial District, for Ada County. Hon. Charles E. Winstead, Judge.

Action for declaratory judgment under provisions of chapter 70, Session Laws, 1933, to determine the interest rate to be paid by banks as depositories of state and public funds. From judgments of the district court all parties appeal. Affirmed.

Judgments affirmed. No costs awarded.

Dean Driscoll, for Plaintiffs and Cross-Appellants.

When an executive or administrative officer adopts as a basis for an official act a different standard than that prescribed by law, he is not acting within his jurisdiction and his action is void. (Pierson v. State Board of Land Commrs., 14 Idaho 159, 93 P. 775; Balderston v. Brady, 17 Idaho 567, 107 P. 493; Fritchman v. Athey, 36 Idaho 560, 211 P. 1080; see, also, Town of Afton v. Gill, 57 Okla. 36, 156 P. 658-661.)

Bert H. Miller, Attorney General, Ariel L. Crowley, Assistant Attorney General, and Homer E. Martin, Prosecuting Attorney of Ada County, for Defendants and Appellants.

Words in statutes must be given their usual and ordinary meaning unless a technical meaning is clearly intended, and must be construed in accordance with the context of the act. (Adams v. Lansdon, 18 Idaho 483, 110 P. 280; In re Segregation of School Dist. No. 58, from Rural High School Dist. No. 1, 34 Idaho 222, 200 P. 138; Bradbury v. City of Idaho Falls, 32 Idaho 28, 39, 177 P. 388; State v. Jones, 34 Idaho 83, 199 P. 645.)

SUTTON, D. J. Givens, Morgan and Wernette, JJ., concur.

OPINION

SUTTON, D. J.

These two cases were consolidated for trial and for determination in this court. They were instituted for the purpose of obtaining a declaratory judgment under the provisions of chapter 70, Session Laws for 1933.

The question upon which the court is asked to pass in the one case is: What, if any, rate of interest must be paid by member banks of the Federal Reserve System in the state of Idaho, acting as depositories for the funds of the state of Idaho, upon said public deposits? In the other case the question is: What, if any, rate of interest must be paid by said banks, acting as depositories for the public funds of Ada county, on said funds?

A determination of these questions involves an examination and construction of the Public Depository Law of the state of Idaho, being secs. 55-101 to 55-143, I. C. A., and particularly sec. 55-132 as amended by chapter 90, Session Laws for 1933, also, an examination of what may be termed the State Depository Law, being secs. 65-2623 to 65-2647, I. C. A., and particularly sec. 65-2641 as amended by chapter 96, Session Laws for 1933.

By the provisions of sec. 55-132, I. C. A., prior to the 1933 amendment, it was provided in substance that every public depository should be required to pay interest on the funds of the several depositing units of the state at a rate to be fixed by the supervising board of each depositing unit, which rate should be uniform and not be less than two per cent per annum upon the average daily balance of said depositing unit in such public depository. And by sec. 65-2641 prior to amendment and sec. 65-2642, it was provided in substance that every state depository should pay interest to the state upon the state funds deposited therein, at a rate to be fixed by the Department of Finance, which rate should be not less than two per cent per annum upon the average daily balance with a four-day exemption each month upon active accounts.

By the provisions of chapters 90 and 96 of the Session Laws for 1933, it is provided in substance, that every public depository and every state depository shall pay interest on the public money deposited with it, the rate of said interest being uniform throughout the state, "and for the period between January 1st and June 30th, inclusive, each year shall be the average of the interest rates on daily bank balances established and in effect in the clearing-houses at Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon, on the first day of January in such period; and for the period between July 1st and December 31st, inclusive, of each year, shall be at the average of the interest rate on daily bank balances established and in effect in the same clearing-houses on the first day of July in such period"; and further provides the commissioner of finance shall determine and announce such interest rate semiannually on or within ten days after the first day of January and the first day of July by an order entered of record in his office "which determination shall be conclusive," and further provides for mailing copies to the state treasurer, the treasurer of each county and certain depositories.

Thus it will be seen an attempt is made by the 1933 amendments, to take from the supervising boards of the several depositing units in the state and from the Department of Finance the authority to fix and determine the rate of interest to be paid by public depositories under certain restrictions, and to give that authority without restriction to the clearing-houses in the cities of Salt Lake, Utah and Portland, Oregon, it being evident the provisions of the 1933 acts requiring the commissioner of finance to determine the interest rate, vests that officer with no discretion but with the simple duty of computing the average interest rate established and in effect in such clearing-houses on a fixed date.

The facts disclosed by the record and found by the trial court stated chronologically are, said chapters 90 and 96 were approved February 25 and 27, 1933, respectively and by virtue of the emergency clauses embodied therein went into effect on those dates. Thereafter the Congress of the United States passed what is known as the "Banking Act of 1933," sometimes referred to as the Glass-Steagall Bill, the...