Gray v. Childs
| Decision Date | 21 July 1934 |
| Citation | 115 Fla. 816,156 So. 274 |
| Parties | GRAY, Secretary of State v. CHILDS. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Suit by J. Frank Childs against R. A. Gray, as Secretary of State. From the judgment, defendant appeals.
Affirmed. Appeal from Circuit Court, Leon County; J. B Johnson, Judge.
Cary D Landis, Atty. Gen., and Robert J. Pleus, Asst. Atty. Gen for appellant.
W. B Dickenson, of Tampa, for appellee.
The appellee filed suit in the circuit court of Leon county to enjoin the publication of a proposed constitutional amendment to be submitted to the electorate of Florida for ratification or rejection at the general election in November, 1934.
The resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 12, 1933, and proposed to amend section 6 of article 8 of the Constitution of Florida, so as to read as follows:
On April 21st the proposed resolution was amended as follows:
'In the last line between the words 'term' and 'elected' insert the following 'for which."
It was further amended as follows:
'Strike out period at the end of the last line in said Resolution and insert in lieu thereof a comma and add the following: 'after the expiration of which term of office the office of Tax Collector and the office of Tax Assessor in the several counties of the State of Florida shall stand consolidated into one office.”
As amended, the resolution was put on third reading and final passage and was adopted by a vote of 84 in favor of to 7 against. Therefore, as amended, the joint resolution passed the House of Representatives by the necessary three-fifths vote of all members elected to the House of Representatives for the legislative session of 1933. But the proposed amendment was not entered upon the House Journal 'with the Yeas and Nays' as required by the Constitution. Page 178, House Journal.
The joint resolution, after being passed by the House, was referred to the committee on engrossed bills. The bill was reported engrossed with amendments and was ordered certified to the Senate on April 21, 1933.
The Journal of the Senate of April 25 shows the following:
'Tallahassee, Fla., April 24, 1933.
'Hon. T. G. Futch, President of the Senate.
'Sir: I am directed by the House of Representatives to inform the Senate that the House of Representatives has passed by Constitutional three-fifths vote of all members elected to the House of Representatives for 1933 session of the Florida Legislature:
'By Messrs. Herrin and Boynton of Gadsden, Sims of Highlands, Brown of Dade, Lanier of Madison, Rawls of Alachua, Ezell and Hubbell of Manatee, Ward of Orange, Wynn of Jackson and Stewart of Volusia.----
'House Joint Resolution No. 328:
'Proposing an Amendment to Section 6 of Article 8 of the Constitution of the State of Florida, relating to the election of county officers.
'Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Florida:
'That the following amendment to section 6 of article 8 of the Constitution of the State of Florida relating to the election of county officers be, and the same is hereby agreed to, and shall be submitted to the electors of the State of Florida, at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, A. D. 1934, for ratification or rejection, that is to say that section 6 of Article 8 of the Constitution of the State of Florida be amended so as to read as follows:
'Provided, that all county assessors of taxes and tax collectors elected in the general election held in 1932 shall hold office for the term elected.'
The following appears in the Senate Journal of the morning session of April 26th: 'The Journal of Tuesday, April 25th, 1933, was corrected and as corrected was approved.'
The Journal then shows that House Joint Resolution No. 328 contained in the above message was read the first time in full and was referred to the calendar of bills on second reading without reference on April 25th.
On May 5th the Senate took up House Joint Resolution No. 328 out of order, and it was then read a second time in full, as follows:
'Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Florida: That the following amendment to section 6 of Article 8 of the Constitution of the State of Florida relating to the election of county officers be, and the same is hereby agreed to, and shall be submitted to the electors of the State of Florida at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, A. D. 1934, for ratification or rejection, that is to say that section 6, of Article 8 of the Constitution of the State of Florida be amended so as to read as follows:
'Provided, that all County Assessors of Taxes and Tax Collectors elected in the general election held in 1932 shall hold office for the term elected.'
Thereupon the following amendment was offered by Senator Getzen:
'Strike out everything after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:
'That the following amendment to section 6 of Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida relating to the election of county officers be and the same is hereby agreed to, and shall be submitted to the electors of the State of Florida at the general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November A. D. 1934, for ratification or rejection, that is to say that section 6 of Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida be amended so as to read as follows:
'Provided, however, that the County Assessor of Taxes, Tax Collector, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and County Surveyor elected in the general election held in November, 1932, shall hold office for the term elected, and until otherwise provided by the Legislature.
'Senator Getzen moved the adoption of the amendment.'
Thereupon the following proceedings were had:
'Pending the adoption of the amendment offered by Senator Getzen, Senator Whitaker offered the following amendment to the amendment:
'Amendment to amendment of Senator Getzen, add after the words 'County Surveyor' in the third line from end of said amendment the following 'and Constables.'
'Senator Whitaker moved the adoption of the amendment to the amendment.
'Which was agreed to.
'And the amendment to the amendment was adopted.
'The question recurred on the adoption of the amendment, as amended, offered by Senator Getzen to House Joint Resolution No. 328.
'Which was agreed to.
'And the amendment, as amended, was adopted.
'Senator Getzen moved that the rules be further waived and House Joint Resolution No. 328, as amended, be read a third time in full and put upon its passage.
'Which was agreed to by a two-thirds vote.
'And House Joint Resolution No. 328, as amended, was read a third time in full.
'By unanimous consent, Senator Gillis offered the following amendment to House Joint Resolution No. 328:
'In Section 5, line 4, (typewritten bill), strike out the words: 'and Collector of Taxes' and insert in lieu thereof the following 'Who shall also be Tax Collector.'
'Senator Gillis moved the adoption of the amendment.
'Which was agreed to.
'And the Amendment was adopted.
'Upon the passage of the Joint Resolution, as...
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...1 of Art. XVII is mandatory and should be followed (Crawford v. Gilchrist, 64 Fla. 41, 59 So. 963, Ann.Cas.1914B, 916; Gray v. Childs, 115 Fla. 816, 156 So. 274), this Court has recognized the almost universal rule that an amendment is duly proposed and is actually published and submitted t......
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...what was or was not done by the Senate, the journal must be considered as a whole, as any other record would be.' In Gray v. Childs, 115 Fla. 816, 156 So. 274, the court '(The) Legislature is empowered while it is in session to make its records speak truth and to record in its journal true ......
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...1 of Art. XVII is mandatory and should be followed (Crawford v. Gilchrist, 64 Fla. 41, 59 So. 963, Ann.Cas. 1914B, 916; Gray v. Childs, 115 Fla. 816, 156 So. 274), this Court has recognized the almost universal rule that once an amendment is duly proposed and is actually published and submi......
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