State ex rel. Moon v. Jonasson
| Citation | 299 P.2d 755,78 Idaho 205 |
| Decision Date | 10 July 1956 |
| Docket Number | No. 8449,8449 |
| Parties | The STATE of Idaho, on relation of Ruth G. MOON, Treasurer of the State of Idaho, Petitioner-Respondent, v. A. B. JONASSON, as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Development of the State of Idaho; Roscoe C. Rich, David P. Jones and Leonard K. Floan, Directors of the Idaho Board of Highway Directors of the State of Idaho; E. V. Miller, State Highway Engineer, and Wayne Summers, Secretary of the Idaho Board of Highway Directors, Respondents, A. B. Jonasson, as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Development of the State of Idaho, Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Graydon W. Smith, Atty. Gen., Elbert E. Gass, T. J. Jones, III, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellant.
J. F. Martin, C. Ben Martin and Chas. E. Winstead, Boise, for respondent.
The Legislature, by Chapter 234, 1955 S.L. created a Department of Commerce and Development. Among other things the purpose of such Department is to advertise the State, its resources and tourist attractions. Sec. 6, of said Act in part provides:
'There is hereby transferred and appropriated to the Idaho Development and Publicity Fund the following sums of money:
'From the Highway Fund for the purpose of advertising the highways of the State of Idaho and encouraging travel thereon and thus creating revenue to the said fund $50,000.00.'
A. B. Jonasson, appellant here, is secretary of said Department so created. He made demand on the State Treasurer, Ruth G. Moon, respondent here, to transfer from said Highway Fund to the Idaho Development and Publicity Fund, said sum so appropriated. She refused on the ground that the portion of said Sec. 6, transferring said sum of $50,000 from the Highway Fund, is unconstitutional, contending the same is in direct conflict with Sec. 17, Art. VII of the Idaho Constitution, which reads:
'On and after July 1, 1941 the proceeds from the imposition of any tax on gasoline and like motor vehicle fuels sold or used to propel motor vehicles upon the highways of this state and from any tax or fee for the registration of motor vehicles, in excess of the necessary costs of collection and administration and any refund or credits authorized by law, shall be used exclusively for the construction, repair, maintenance and traffic supervision of the public highways of this state and the payment of the interest and principal of obligations incurred for said purposes; and no part of such revenues shall, by transfer of funds or otherwise, be diverted to any other purposes whatsoever.'
Mrs. Moon, as State Treasurer, brought this action seeking judicial determination by way of declaratory judgment of the constitutionality of that portion of the Act transferring said $50,000 from the State Highway Fund to the Idaho Development and Publicity Fund.
The facts were stipulated and the Honorable M. Oliver Koelsch, District Judge, held that Sec. 6, of Ch. 234, 1955 S.L., insofar as it attempts to transfer and appropriate to the Idaho Development and Publicity Fund, the sum of $50,000 from the State Highway Fund, is invalid and unconstitutional in that it attempts to use tax or other State funds for a purpose entirely contrary to and in conflict with the plain and unambiguous restrictions and limitations imposed by Sec. 17, Art. VII of the Idaho Constitution.
A. B. Jonasson, secretary of the Department of Commerce and Development of the State of Idaho, appealed to this Court from the judgment so entered.
Appellant contends that the Act here attacked is constitutional; that monies paid into the Highway Fund from sources other than tax on gasoline, motor vehicle fuels, fees for registration of motor vehicles, and not covered by the language of Sec. 17, Art. VII of the Constitution are sufficient to pay the $50,000 appropriated; that Mrs. Moon could and should have paid the money to appellant from these other sources of revenue; that advertising the State highways by publication and the distribution of road maps, booklets, photographs or other means, falls within the terms 'maintenance' and 'administration'; that such advertising would increase the revenue of the Highway Fund.
The Act attempting to transfer $50,000 to the Idaho Development and Publicity Fund by the legislative enactment here attacked, does not say that the sum of money appropriated is to be paid from funds not included in the constitutional provision. The Legislature did not make...
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Verska v. Saint Alphonsus Reg'l Med. Ctr.
...and must be given the interpretation the language clearly implies.’ " 97 Idaho at 596, 548 P.2d at 862 (quoting State v. Jonasson, 78 Idaho 205, 210, 299 P.2d 755, 757 (1956) ). In Herndon, we said: "We must follow the law as written. If it is socially or economically unsound, the power to ......
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Verska v. Saint Alphonsus Reg'l Med. Ctr., 37574–2010.
...itself and must be given the interpretation the language clearly implies.’ ” 97 Idaho at 596, 548 P.2d at 862 (quoting State v. Jonasson, 78 Idaho 205, 210, 299 P.2d 755, 757 (1956)). In Herndon, we said: “We must follow the law as written. If it is socially or economically unsound, the pow......
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Rich v. Williams
...of the Legislature attempting to provide otherwise is unconstitutional. Roach v. Gooding, 11 Idaho 244, 81 P. 642; State ex rel. Moon v. Jonasson, 78 Idaho 205, 299 P.2d 755. In determining the constitutionality of a legislative enactment, fundamental principles must be borne in mind, and r......
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McGraw v. Hansbarger
...rel. Charlotte County v. Alford, 107 So.2d 27 (Fla.1958); Rich v. Williams, 81 Idaho 311, 341 P.2d 432 (1959); State ex rel. Moon v. Jonasson, 78 Idaho 205, 299 P.2d 755 (1956); Patterson v. Iowa Bonus Bd., 246 Iowa 1087, 71 N.W.2d 1 (1955); Edwards v. Parker, 332 So.2d 175 (La.1976); Irion......