State ex rel. Wyoming Farm Loan Bd. v. Herschler, 5353

• Decision Date: 03 February 1981
• Docket Number: No. 5353,5353
• Citation: 622 P.2d 1378
• Parties: STATE of Wyoming ex rel. WYOMING FARM LOAN BOARD, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. Ed HERSCHLER, Governor, State of Wyoming, Appellee (Defendant).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

Page 1378

622 P.2d 1378

STATE of Wyoming ex rel. WYOMING FARM LOAN BOARD, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. Ed HERSCHLER, Governor, State of Wyoming, Appellee (Defendant).

No. 5353.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Feb. 3, 1981.

John D. Troughton, Atty. Gen., Mary B. Guthrie, Asst. Atty. Gen., Cheyenne, Arthur K. Underwood, Jr., and John O. Swendseid of Sherman & Howard, Denver, Colo., attorneys in good standing of the Bar of the State of Colorado, signed the briefs and Underwood appeared in oral argument on behalf of appellant.

Byron Hirst and Alan B. Minier of Hirst & Applegate, Cheyenne, signed the brief and appeared in oral argument on behalf of appellee.

William R. Jones of Jones, Jones, Vines & Hunkins, Wheatland, Wyoming, filed a Brief of amicus curiae on behalf of trustees of the University of Wyoming.

Before ROSE, C. J., and McCLINTOCK, RAPER, THOMAS and ROONEY, JJ.

ROONEY, Justice.

Pursuant to the provisions of § 1-13-101, W.S.1977 ¹, the District Court, First Judicial District, County of Laramie, on its own motion, reserved the following questions to this court as important and difficult constitutional questions:

"1. Do Chapters 159 and 160, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1979, and Chapter 56, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1980, violate Article XVI, Section 1 of the Wyoming Constitution by providing a means to exceed debt limitations and prohibitions?

"2. Do Chapters 159 and 160, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1979, and Chapter 56, Session Laws of Wyoming, 1980, violate Article XVI, Section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution for any of the following reasons as asserted by the Defendant and denied by the Plaintiff:

"(a) Providing a means to exceed debt limitations and prohibitions?

"(b) Providing a means to create debt in excess of taxes for the current year without a vote of the people?

"(c) Providing a means to pledge state revenues which may be unilaterally reduced or eliminated by the United States Congress, therefore, creating a risk that future taxpayers may have taxes increased because of legislative actions with respect to a default on the bonds?

"(d) Providing a means to pledge revenues which are used to defray government expenses which would ordinarily have to be borne by taxes?

"(e) Pledging revenues which may be construed as being essentially equivalent to taxes and hence are directly subject to constitutional debt limitation and prohibitions?

"(f) Limiting the discretion of future legislatures to spend future revenues?

We answer the questions in the negative.

The Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law made by the trial court determined all factual questions and decided the meaning and effect of all involved statutes sufficient for the presentation to us of the reserved constitutional questions. White v. Board of County Commissioners of County of Albany, 77 Wyo. 246, 313 P.2d 484 (1957); State ex rel. Fawcett v. Board of County Commissioners of Albany County, 73 Wyo. 69, 273 P.2d 188 (1954); State v. Rosachi, Wyo., 549 P.2d 318 (1976).

The status of the case, its factual background, the positions of the parties, the pertinent constitutional provisions, and a recital of pertinent portions of the questioned enactments are contained in the trial court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (with incorporation therein of the Stipulations of the parties). Although lengthy, we set them forth to reflect the basis upon which the reserved questions are presented to us and to reflect the perimeters in which our answers are given:

"FINDINGS OF FACT

"The Plaintiff (appellant) and the Defendant (appellee) jointly submitted Stipulations in this case in which certain facts and issues were agreed or admitted. Attached to these stipulations were Exhibits A through F consisting of four resolutions of Plaintiff State Farm Loan Board (Exhibits A, B, D and E), a letter from the Defendant, Governor of the State of Wyoming and President of the State Farm Loan Board in which Defendant refused to sign the bonds in this case (Ex. C) and certain data available to the State Farm Loan Board in connection with its determinations on this matter (Ex. F.). ² The Stipulations and the Exhibits are attached to this Order and incorporated herein as stated here by this reference.

"The Court adopts as its Findings of Fact paragraphs I A through I QQ of said Stipulations. To the extent that legal conclusions are included in those paragraphs, the Court adopts them as its Conclusions of Law. In addition the Court finds that Exhibits A through F are what they purport to be and that the determinations and opinions expressed therein are the determinations and opinions of the individuals or entities expressing them.

"CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

"The Court makes the following conclusions of law:

"1. The ambiguous language of W.S.1977 Section 9-7-903(b) and Section 9-7-904(b) ³ is directory, leaving it to the discretion of the Farm Loan Board to determine whether and in what amount to issue bonds and to schedule the issuance of the bonds.

"2. It is necessary that the Farm Loan Board, as agreed, adopt, for lawful and constitutional final selection of projects, procedures requiring that, prior to final selection of said projects, the Farm Loan Board shall promulgate rules and regulations specifying the criteria and methods for selection of projects; and that these rules and regulations provide statewide public notice of said criteria and methods, as well as statewide opportunity to submit project proposals for funding; and that these rules and regulations incorporate the use of technical expertise of the Executive Department of the State of Wyoming in review and selection of projects for funding.

"3. The Wyoming statutes and the resolutions of the Farm Loan Board cited in the attached and incorporated Stipulation and Exhibits were duly adopted and are valid, subject to the reserved constitutional questions and the requirements of paragraph 2, supra.

"4. Chapters 159 and 160, Wyoming Session Laws, 1979, lawfully and constitutionally authorize the issuance of $160,000,000.00 of bonds, subject to the reserved constitutional questions.

"5. Bond resolutions passed pursuant to Chapters 159 and 160, Wyoming Session Laws, 1979, lawfully and constitutionally authorize the issuance of $160,000,000.00 of bonds, subject to reserved constitutional questions and the requirements of paragraph 2, supra.

"6. There is no plain or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law whereby Defendant can be compelled as Governor of Wyoming and as President of the Farm Loan Board to execute the bonds on behalf of Plaintiff and this declaratory judgment and mandamus proceeding is a proper remedy."

The following are the Stipulations incorporated by the trial court into its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

"A. Plaintiff, the Wyoming Farm Loan Board, is an agency of the State of Wyoming. It is comprised of the five principal elected officials of the executive branch of the government of the State of Wyoming, including the Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The same officials also serve as the Capitol Building Commission.

"B. The Defendant is, and was at all times pertinent to this case, the duly elected, qualified and acting Governor of the State of Wyoming, and President of the Wyoming Farm Loan Board.

"C. This is an action for a declaratory judgment pursuant to the Wyoming Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, W.S.1977 § 1-37-101, et. seq. for the purpose of determining the question of actual controversy between the parties, to wit: the validity and/or invalidity of certain bonds proposed to be issued for the State of Wyoming by the Plaintiff Farm Loan Board. In addition, it is agreed that Plaintiff asks that an alternative writ of mandamus be issued to Defendant requiring Defendant to sign the bonds; and that the jurisdiction of this Court is founded on Article V, Section 10 and Section 20 of the Wyoming Constitution, and W.S.1977 § 5-3-101(a)(i).

"D. Venue is properly laid in this Court pursuant to W.S.1977 § 1-5-104.

"E. The 1979 Wyoming State Legislature enacted Chapter 159, 1979 Wyoming Session Laws, which purportedly authorizes the issuance of $100 million dollars of certain bonds; the same Legislature enacted Chapter 160, 1979 Wyoming Session Laws, which purportedly authorizes the issuance of $60 million dollars certain bonds. Chapters 159 and 160 amended portions of Article IX, Chapter 7, Title 9 of the Wyoming Statutes of 1977. The purpose of Chapters 159 and 160 was to meet statewide capital construction requirements. These statutes permit the Farm Loan Board to borrow up to $160 million dollars to assist school districts, community colleges, and other political subdivisions of the state by loans and grants.

"F. The Wyoming Farm Loan Board, on 8 November 1979, pursuant to Chapters 159 and 160, Wyoming Session Laws 1979, adopted two resolutions attached to the Complaint (and attached hereto as Exhibits A and B) purportedly authorizing the issuance of 1980 Series A Bonds in the amount of Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00) and 1980 Series B Bonds in the amount of Twenty-One Million Dollars ($21,000,000.00). The vote on each resolution was three to two. Voting aye were: Thyra Thompson (sic), Secretary of State; Jim Griffith, State Auditor; and Lynn Simons, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and voting nay were: Ed Herschler, Governor, and Shirley Wittler, State Treasurer.

"G. The signature of the Defendant, both as Governor and as President of the State Farm Loan Board, is required on the bonds and on Resolutions A and B and he has been directed by the State Farm Loan Board to sign them. It is essential that this Court order Defendant to sign said bonds in order for Plaintiff to deliver valid bonds. Defendant has, by letter dated November 23, 1979 and attached to Plaintiff's Complaint as Exhibit C (and attached hereto as Exhibit C), and by his pleadings in this case, expressed his...