State v. Sheldon
| Decision Date | 21 March 1907 |
| Docket Number | 15,080 |
| Citation | 111 N.W. 372,78 Neb. 552 |
| Parties | STATE OF NEBRASKA, PLAINTIFF, v. GEORGE L. SHELDON, DEFENDANT |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
ORIGINAL action to determine the right of defendant, as governor, to use the executive mansion without payment of rent. Defendant demurred to the petition. Demurrer sustained.
Action DISMISSED.
W. T Thompson, Attorney General, and W. B. Rose, for plaintiff.
Norris Brown and Jesse L. Root, contra.
This is an original action in this court. The petition alleges that the suit is brought by the attorney general in behalf of the state by the direction and at the request of the governor. The purpose of the action is to recover the sum of $ 100 for one month's use by the defendant of the dwelling house in Lincoln known as the "Executive Mansion." A general demurrer has been filed to the petition and the cause submitted.
The house known as the executive mansion was purchased by the board of public lands and buildings in 1899 by the direction of the legislature, and the act authorizing and directing the purchase provides that, "after said property has been purchased and paid for, the board of public lands and buildings shall furnish said premises suitable for an executive mansion and the same shall be occupied by the governor." Since its purchase it has been continuously occupied as an official residence by the several chief executives of the state up to this time, and is now occupied by the defendant, Honorable George L. Sheldon, in his official capacity as governor of the state of Nebraska.
By the provisions of section 19, art. V of the constitution, the general supervision and control of all buildings and grounds belonging to the state, except for educational purposes, is vested in the board of public lands and buildings, and the legislature by the provisions of article VII, ch. 83, Comp St. has more fully defined the powers and duties of that body, and given the entire control of the sale or lease of the public grounds or buildings to the board or by its warrant to the commissioner of public lands and buildings. By section 3 of this article the board is given general custody and charge of all buildings and institutions and the grounds thereto, and is made responsible for their proper keeping and repair, and the commissioner of public lands and buildings is made the direct custodian of the same. Under these constitutional and statutory provisions the entire responsibility for the use of the buildings of the state is vested in the board of public lands and buildings, and, since that board has not authorized this action, it may be doubted whether the plaintiff has shown sufficient capacity to sue or whether the court is justified in passing upon the question submitted. However, this objection has not been raised by the defendant, and we will waive it and proceed to determine the case upon its merits.
The occupancy of the premises being admitted, the attorney general bases the state's right to recover rent upon section 24, art. V of the constitution, relating to the salaries of state officers: His argument is that, since the governor may not receive to his own use any "perquisites of office or other compensation," he is bound to pay rent for his occupancy of the executive mansion as an official residence. If his occupancy is not a "perquisite of office or other compensation" he concedes that the state is not entitled to recover. The Standard dictionary defines a perquisite as Worcester defines a perquisite as "something obtained in addition or in lieu of regular wages or salary." By the Century...
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