Stepp v. Lance, 29245

• Decision Date: 05 December 1974
• Docket Number: No. 29245,29245
• Citation: 211 S.E.2d 311,233 Ga. 358
• Parties: A. L. STEPP v. Irvin LANCE et al.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 311

211 S.E.2d 311

233 Ga. 358

A. L. STEPP v. Irvin LANCE et al.

No. 29245.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Dec. 5, 1974.

Syllabus by the Court

The trial court did not err in holding that Section 4 of Ga.L.1974, p. 2136, a local Act increasing the number of county commissioners from three to five members, was unconstitutional because matters contained therein were foreign to the subject matter contained in the advertised notice of intention to introduce local legislation.

McCurdy, Candler & Harris, George H. Carley, Jerry L. Stepp, Decatur, for appellant.

Telford, Stewart & Stephens, Charles W. Stephens, John E. Girardeau, Gainesville, Edgar L. Jenkins, Jasper, for appellees.

GRICE, Chief Justice.

This is the second appeal from a declaratory judgment of the Superior Court of Fannin County ruling on the constitutionality of Ga.L.1974, p. 2136 et seq., a local Act increasing the number of county commissioners, vesting the chairman with certain veto powers, limiting the compensation of the county attorney and designating certain matters to be within the exclusive control and jurisdiction of the board of commissioners.

The trial judge determined that Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Act contained matter 'completely foreign to the advertisement of intention to introduce this local legislation,' and declared those sections unconstitutional. It concluded that since the notice provided only that it was to change the number of the commissioners, it did not adequately apprise the citizenry that the Act would also contain provisions relating to the matters over which the board was to have exclusive control, the veto power of the chairman or the limited compensation of the county attorney. It decided, however, that since Sections 1 and 2 dealt only with the number of commissioners and reflected the main purpose of the legislation, these sections were separable from the void sections and were constitutional.

The appellees here appealed from that portion of the ruling declaring Sections 1 and 2 constitutional and this court reversed. Lance v. Stepp, 232 Ga. 675, 208 S.E.2d 559.

This appeal challenges the ruling of the trial court holding Section 4 to be unconstitutional.

Without deciding whether the trial court was authorized to find that the pfovisions were separable and a portion of the local Act could remain in effect, we conclude that it correctly found Section 4 to be in violation of Art. III, Sec. VII, Par. XV of the Georgia Constitution (Code Ann. §...