Wilson v. State

• Decision Date: 01 June 1920
• Parties: WILSON v. STATE.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

224 S.W. 168

143 Tenn. 55

WILSON v. STATE.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

June 1, 1920

Appeal from Circuit Court, Lincoln County; R. W. Smartt, Judge.

Byrd Wilson was convicted of failure to pay his buggy tax, and he appeals. Affirmed.

Routt & Myers, of Fayetteville, for appellant.

W. H Swiggart, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., and Giles L. Evans, of Fayetteville, for the State.

HALL J.

The question involved in this case is the constitutionality of chapter 657 of the Private Acts of 1919, the title of which is as follows:

"An act entitled an act to provide revenue by assessing a privilege tax in counties of this state having a population of not less than 25,907 nor more than 25,909 under the federal census of 1910, or any subsequent federal census on carts, buggies, surreys, wagons, traction engines, automobiles and motorcycles, to further promote and provide for the building and maintaining of the public roads of said counties, and to provide the methods of collecting such tax and manner of designating or marking vehicles on which such tax has been paid."

Section 1 of said act reads as follows:

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Tennessee, that a privilege tax is hereby levied and shall be collected by the county court clerks in counties of this state having a population of from 25,907 to 25,909 inhabitants by the federal census of 1910 or any subsequent federal census, on all carts, buggies, surreys, wagons, traction engines, automobiles and motorcycles, used upon the public highways of such counties, as follows: On each cart, buggy and surrey, $2.50 per annum; on each one-horse wagon, $3.00 per annum; on each two-horse wagon, or wagon drawn by more than two horses, and on each traction engine, $5.00 per annum; on each automobile, including automobile trucks, and motorcycles, the sum of ten cents per annum on each horsepower of the motive power of such vehicle. Said taxes shall be paid to the county court clerks of said counties for the year 1919 by the owner or the operator of such vehicles herein taxed, for which tax, both are liable personally, provided, such vehicle is used upon the public highways of any county within the provisions of this act, on or before the first Monday in July, 1919, and annually thereafter, as other privilege taxes are paid.

When so paid the county court clerk to whom paid shall give his receipt therefor and shall register said vehicle on which the same is paid, for which registration he shall receive a fee of twenty-five cents to be paid by the owner or person paying tax on the vehicle and he shall furnish to such owner or person paying said tax a tag, of tin or other metal, for such vehicle with a number stamped or imprinted thereon, showing the year and the name of the county, a record of which number shall be kept in the clerk's office in said registration records, which tag must be attached to the rear axle or the rear of the body of said vehicle, where it shall so remain until another tag is procured for the next succeeding year.

In the event any such tag is lost by the taxpayer or owner of the vehicle, such owner shall pay for the registration and cost of another tag.

The tags herein provided to be furnished to the taxpayers shall be purchased by the respective county court clerks from the funds in their hands arising from the taxes herein provided for, the cost of the same not to exceed _____ cents each."

Section 2 reads as follows:

"Be it further enacted, that all owners or operators of any of the vehicles hereinbefore enumerated shall pay the taxes herein provided for in advance and before using any of the vehicles hereinbefore enumerated or operating them upon the public roads of the said counties, or any of them, paying a proportionate amount of the tax for the remainder of the year on any such vehicle or vehicles purchased or first used or operated upon any of said public roads after the first Monday in July, 1919, and at any time after January 1, of any ensuing year."

Section 3 reads:

"Be it further enacted, that it shall be a misdemeanor for any person or persons to violate any of the provisions of this act or to use or operate any of said vehicles upon any of said public roads before first having paid said tax thereon or without having attached thereto said tag, and upon conviction thereof such person or persons shall pay a fine of not less than $5.00 nor more than $50.00 and the costs of the prosecution, and the grand juries of the respective counties coming within the provisions of this act shall have inquisitorial powers as to such offenses.

All sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and constables of said respective counties are hereby given general police powers for the enforcement of the provisions of this act, and it shall also be the duty of the civil district road commissions of said respective counties to report to proper officials for prosecution any violation of this act coming to their knowledge."

Section 4 vests power in the clerks of the county courts of the counties falling within the provisions of said act, and makes it their duty to issue distress warrants for the collection of the tax provided for in the first section of the act.

Section 5 reads:

"Be it further enacted, that the clerks of the county courts of the counties coming within the provision of this act shall pay over to the county trustee, at the end of each month, the taxes so collected, or in his regular settlements with such trustee, taking the trustee's receipt therefor, and such fund shall become and be a part of the funds in the hands of said trustee, to be used in the improvement, building and maintaining of the public roads of said county, as other taxes levied and appropriated for such purposes are expended.

In the collection of the taxes herein provided for and in their settlements for the same with the said trustees, said county court clerks shall keep an accurate and correct system of accounts, which shall also accurately show and keep separate account of the amounts of such taxes collected from taxpayers residing in the respective civil districts of their counties, and said trustees shall also keep a correct and accurate system of said accounts by civil districts, as required of said clerks, and such funds shall be expended for the purposes hereinbefore provided in the respective civil districts proportionate to the respective amounts paid by the taxpayers residing in such districts: Provided, at the discretion of the respective civil district board commissioners of said counties, any part or portion of the fund to be so expended in their respective districts may be expended in the building, maintaining and improving of any public road in such district which may be a part of any designated system of public highways of such county."

By section 6 it is provided that said act shall not apply to transient vehicles passing through the county, nor be so construed or applied as to require the purchaser of any such vehicle, during any taxable year, to pay an additional tax thereon where the tax provided for has already been paid in the same county for that year by a previous owner.

By section 7 it is provided that, should any of the provisions of said act for any reason be unconstitutional, void, or otherwise inoperative, the same shall not operate to vitiate or render ineffective any of the other portions of the act, which are in themselves valid.

The appellant, Byrd Wilson, was indicted in the circuit court of Lincoln county, charged with "failure to pay his buggy tax" in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing act; that county falling within its provisions.

The case was called for trial at the special August term, 1919, of said court, when appellant moved the court, in writing, to quash the indictment upon the ground that the act under which appellant was indicted (chapter 657, Private Acts of 1919) was unconstitutional and void upon the following grounds:

(1) That the act embraces more than one subject.

(2) That said act was not passed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the state.

(3) That said act was not read and passed on three different days in each house of the General Assembly, and did not receive on its final passage of each house the assent of the majority of all the members thereof.

(4) That said act, in effect, imposes double taxation on vehicles driven by motor power.

(5) That said act is arbitrary and unreasonable.

The motion to quash was overruled by the trial judge, and the appellant excepted. Thereupon the appellant pleaded guilty to the charge contained in the indictment, and was fined $5, and adjudged to pay the costs of the prosecution. From this judgment he has appealed to this court, and has assigned errors.

By the first assignment of error it is insisted that the act under which appellant was indicted embraces more than one subject, and therefore contravenes section 17 of article 2 of the state Constitution, which requires that--

"No bill shall become a law which embraces more than one subject, that subject to be expressed in the title."

It is insisted that the act in question embraces two distinct subjects of legislation--one, the raising of revenue; the other, the building and maintaining of public roads in the counties to which said act applies; that this last subject is contained in section 5 of said act, and is not germane to the subject expressed in the title, which is that of raising revenue; and that, therefore, said act is unconstitutional and void.

The object and purpose of the Constitution, in providing that an act shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in the title, is to give notice to the legislator of the subject of the legislation, and it is...