Commonwealth v. Borough

Citations

• 272 Pa. 189
• 115 A. 873
• 1922 Pa. LEXIS 797

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Title of act — Amending Act — Acts of June 27, 1918, and July 6, 1917 — Municipalities—Boroughs—Annexation — Cities of the third class.</p> <p>1. If the title of an act does not fairly give notice of the contemplated legislation, so as to reasonably lead to inquiry as to what is contained in the body of the bill, section 3, of article III, of the Constitution is violated, and tho legislation in regard to it must fall.</p> <p>2. Where the title of an amending act quotes the title of the act to be amended, the courts, in considering the sufficiency of the title of the supplementary act, must treat the part quoted as a part of the title of the later act.</p> <p>3. Tho title of the Act of July 6,1917, P. L. 751, which amended section 1, article III, of the Third Class City Act of June 27,1913, P. L. 568, is insufficient, because it fails to give notice of the provision requiring a borough council to pass an appropriate ordinance asking annexation when three-fifths of the taxable inhabitants so request. The amending act is therefore unconstitutional.</p> <p>4. The act attempts, not to regulate what the cities of the third class may do in the matter of increase of limits, but to impose an entirely new obligation upon municipalities of an entirely different class, such as boroughs.</p>