Gregg v. Laird

Citations

• 121 Md. 1

Syllabus

<p>Public Service Commission: Act of 1910j construction of — ; repeal of inconsistent statutes; telephone companies subject to jurisdiction of — . Public utilities: rates; power of Legislature to regulate; may delegate power to commission.</p> <p>The proceedings of the Public Service Commission, established under the Act of 1910, in having hearings upon telephone rates proposed to he adopted, and its right to promulgate the rates which the telephone company may he permitted to charge, is a legislative rather than judicial or administrative act, and is not objectionable on constitutional grounds to Art. 8 of the Declaration of Rights. p. 29</p> <p>Repeal of statutes by implication are not favored. .p. 29</p> <p>Chapter 180 of the Acts of 1910, in section 311/0, by express terms, repeals all prior Acts or parts of Acts that prescribe or limit the price at which any gas corporation or electric company or any other corporation subject to the Act may furnish or sell its gas, etc., or' other product or utility. p. 29 Telephones and telephone service are a utility in that sense, and telephone companies are subject to the provisions of the Act. p. 29</p> <p>All statutes upon the same subject-matter are to he harmonized as far as possible, even though passed at different dates and although the time of their passage may be separated by a long or short interval, and this rule of construction is to be applied even when the construction of the statute is called in question. p. 30</p> <p>Where statutes are reasonably susceptible of two constructions, it is the duty of courts to adopt such a one as will save the constitutionality of the statute, and, to avoid constructions which raise grave and doubtful constitutional questions, the statute can be so construed as to avoid such questions. p. 30</p> <p>The purpose of the Public Service Commission Act was. to place all corporations handling public utilities under the supervision and control of the Public Service Commission, with powe