State ex rel. Clausen v. Burr

Citations

• 65 Wash. 524
• 118 P. 639
• 1911 Wash. LEXIS 964

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations — Powers • — ■ Local Sele-Government— Constitutional Law — Legislative Powers. Municipal corporations have only such exclusive powers of local self-government as are conferred upon them by the constitution, and except as otherwise provided in the constitution, the same are within the control of the legislature.</p> <p>Municipal Corporations — Regulation—Taxation—Examination of Accounts- — Payment—State Officers. Rem. & Bal. Code, § 8356 et seq., as amended by Laws 1911, p. 180, which provides fór a state bureau of inspection to secure a uniform system of accounts, empowered to make examinations of the accounts and records of all county and city officers at the expense of such local municipalities, does not violate Const., art. ll, § 12, providing that the legislature shall not impose taxes upon counties, cities or other municipal corporations, or their inhabitants, but may by general laws vest such power in the corporate authorities; since the-purpose of the law to secure a uniform system of bookkeeping and accounting, and supervision theréof, is a matter of public concern incidental to the municipality as an agency of the state, and not merely a matter of local self-government (Fullerton and Gose, JJ., dissenting).</p>