State ex rel. Short v. Hinkle

Citations

• 116 Wash. 1
• 198 P. 535
• 1921 Wash. LEXIS 796

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional Law (39)—Statutes (2-3)—Legislative Powers —Acts—Time of Taking Effect—Determination of Emergency. The Administrative Code (Laws 1921, p. 9, ch. 7) is not subject to referendum under Art. 2, § 1, of the state constitution as amended; in view of the emergency clause which recites that the revenues of the state are insufficient to support the state government and its existing public institutions and that it is necessary that the existing administrative agencies of the state government be consolidated and coordinated in order to bring the cost of supporting the state government and its existing institutions within the possible revenue of the state; which is a statement of fact, which the court cannot, from its judicial knowledge, say does not exist.</p> <p>Same. In a mandamus proceeding to compel the secretary of state to submit to referendum a legislative act reciting an emergency for its taking effect immediately, the court is without power to grant the writ, in view of the presumption of verity attaching to the legislative declaration of emergency, unless it can say from judicial knowledge that a patent contradiction exists upon the face of the enactment sufficient in law or in reason to justify the court’s denial of the declaration of emergency.</p> <p>Same. A legislative act is properly one for the support of the government, if its purpose is to give the government and its existing public institutions the greatest benefit from the revenues which are actually received, and also to protect the resources of the state from which such revenues are derived.</p> <p>Same. Where a legislative enactment is composed of many separate sections, some of which the court in the exercise of its judicial knowledge must know to he emergent, a mandamus proceeding to compel the secretary of state to submit the entire act to popular vote under the referendum provisions of the state constitution must fail.</p> <p>Holcomb, Tolman, Main, and Mitchell, JJ„ dissent.</p>