·-ELEE,dOSYNARY INSTITUTIONS : COUNTY COURTS : INSAN3 PERSONS .

When revenue is ' pr ovided for' within t he meaning of the Consti­t u tion,defined . Obligation incurred by county~in 1934 can not be paid out of income and r evenue provided for such county in the year 1935 . Insane county patients may be returned to sending county upon failure to pay keep or expenses of such persons.

December 12,1934 FI LED

Honorab1G •1 · :.. Jameson

~s Chairman State l eemosynary Institutions Jetteraon Ci t y u;.isaour1

Dear • Jameacma

Receipt o~ your letter dated Dece•ber 10-1934 , in reference to mono7a due f rom Jasper County t o State Hospital No. 3 , 1a acknowledged .

1 .

Your letter tollowaa

"The Count7 of Jaaper owea to State aoap1tal #3 ~1eTada , the sua ot

6 •527 .18 . I have been unable to get any action toward t he papMtnt or any part ot th1a account troa t h 1a court .

Does the el eemoSJJl&J"Y 'board llave any recourse 1n a situat ion ot t h1a kind?

auld ~e be juat1t1ed under t he law in returning to Jaaper County the patients in th1a institution for wh1ch t hey so far have fail ed t o pay? f he7 owe other 1nst1tut1ons and 1 woul d like to have your opinion a lso cover t he other 1nat1tut1ona , 1n t he aaae letter, or I can write you different letters 1n r egard to each one 1t that 1a desirabl e . "

Answering f 1rat what reaed7 you have 1n the s ituation set out 1n your letter. Section 8636 Revised &tatutea iaaour1 1929 , readaa

Honorable u. E. Jameson -2- December 12 • 1934

"The several county courts ahall have power to s end to a state hospital such of the iP insane poor ae may be . en­titled to ad~iaa1on thereto. The counties thus sending shall pay aeml•annually.ln caah.1n advance,euch auma tor the sup­port and ma1ntentmce ot their 1uane poor, aa the board of managers may deem nee• e~aary,not esceedlng eighteen dollara

· ($18.00) per mon~ tor each patient J&Dd 1D addit ion thereto tho actual coat ot their clothing and the expense of removal to and from tbe hoap1tal,and it the7 shall die there1n,tor burial expensesJand 1n case such insane poor shall die or be removed fran the hospital before the ex­piration ot s ix months ,it shal1 be the duty ot the managers of such hoapi tal to re•re­tund~or cause to be retunded, t he amount that may be remaining 1n the treaeury of such hospital due to tbe coUllt,' enti tled to the aaune Jand tor the pur-pose of ra1a1ng t he aum ot money ao provided for,the several county courts shall be and they are hereby expressly authorized and empowered to dlacount and aell tbo lr warrants,1aaued 1n such behalf ,whenever 1 t becoaoa neceeaal"J to r aise said moneys so provided tor. And state hospitals ar~ hereby exor esali'Pro­blblted tram receiVing ~~ountz war-rant hl paruent gl anz SUCh .!!!!1 as'!& be aue ]2z . 8 s e ction. a

Section 8642, same atatutos. prov1des1

"The superintendent ahall ~under t he direction or tne managers , cause,once in every s ix montha,to be made out and t'orwa..rded to &Jl7 oou_nty court which ms:s selld to a state hospital an insane poor pePaon , an exact -oODJlt ot the aum due and owing b y auch court on accOUDt ot aueh insane persm. Said court. at i t a f1rat aesa1on thereafter.

Honorabl e • -.. . Jameson -3- December 12, 1934

shall proceed to allow, and oauae to bo paid over to the treaaurer of such stat e hoep1tal, the amount of said account . a

Section 8615, same atatutes, cl othe• the board of managera ot elee~oaynary institutions with tbe power to 1nta1n actions tor all debts and demands due an;y state eleemosynary institution. Thia authority is recogn1aed ta Shields v. Johnson County 1•4 o . 76 .

The tlae for payaent or the 8UJI8 due the respec t i ve elee~osynary 1nstitutio~ froa the reapoct1ve count ies 1a f ixed b;y the statute, and the t 1me fixed bJ the statute i a the date when the indebtedness , ae t o each c ount,r patient , beco ea due and payabl e b' the count}' . The Board ot llanagere of the eleemosynary lnstitutiona are prohibited t ram accepting warrants 1n paya ant tor the keep ot countJ patients . Section 8636 , supra. Therefore the queetian ot whether or not the 1Ddebtedneaa tro• a count1 t o the in­ati tut t on becoaea f ixed and payable when a warrant ia iasuod, a a baa been the questi on 1n aome case a, ia not preaentsd here .

e t ake it t.bat the course aboYe pointed out will not autficientl:r answer your inquiry ao that we tur.D to other suggested r emedies tor the collection ot the .ontya due l OU f rom counties in order to ascertain t o what further r elief you ma:r be ent1 t led.

2 .

(a) The onl y othe r meana tor the collection or moneys due your board, if it be l egal, 1• to be round 1n Sec­tion 1,, Laws ot 1aaour1 19S3, page 348, being a part of what is lmown as the County Oudget Act. The part or the sect i on r eferred to r eads as followe z

"Pa yment of any legal unpaid obli­gation• ot any pr ! or Jear,howeYer , shall be a f irst charge 1n the budget aga1net t he reYenues of the budget year; prov1ded , that any det1c1t exist ing at the end or the year preceding ~at i n which th1a

Honorable ~ . E. Jameson December 12 . 1934

act t akes effect may be paid over a term of years. or in such other manner as the county court may deterMine . "

e understand that the auounts or money due your board f r om Jasper County . acerued .becams due and pay­able and was an indebtedness ot that county 1n the year 1934 . We assume that the aboye quoted part ot Section 14 meana, in your caee . that the unpaid suaa would be entitled to priority of payment out or the reYenues provided f or and collected in Jasper Co1.1Jlty 1n the year 19~5 . 'l'he quoted part or the above section undertakes to make l egal unpaid obligatious a t1rat charge against tne revenues tor 19S5. The word 'charge ' is ueed . apparently , aa meaning a lion ia created. A lien ia defined 1n ~oenig v . Leppert-Booa Fur Co. 260 s. • 756.758 , 1n the following language:

~A lien is not a property 1n or right to the thing 1tae1f • bUt constitutes a charge or security thereon. "

The validity or that part ot Secti on 14 , a bove set out, muat be tested by an application ot tbat part ot Section 12 of Article X of the Constitution of i saourl , which reads aa follows :

"No county ~ * o shall be allowed to beea.o indebted 1n any manner or t or any purpose to an amount exceed­ing l n !!!l. zear t he lne a.. and r evenue provided tor such year * * ~ ~ * ~." ---

The word ' indebted' is dettnod 1n Jewell v. Nuhn.et al . 155 N.W. 174 ,177. in the tollowln. language:

"~ebater defines the ord 'debt' as : 'Tbat which 1a due trom one per-son to anothar, whether money. ~oods or aerv1ceaJ that whieh one per on 1a bound to pay to

)

honorable • E. Jameaen - 5- December 12 - 1934

another, or to perform for hie benefit; thln~s ow d J obl i gat1onJ 11ab111ty . '

He defines ' indebted '' ( 1) br ought into debt; being under ot ligation; held to par.ment or requital; 1n debt . ( 2) Pl aced UDder · obllgation f or something r eceived , for which r ost1tut1on or gratitude ia due . nd 'indebtedness -' a s ' a s tate ot

bei ng indebted. ' "

f inee the above quoted portion or •eot1 on 14 eeekr t o ke the unpaid obl1 ~nt1on or a c ounty a charge aga i nst the revonuos fo r the next subsequent year- the Legi s­latur e evidently intended t o create a statutory obligat i on or indebtedne s on the part of a eountJ to btt paid out ~ revenues coming in in the year subsequent to that 1n *hieh the obli~atton and i ndebtedness actually ~ccru~d .

Such sec tion 14 applies t o countie s having a populat ion or over fifty t housand and we take not ice ot the f act t hat ~rasper County haa a popul ation of over f ifty thousand .

(b) The r eal question presented i• -•hen and bJ what means 1s 1ncomo and revenue provided for in a year with in the meanin~ of Section 1 2 , Article X, of th~onstituti on .

(c) ~oct1on 9756 Revised Stat utes M, asour1 1929 -require~ the assessor or his deputies to take a list of the t~ ble per sonal property tn hi s county , between the £1rst daye of June and January of' each year . The f oregoing aeet1on doea no t r e t er to or include asaeaementa agatnat merehan t a or manu­facturer• • that is provided for in other articl e• or the statute. Section 9756 also requires au ch assessor to asaeas real estate as or t he t irst dLy of June of each year. cect1an 9779 r equirea r eal eatato to be a c aesaed t\lld ";he aa808e nt commenced on the first day of June , 1893 , and oach year t hereafter . Tho aseea­aor i a r equired to return the aaaesement lis t to the c ounty clerk of' h!a county.

Honorable · • E. Jameson - 6- December 12, 19M

Section 9811 provides tor a county board or equalization which shall meet at t he of fice o f the countJ clerk on the tirat onday ot pril in each year , t he board hoY1ng power to hoar complai nts and to equalize the valuations and assessments upon all real and personal property within t he county.

Section 981~ pr oYldes t t t he county t oard of equalization ahall meet on the fourth •onday ot April , ex­cept ln countlea containing a population ot more than se~enty thousand and leas than one hundred t housand, in which countiea auch board shall meet on the fourth oD1ay ot llaroh 1n each year as a boa~ ot appeals.

Section 9862 provides that the state board of equal ization shall meet at the Capitol in the City ot Jefferson on the last ednoaday in Februaey, 1894 , and eveey year therearter, at which time the State Auditor, b7 virtue of Section 9863, shall lay berore the state board ot equali• zation abstracts of all the taxable property in the state.

Section 9865 provides that when the state board ot equalisation shall have ccmpleted ita deliberat1one, t he t tate Auditor shall 1arned1atoly tranamit to each county clerk the result ot the deliberations and ordera of the board, to the county clerk of th8 reapect1ve counties attected. Whereupon t he clerk of such county Shall turn1ah a copy ot the orders of aueb Loard to the county aaaeasor and to the county board ot equalization tor ca:apllonce therewith.

&ect1on 9866 Revised Statutes ~asouri 1929 , provides as tollowaa

"There s~l Le annuall7 leY1ed, assoseed and collooted OD the aeseased value of all the real estate and personal propertJ,«wb• ject by law to taxation 1n th1a etato, rtvo cents on each one hundred dollars valuation ror state revenue. (R. S. l919,Sea. 12858. Amended ,Lawa 192l,p.679J 192l,lat Ex. Seaa.p.l86J 1928,p. 366J 1925, p. ~69J 1929 ,p.4~3 . )"

Honorable w. E. Jameson -7- December 12, 1934

Section 9867 also provides:

"The i'ollowing named taxes aball hereafter be aaaeaaed, levied and collected in t he several counties 1n th1a state ,and only in the man­ner, and not to exceed ~e rates prescribed by the Canat1tution and lawa of thia state,viz.: The state tax and t he tax necessary to pay the tunded or bonded debt of the atate ,the i'unded or bonded debt or the county, the tax for current coun ty expenditures, t he taxea certified as necessary by cities, incorporated towns and villages , and for school s . "

Section 9871 ls as tollowa:

•As soon as ma,. be a1'ter the assessor' a book of each count7 shall be corrected and adjusted according to law, the county court shall ascertain the .ua necessary to be raised tor county purposes , and f ix the rate of taxes on the several sub­Jects of taxation so as to raise the required sum, and the aame to be entered i n Ptroper columna in the tax book. t

Section 9874 of tho statutea,author1z1ng county courts at the regular 11 t erm of each yeazt, to appro­priate , apportion and subdivide revenues, was r epealed by Laws of Missouri 193~, at page Z51 . Section 12 of Laws ot j{isaour1 1933 , page 348 , which appears to have been intended to take t he place of section 9674 so tar as eou~tiee having a population oC more than fifty t housand is concerned , reads:

" Sec . l 2 • .i::hldg·ot document • contente .­

The budget document shall include th:~ following: (1) a budget message out­lining t he fiscal policy of the govern­ment f or t he budget year and describing

Honorabl e • ~ . J ameson December 12, 1934

the important r eaturea of the budget plan,g1 vlng a general budget summary aett1n~ forth the aggr egate r1gurea ot t he budget i n such manner as to show tho balanced relations between total proposed expenditures and total expected i ncome and other ~eans at financing the budget co~ared with t he corresponding figures f or the last coapleted fiscal rear and the current f iscal year, and including explanatorJ sehBdulos classirying expenditures by organisat ion unita, oBject,• , and f'unds , and income by organization units, sources, and funds J (2) t he detailed budget esti mates , as proTided tor in the preceding aec­tion or this act, showing the reeoa­mendat1ons or the budget ottlcer cam.par&d with the ti urea tor the last completed fiscal year and the estimates t or the current fiscal Jear; ( ~) comple t e dr&rts or a ppropriation and revenue orders to put the b.ldget into effect when approved b.J the county cou rt .

The appropriation orde r shall be drawn 1n such ror.m as to authorize a ppropria­tions tor expenditure• classified only as to t he var1oua spending agenciea and t he principal subdivisions thereor and as to principal iteJII.S or expenditure within such aubd1v1s1ona. ppropria• tiona r or the acquisition of propart, and tor expend! turea f rom bond tUDds shall be in such detail as the budget officer shall determine . "

All or t he tore~o1ng shows that taxes to be l evied against the aaseasment made 1n 1g33 could no t be l evied and c ollected until the year 1934, and that the assessment valuat i ons made by the aesessore aa or June 1 , 19S4, would be the basis or the rate or taxation l evied and tba taxes becoming due in the year 1935, oxcept as to merchants• and manufacturers'

• Honorable w. h. Jameson - 9- Deceaber 12, 1934

taxes which are asaeaeed, levied and collected 1n the same year.

In State ex rel . v. Allizon 155 o. 325, 33~, the court, discussing asaeamnents ot property am the time tor payment of count,- warrants, s aid&

"The county aaseeaor ia required to complete hia aaaessment,and retur.D his book t o the county court on or before February 20th. (See . 7571.). Those persons who conceive tbemael•ee aggrieved may appeal from the assess­ment so returned f to the county board ot equalization \Sec.7572) , which board 1s to meet on tba first onda,- in April (sec.7515) to equalize and correct the as essments and ad just the aaaeaaor's booka , whieh are then returned to the county cou rt, and t hat court is required as soon the r ea!"ter as may be to 1ascer• tain the sum necessary to be raised tor county purposes, and t ix tbe rate ot taxes on the several aubjecta ot taxation' (aoc . 7660} , the 11~t ot which is proecribed , as the Constitution requires , 1n section 7662. Then it is u.de t he duty of the county court at its y term to appropriate ,ap~or­t1on and 6Utx11v1de the revenue for the various purposes as prescribed 1D section 766~ .

It thus appears that i t is not until the .Ma7 term that the count,- court knows exactly what the aggregate assessment of the count)' is , and it ia not until then that the rate ot taxatiOll is fixed and the exact amount ot revenue to be levied is ascertained. And 1n view ot that condition and ot the constitutional provision t hat ~or­bids a county to incur debts 1n any one year to exceed i ts 1ncoae and revenue pr ovided tor that yoar (sec.l2,art.l0, Constitution), t he r e lator contends t hat it conclusively follow~ that ~ht

Honorabl e VI . E . Jameson -10- Decellber 12 ,19M

fiscal yenr for the county begins on • y 1st . The ar ent 18 not without persuasive force to show that it woul d be a convenient pro­vis i on i f the legislature shoul d 8ee tit to oo enact , but it dose not demonstrate that the statutes 1n t heir pr esent form must receive that construction or foil of their pur pose . And we at be forced to that result before we would be justified 1n ~~­ving to the word ' year ' an artificial meaning 1n the f ace of the rulo of construction and definition laid down in the contemporaneous statute a bove quoted . But reall y whi lst there is some uncertainty it ia not very serious . True , t'r ca Janua17 t o a.lay , one­t h ird of the yenr • the count,- court can not kno• the oxact amount or re­venue that the taxpayers will be call ed on to furnish . This uncertainty exists because the exact valuation ot' the taxable property in t he county 1a t hen unknown , and the rate ot' taxation ha s not then been fixed , yet expenses are necessarily incurred 1n carrying on t he county government and main• taintng i ta duty to the State. But i s certainty to t hat degree neces-sary? Can not the revenue t or the ensuing yonr be eattmated on the f irst of January with suff i cient approxi .. -tlon tor t he pu r pooe of putting r eason­ably sate limite to the debts to be i ncurred? ~ven after 1 lst ,there must be an element of uncertainty 1n the amount or the count,.'• income because all may not be eoll eoted that is assessed. Ordinarily there 1a not such a difference between the aggr egat e assessment of the county tor one year ,and the followin~-as woul d put the c ounty judges t o sea , and 11' any unusual event had taken place since the last aaaeaoment likel y to pro­duce an extraordi nary diminution or

Honorable •· • •• Jameson -11- December 12 , 19 M

increase 1n the value of t he count,r•s pr operty , tbe county judges would be apt to know it . 1he economic problem tor t hem t o sol ve i s the amount of in­dcbt edneae it will be prudent to incur for the county for tour l'ZlOntha in Y1ew o r the probable income . Aa a common nense bus1neos probl em t here 1a no• t h ing ver y d1ttieult a bout 1t, and it count y judgeD are not to be accredi t ed wi th sutf1c1ent discret ion to deter­mine a matte r or that klnd ,then our whol e system i s wrong. The c ounty c ourt can keep sa:fely 1f1 t hin t he con­stitu t ional limit a t i on , and follow str ictly the provi sions ot tt:. eta- · t u t es above quot ed , and still count t he fisca l year a s beg1nn1ng on JanuaJ7 11ret, and ending December t h1rt y- f irot . •e have f ollowed the l earned counsel f or the relator in his brier but we see no reason to queat1on the soundness of the dec1• el on 1n ~1lson v . Knox Co~nty , supra, or 1n St a te ex rel. v . Appleby ,supra, to t he ~ame effect. Upon a review of the whol e subject, we again con• elude that the fisca l year for the county a s well an the Sta te , beg ins January f i r st , and ends December thirt y- f irs t. "

D&stingul s h i ng between •ass essment' and 'levie s' a s r s lat ed t o t axa tion, Cooley on Taxation, Vol. 3, at pa ge 2114 , section 1044, ~ourth ud1t1on, sa1d r

"Tbe word ta s oes ement,• aa uaed in the deci sions and statutes, bas vari ous meanings . Propert7 speaking l t does no t include the l evy or taxe e a lth ough sometimes the words •assess,• •asaeaaed ,• or •assessment' are used in a statute as including both the b vy and the asaeeement. An a s s e a ament,

Honorable a. E. Jameson December 12, 1934

i s fu rther said:

strictly speaking , is an official estimate of tho sums which are to cons titute tho basis of an appol'-ti onment of a tax between the in­dividual subjects or taxation with-in the district . It does not , t herefol'e, or itself lay the charge upon either person or property , but it is a step pi'Ol1m1nary thereto, and which 1a essential to t he apportionment. As tho word ia more commonl7 emplo~ed, an assessment consists 1n the two proc•aaea o~ listi ng the persons, property, e tc . , to be taxed, and of eattmating t he sums which are to be the guide in an apportionment of the tax between them. ~ben this listing and eeti• mate are completed in ~ch form aa the law may have prescribed, nothing remains to be done, in ord:er to deter­mine t he individual l1ab1lity , but the mere ar1thmet1cal process ot dividing the sum to be rai sed among the several subjects of taxation, in proportion to the amouDta which they are respec­tively assessed. Sometimes t he word •assessment' 1s used as implying the completed tax list; that is to say, the list of persona or property to be ·taxed, with the estimates w1 th which they are chargea ble, and the tax duly apportioned ard extended upon it; but this employment of the word is unusual except in the cases 1n which the leV7 1s apportioned by benefits; and 1n t hose cases the act ot determining tl1e amount of the benet'! t a la of itself, under moat statutes, a determination of the ind ividual liab111 ty, and the result only needs to be entered upon the roll list to complete the levy. Assessment proper includes valuation but valuat i on alone ia not the assess• ment but instead only ita moat important element."

And in section 1045 ot the same treat1ee,1t

Hononble •. E. Jameson -13- December 12, 1934

"An asse asment,when taxes are to be lovied upon a valuat ion, is obviously indispensable . It 1a required as the first atep in the pr oceedinga against i nd ividual aubjecta of taxation. and is the foundation of all which f ollow i t. •ti thout nn aaseas ""'1ent they have no support . and are nulliti es . 'l'he aaaeaa':lent ia ,therefore, the most 1 portant of all tho pro­ceedin a in taxat on , and the pro­vision to iDBuro its acco.pliahing i t s office are c ommonly very full and particul a r. If t here i8 no val id asseas1J8nt , a tax aale of land a i8 a nullity. A want of aaae aament i8 not a mer e irregularitl remedied by a curative statut e .

I f I

e reach the conclusion that where aaaeasment val uations on property are t lx d by the assessor in one year , and the levy of t he tax rate and the tax t hereunder collectible 1n the next subsequent year. then the r evenue and lnoome is 'provided for• . wlth1n the meanin of the c onstituti onal provi­si on a ~ove quoted, tn tho latter Jear.

{d) Can the income and revenue provided for in t he yeo.r 1 935 be used to pay obligations o ! the countr accruing and turing and boln~ d ue and payable i n the year 1934?

ln DoOk v . Earl 87 w O e 2.6 , 252 , dealing with t h i s queet1on the court aaid:

• The evident purpose of \be t ra­mera ot the constitution and the people who adoptod it was to abol ish, 1n the administration of county and municipal gover.n.sDt• the credit system and establiSh the caah system b)' lillliting the .. ount of tax which might be imposed by a county for count~ purpoaes, and 11m1ting the ex penditures in ant e:iven year

.donorabl e t . d . Jameson - 14- December 12, 1934

to the amount of revenue which such tax woul d bring Into the treasury tor that yead. sectiOD 12 ,supra,-r& cl ear an explicit on th1a point . Under t his soct1on the county court =ight anticipate the reTenue collected, and to be collected, for &DJ giTen Jear,and cont~ct debts f or ordinary current expenaea , which woul d be binding on the county to the extent of the revenue rrovi dod f or that year , but not n excess-of it. "

Lote froa the a bove decis ion that the reTonue may be anticipated onl y f or the year in which the reTenue or income ia prov i ded for.

In Andrew County ex rel. v . Schell 135 ~o .~l , the fupreme Court had the same question, 1n principle , under diacusslon. At page ~9 of the opinion it is sa1da

"It ia 1ndisputa bl e ,however,traa the facts disclosed by the record , that the warrants are for past 1n• de bt&dnena , and not indebtedness for t he current year in which they were pr esent ed for payment. A tuad t o pay such 1ndebtedneas can only be rai sed bJ co•pliance with section 7654, Revised Statut es , and in obe-dience to an order or the oirouit court of the county as pr ovided thereb 1, directing t he county court of the county to ke a leYJ f or that special purpose. Or i n eaae of an excess of f unds in the treasur y over and above a sufficient amount to pay the curre nt expenses of the county for any gi ven year , t hen such exoese may be a pplied to the papaent of valid warrants out-standing, 1n tho order 1n which theJ ma7 be presented for payment, •• provided by section 3166 1 Revised ~tatutes . u

•

rlonorabl e w. ~ . Jameson - 15- December 12 , 1934

In Railroad v . Thornton 152 - O• 5'70, eount7 warrants !ssued 1n 1893 , 1894 and 1895 were presented by the ra i lroad company in tonier of pnymJnt tor the taxes l evied against tho railroad company for th~ year 1896. Dis• cussing prior decis ions ot t he c ourt, a t page 574 it waa saids

"It wa!l a l s o pointed ot..t in Payne's ea~e that it wao decided in S~~ll ' s caae , that: •c oun t y warrants ror past !ndebtedness,though val1d , can not paid from the revenue pro-vided tor current expensea , unti l all warrants , drawn for expenses at t he Z£!!.!:. for which the taxes were IO'Vieci~ nave been pill. f It is also a f act that the prior cases and the statu tor y provisions rG­l ied on by the pl a1nt1tt , were f ull7 considered 1n 5chell' s case . The r esult reached i n the Payne case wa s no t hastily or 111 adviaedlJ' arrived at, cut wa s the logical effect of a gradually developed understanding and appreciat i on ot t he true meaning of the provision ot the Constitution quoted . "

Analyzing the moaning of the constitut i onal pro vision under construction , the court at page 575 ot the opinion f urther said:

~under these provi sions of the Con­sti tution warr~nts may be iaoued to the extent of tho r evenue prh­rtdedtor the l &&Jt in wh ich auc warran~ were !'U a: at:::r"thi warrant~ SO'Iasued oach zear must o;-.,~ri cut ot the revenue prOV'fc!ed and co l ie'tedt'or t hAt aetr. ~the revenuo colrecie or any yea.r t or an7 raason does not e qual the revenuo provided ror that yeor and hence i s not sutr 1c i ent to meet

Honorable 'I . .!!. • Jameson December 12. 1934

the warrants issued for that year. the deficit thus caused can not be made gozj out of the reviiiiie pho­V"'ai'd a CO!iectirfor arx o t er lnar untfl all the warran s drawn

debts contracted for such other yera have been 2ald .,or in --ottier wo s ., onl~ the surplus ot revenues collected tor any one year can be applied to ~e deficit of any other year. Tbus each year's revenue 1a made applicable. !!ret , to tbe pa~nt of the debts of that year~ and secondly, 1f there is a surplus any year it m&'J be applied on the debts ot a previous year . The intended ef!Got of all which is to abolish the credit system and to establish a cash system in public business. If' this rule results in an7 count7 not having money enough t o pq as it goee or to run ita governmental affairs. the r~aedy is not with the court a . J:la.ving reacb6c:l tb!e UDier­stand1ng of the meaning of the Con­stitution it f ollows, without the necessity or any analytical e~­t i on or comparison ot statutes or pz•ior decisions • that all statutes or decla!ons providing or holding a contrarr rule must give way. "

In the case ot Trask v. Livingston Count7 210 ~o . 582 ., the Supreme Court had under consideration the quest ion or the right of the derondant to pay an obli~ation incurrod 1n 1889 out ot the revenue of 1890. The court quotes with approval tram Hook v ~ Earl . Diseuaaing the right to ke payment ot an 1889 obligation out ot 1890 revenue , the eourt at page 599 or the opinion satda

"'l'be record shows that the eount7 court on the 5th of September.l889 ,

Honorable w. E. Jameson -17- December 12, 1 93'

made an appropriation to pay tor the b .1ld1np ot the br1dgea. Now, ou t of bat revenue a it authorized to make t his a ppropriati on, that ot 1889 or that o f 1890? e thi~~ ConstitutiOn ansiiri tb1s queations they c .... uld only make 1 t out ot t h e reven~o or l b89 . and i n this particu• lar ccse~~onclue1on 1e reinforced by tbe tact that the bridges contracted tor were to Le eo•pleted in the year 1889 , and a~ the obl1 ratian wae o~ pl e ted 1n the year 1889 , and aa the obligation was 'incurred 1n 1889 and t he bridge a wer e to be bull t 1n that year and the appr opriation waa made in that year , we think there can be no e scape from the conolua1on that t he indebtedness thereby created waa a charge against t he revenues provided for the ~ 1889, and not t he reYenuea otY8§C1. Clearly thecounty court Wia--nGt authorized to appropriate revenUii wbloh were to be der!•ed tro.a taXation 1n the c•r 1slm. which eUCil t axes bidnever en aaaeaaed, l evied or collected . bile t he count7 court may !!'! h% .2B!, yeaha draw warrants , a f ter t e revenue o been provided ~ t he taxes l evi ed wi thin t he aoope ot the' !.!!Z a na income tor such t • th'1t IStoo pli!ii for arg\iiienttlia • Constitution f orbids the ant1cipot10D of the revenuea or ant subaefuent 1ears; ff not, ali th&tlias een aa d In regard to t he torce and et.fect ot aec• t ion 12 of art1clo 10 of t he Conat1• t ut 1on to t he ettect that ita purpose waa to put counties upon a caah •7•t .. instead of t he old eredit pl an , baa been made in vain.

In our opinion, the bridge warranta offered and r ead in evidence were, it valid at all. chargeable against the revenuea of aald county tor 1889,and

Honorable • ...:. . Jameaoa. - 18- De oember 1 2, 19~

we think ahould. be dec1uc ted tra. the to tal amount of warrant a 1•• aued 1n 1890, and th1a being ao the plaintltt •a warrants were a legal aJ¥1 valid charge tar tbl current expenses or the aald coUDtJ for the ,.ear 18~ and the jui~nt of the c1reul t court awaN1ng plain• tift judgment theretor ••• correct and la atr trmed . "

e think 1t is •too plain for arguaent that t he Conat1tut1on f orL1de the pa~nt ot obligat1ona incur­red b7 a COUI).ty 1n 19M out of 1nc011e U¥1 reYenue prov 1de4 tor auoh count7 1n the 7ear 1935 ' a.nd tbat 1n so tar as aeotlon 14, Lawa of Al1aaouri 19:53, page 348, undertakes to authorize the ~t or county obll ationa becoming due and p&Jable 1n one Jear ou t ot reYeuue &Dd 1Deo11e provided f or 1n a subsequent Jear , auch part o f section 1• violatea aect1o.n 12 of article 10 ot the C011at1 tut1on ot tba Stat' of 1aaouri, and in that reapect ia vo~.

~t we have aald 1n the toregolD.g conclua1on 1a upon the aaau.ption that the revenue and 1ncoJM provided t or 1n Ja.aper County ln the 7ear 1935 will be suttlclent on1J to pay t he obllgat1ona ot the county accruing or be• collllng due 1n the year 1935.

What we have aald herein applies to each and every county 1n the St a t e , and the City of St. Louis .

Answering further your inqulrr, viz:

1111 we be juat1f1ed ,under the law ,tn re­turning to Jasper Count,. patients 1n t h la 1nat1tut1 on for which they ao t"ar have .tailed to pa7T

e have pointed out abbve that t he several county eourte or the atate have power to aend to a state hospital their 1Daane poor and that t he s ending count, aball pay semi- annually , 1n caah, in ad:vance, such BUJIUI

Honorable w. u . Jameaon -19- December 12 , 193'

tor the support and maintenance of their insane poor as tho Leard of .lllanagers may deem neceaaary , not exceeding

18 . 00 per month t or each patient and in addition there• to other necessary costa .

In 32 c. J. 686 , Section 373 1 1t is stated:

"The liability for supporting tnaane persona ma~ be , and of ten 1a, imposed by statuto upon various public authorities u~on certain conditions . This liability being statutory , t he particular pu blic author1t1ea can be held ltabte 1n no case , and in no other manner , except aa prescribed bJ statute. •

fj,•ho validity of Section 86:56 , above roterred to , 1n reforence to the liability of counties tor the keep of t neir 1naane poor , has been upheld by the Supreme Court of t his state. In State ex rel . Yarnell v . The Cole Oount7 Court 80 o . 80, a•, the Supreme Court of t his state said:

"«e th1nk it apparent trom the above statutory provia1ono and tbe general law regulatin~ aayl~,* * ~ * that 1t was t he intention ot the legis• lature to caat the burden of support­ing the tnaane poor upon each count~ where such insane poor have acquired a residence or set tlement.~ w ~ *"

e are unable to ttnd any decision of any court on f acta s i 111ilar to those submitted by you. I f the county court ia required to pay 1n advance t or the keep of its 1naane poor, t hen undoubtedly the .doard ot lllanagers ot a stat~ e l eemosynary inatituti on would have the right to refuse t o receiYe a patient where the coun~ court baa not compl ied with ita statut ory dutr. It the bOard ot M&Dagera ot the state eleemosynary 1nstitutio~ was co~elled t o retain patients when counties retuee to compl 7 with their statutory duty ot payin~,1n adYance. in cash, se 1- annuall7 , then it mi ght and logicall7 would result that euch state

Honorable ~ . ~ . Jameson - 20- December 12 , 1934

1nst1 tut1on could not be maintained !'or the keep and can ot t he i nsane persons from t he counties who were willing to and did pay f or the keep ot" such pationta, according to the requi r ements ot the atatutea. hlle the aolici• tude t or the helpleaa insane is naturally great, yet , ao far aa the Board of Manager s of t he state eleemoap1aey institut i ons 1a concerned, it is to operate such inst1• tutiona according to the mandatee of tho atatutea and with a due regard t or all persons whom such 1nstitut1ona were interned to serve .

1e are or the opinion that the Board ot Managers of the s tate eleemosynary institutions has the ri --ht t o return to t he custody of the reapeot1Te countiea such county patients where paym3nts f or their keep or other expenses, aa provided bf Section 86~6 Revised Stat­utes 1aaour1 1929.1 bave not been made by the respective counties from which such payments were due.

The a bove, ot course , does not apply to insane pers ona transferred t rom penal inet1tut1one to stato elee~osynary institutions on order or the Governor.

APPROV<:.D :

RoY 2cKITTRIClt Attorne7 General.

GL: LC

Yours very truly ,

GILdLRT La Jo1D Aeaietant Attorney General.