County to levy license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in double the sum of the license tax and the costs of prosecution. (q) SEC. 103. Each and every county heretofore incurring any tax on railroads indebtedness for the original construction and building of any in certain cases. railroad be and they are hereby authorized to levy a tax for general county purposes, pro rata, upon the road-bed and personal property of said railroad for the number of miles of such road-bed as runs or is laid down within the limits of any county, as though said railroad corporation were an individual citizen of such county: Provided, however, That such railroad-bed and personal property is not exempted from taxation by the charter under which the company owning said railroad-bed and property is acting. (r) Preamble. Legal proceed SEC. 104. The above section shall take effect from and after its passage; and all laws or parts of laws conflicting with its provisions are hereby repealed. (r) SEC. 105. WHEREAS, There are several railroad companies in this State, operating between four and five hundred miles of road of the estimate value of five millions of dollars; and Whereas, Said companies refuse to pay taxes on said railroad property, claiming that said roads are exempt from taxation under the provisions of the law commonly called the Internal Improvement Act of 1855; and Whereas, It is believed by lawyers, whose opinions are entitled to respect, that the guarantee as to taxation given under that law only extended the exemption from taxation to the original companies owning said roads, and did not pass with the roads into the hands of the present owners; therefore, The Governor and Comptroller be, and they are hereby reings to test the quired to institute legal proceedings against said railroad comliability of cer- panies, who have refused to pay taxes on their railroad property, and test the validity of the claims of said companies of their exemption from taxation, and if necessary to take the case to the highest courts in the land. (s) tain railroads to taxation. Counsel to be employed. SEC. 106. The Governor and Comptroller are hereby authorized to employ counsel other than the Attorney-General to prosecute said legal proceedings, whose compensation other Compensation. than necessary expenses shall be contingent upon, and paid out of the money which may and shall be realized, whether by State or counties, from taxes now due and to become due for the year 1881, as the result and consequence of the labor and services of such counsel, the said compensation not to exceed fifteen per cent. of the amount so collected. Proceedings to prevent rail roads from exercising fran (8) SEC. 107. The Governor and Comptroller shall also take steps to enquire whether or not any railroads in this State chises without claiming exemption from taxation as aforesaid, are exercising the franchise of public carriers without authority of law, and authority of law. (g) Sec. 2, Chap. 3221, Act of March 7, (r) Secs. 1 and 2, Chap. 1842, Act of 1881. Jan. 30, 1871. (8) Secs. 1 and 2, Resolution of March 4, 1881. if it be found that any such railroad, or railroads, are so unlawfully exercising such franchise, then, in that case, the Governor and Comptroller shall institute the proper proceedings at law or in equity to restrain and prevent such unlawful exercise of such franchise by such railroad or railroads, unless such railroad or railroads shall agree to hereafter waive its or their claim to exemption from taxation. (8) SEC. 108. The sum of one thousand dollars is hereby appro- Appropriation. priated to pay the expenses of said suits and the Comptroller is hereby authorized to draw his warrant in such sums as may be required for the same. (8) SEC. 109. WHEREAS, The Comptroller of the State in reply Preamble. to a resolution of the Senate, passed February 18, 1881, requesting him to furnish the Senate with certain information relative to banking corporations, reported to the Senate February 19, 1881, as follows: "That none of the banking corporations in this State have complied with the provisions of section eleven of chapter 3165, of the laws of Florida, approved March 11, 1879;" and, Whereas, By such non-compliance with the provisions of the act referred to, the said corporations have forfeited to the State a sum not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each offence to the use of the State, to be recovered in an action of tort; therefore, The Attorney-General is hereby instructed to proceed at Attorney-Genonce to collect all such forfeitures as may have arisen under eral to collect the law approved March 11, 1879. (t) sums forfeited to the State. What roads declared to be public. Power of missioners. 12. Duty of Supervisors as to summoning persons for working roads. 13. Who subject to road duty"; exemptions. 14. Duties of Supervisors as to defaulters; duties of Justices of the Peace; penalty for failure to work the roads; substitutes allowed. 15. Duty of Road Commissioners to make reports of Supervisors to Justices of the Peace. port to County Commissioners ; penalty for failure of County Commissioners; duty of Grand Juries. 17. Parties may commute road duty with money. 18. Annual road service; exemptions as to residents of cities, &c. 19. Duty of Supervisors as to sign boards, &c. 20. Road Commissioners to keep records. 21. Clerk to give Road Commis 16. Justices of the Peace to re- sioners notice. SECTION 1. All the roads and highways in the several counties in this State that have been laid out according to law, or may hereafter be laid out according to law, are hereby declared to be public roads. The County Commissioners, while convened for county purposes, shall have full power and authorCounty Com-ity, on application of the citizens of their respective counties, to order the laying out of any road or roads throughout their county, when the same shall be deemed necessary for the convenience of the citizens or the traveling public, and to discontinue any public road or highway on application of at least twelve householders in the vicinity of and nearest to said road whose interest is to be affected by abolishing said road which may be found useless, burdensome, and inconvenient, and to alter and change the road already or hereafter to be laid out and established as often as occasion may require. (a) Public roads, what width required. by twelve or more householders for establishment of same. SEC. 2. All public roads shall be at least twenty feet wide, and the supervisor of the road shall have authority to appropriate any stone, wood or other material, most convenient and adjacent thereto, to the building and repair of the same: Provided, That no wanton or unnecessary trespass shall be committed upon the private property of any citizen or the public domain. (b) SEC. 3. Whenever a petition shall be presented to the Board Neighborhood of County Commissioners signed by twelve or more houseroads, petition to be presented holders, inhabitants of the county, praying for the establishment of a neighborhood or settlement road from a certain plan therein specified, if the signers of said petition shall be residents in the neighborhood or settlement of the road prayed for in said petition, it shall be the duty of the County ComDuty of County missioners thereupon, if the petition shall appear reasonable, to appoint not less than three commissioners, any two of whom shall have power to act, which said commissioners shall be householders resident in said county, and the said Commissioners in reference thereto. (a) Sec. 1, Chap. 2007, Act of Feb. 19, (b) Chap. 2062, Act of Feb. 20, 1875. commissioners shall respectively take an oath before any per- SEC. 4. All new roads laid out and established shall be run New roads. sioner exempt object to road SEC. 5. Each commissioner appointed to view or mark out Each commisany public road or highway in this State shall, as full compen- from working sation for his services, be exempted from working public roads on road. in his or their respective road divisions as many days as he or they were actively engaged in viewing or laying out said road. (e) SEC. 6. When the road so laid out shall pass through the im- Proceedings proved lands of any person or persons who shall object to or when persons shall consider themselves aggrieved by the same, it shall be passing through the duty of the President of the Board of County Commissioners to issue his writ ad quod damnum, directed to the sheriff, coroner or constable, as the case may be, ordering him to summon a jury of twelve men, registered voters, householders in the vicinity of said road, and proceed to the ground through which said objection had been made to the passage of said road, and upon actual view and upon oath to inquire and certify to said County Commissioners what damages, if any, and how much in their opinion accrued to the owner or owners of such ground by the passage of the road through the same, and the sheriff or other officer shall return the inquisition by him so made, signed by all the jury, to the next meeting of the County Commissioners after the same was taken; and it shall be the duty of the County Commissioners to order the damages so assessed to be paid out of the county treasury, if the same be a public road, but if a settlement or neighborhood road, then by the person or persons applying for the same. (e) missioners as assessed. SEC. 7. If it shall appear to the County Commissioners that Powers of the damages so assessed transcend the utility of that part of County Comsaid road, the County Commissioners shall order the same to to damages be altered in such manner as to cause the person the least possible injury, unless the person or persons so complaining or objecting shall agree to accept such compensation as shall be deemed by said County Commissioners just and reasonable; that nothing shall be allowed to any person or persons when said road passes through his, her or their unimproved lands. (e) (c) Sec. 3, Chap. 2007, Act of Feb. 19, (d) Sec. 2, Chap. 3135, Act of March 11, 1874. 1879. (e) Secs. 4, 5 and 6, Chap. 2007, Act of Feb. 19, 1874. Commissioners in January of each year. SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the County Commissioners Road districts. within each county, on or at the first meeting in January of Duty of County each and every year, to lay out the roads in their several counon first meeting ties into road districts of convenient length and size, and appoint three fit and proper persons in each road district as commissioners of roads and bridges within said county, who, before they enter upon their duty as such, shall take and subscribe an oath faithfully to discharge their duty as Road Commissioners, and file the same with the clerk of the Board of County Commissioners: Provided, That if the County Commissioners of any county fail to make such appointments at the time above directed, they shall, as soon thereafter as practicable, proceed to do the same. (f) Road commissioners, their duty. Road commis- Commissioners to forfeit twenty-five dollars for failure to do their duty. Supervisors to sons liable to summon per road duty. SEC. 9. Said Road Commissioners, as soon as they are appointed and qualify, shall lay off the roads into divisions of convenient length and size, and apportion the hands liable to work on the roads, and appoint a fit and proper person subject to work upon the public roads Supervisor of and for each road division, and furnish such Supervisor with a list of all the hands liable to work roads in his division of the road. (ƒ) SEC. 10. All the Road Commissioners and Supervisors shall serve for one year and until their successors are appointed and qualified, and they shall be exempt from any other road or militia duty for the time they have served and one year thereafter, and shall receive no other compensation for their services, and every supervisor so appointed who shall refuse or neglect to do his duty as directed in this chapter shall forfeit and pay ten dollars, to be collected as hereinafter pointed out. (f) SEC. 11. Whenever the Road Commissioners, or any of them, shall neglect or refuse to comply with or discharge any duty required of them by law, they shall forfeit and pay a sum not less than twenty-five dollars each upon the complaint of any person living in the county to the County Commissioners, whose duty it shall be, by giving five days' notice to said Road Commissioners to examine such complaint, and if they shall be satisfied that such Road Commissioners have failed or refused to discharge their duty according to law, shall report the same to the State Attorney for the circuit in which such county is situated wherein said default of duty is made; and the State Attorney, on such report, shall institute suit in behalf of the Board of County Commissioners of the county in which default occurs against such delinquent or delinquents for the recovery of such penalty in any court having competent jurisdiction. (f) SEC. 12. The supervisors of the several roads shall summon, in writing or person, all persons liable to road duty within his road district, giving at least three days' notice previous to any road working; if in writing, may be left at the proper place of residence of the person to be summoned to meet at (7) Secs. 7, 8, 9 and 11, Chap. 2007, Act of Feb. 19, 1874. |