contagious or infectious diseases. Each county may also maintain an infirmary for the care and support of its indigent poor and unfortunate, and all county poor houses shall hereafter be designated and maintained as county infirmaries.

(a) SEC. 12. No county shall incur any indebtedness which shall increase its total debt beyond three per cent of its assessed valuation, except counties having an assessed valuation of five million dollars or less, which counties may increase their total debt to five per cent of their assessed valuation.

SEC. 13. No county seat once established shall be removed until the place to which it is proposed to be removed shall be designated by twothirds of the board of supervisors of the county, and a majority of the electors voting thereon shall have voted in favor of the proposed location, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 14. No navigable stream of this state shall be either bridged or dammed without permission granted by the board of supervisors of the county under the provisions of law, which permission shall be subject to such reasonable compensation and other conditions as may seem best suited to safeguard the rights and interests of the county and the municipalities therein. No such law shall preclude the state from improving the navigation of any such stream, nor prejudice the right of individuals to the free navigation thereof.

*SEC. 15. The board of supervisors of each organized county may or ganize and consolidate townships under such restrictions and limitations as shall be prescribed by law.

TOWNSHIPS.

SEC. 16. Each organized township shall be a body corporate, with such powers and immunities as shall be prescribed by law. All suits and proceedings by or against a township shall be in the name thereof.

SEC. 17. The legislature may by general law confer upon organized. townships such powers of a local, legislative and administrative character, not inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, as it may deem proper.

SEC. 18. There shall be elected annually on the first Monday of April in each organized township one supervisor, one township clerk, one commissioner of highways, one township treasurer, not to exceed four constables and one overseer of highways for each highway district, whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 19. No township shall grant any public utility franchise which is not subject to revocation at the will of the township, unless such proposition shall have first received the affirmative vote of a majority of the electors of such township voting thereon at a regular or special election.

CITIES AND VILLAGES.

SEC. 20. The legislature shall provide by a general law for the incorporation of cities, and by a general law for the incorporation of vil

(a) Amendment proposed by concurrent resolution No. 4, P. A. 1909, page 805; ratified November election, 1910. *See page 37 of this compilation (C. R. No. 8) for text of section 15a proposed to be added, which is to be submitted to the people at the general election in 1914.

4

lages; such general laws shall limit their rate of taxation for municipal purposes, and restrict their powers of borrowing money and contracting debts.

(a) SEC. 21. Under such general laws, the electors of each city and village shall have power and authority to frame, adopt and amend its charter, and to amend an existing charter of the city or village heretofore granted or passed by the legislature for the government of che city or village and, through its regularly constituted authority, to pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns, subject to the constitution and general laws of this state.

SEC. 22. Any city or village may acquire, own, establish and maintain, either within or without its corporate limits, parks, boulevards, cemeteries, hospitals, almshouses and all works which involve the pubthe lic health or safety.

SEC. 23. Subject to the provisions of this constitution, any city or village may acquire, own and operate, either within or without its corporate limits, public utilities for supplying water, light, heat, power and transportation to the municipality and the inhabitants thereof; and may also sell and deliver water, heat, power and light without its corporate limits to an amount not to exceed twenty-five per cent of that furnished by it within the corporate limits; and may operate transpor- } tation lines without the municipality within such limits as may be prescribed by law: Provided, That the right to own or operate transportation facilities shall not extend to any city or village of less than twenty-five thousand inhabitants.

SEC. 24. When a city or village is authorized to acquire or operate any public utility, it may issue mortgage bonds therefor beyond the general limit of bonded indebtedness prescribed by law: Provided, That such mortgage bonds issued beyond the general limit of bonded indebtedness prescribed by law shall not impose any liability upon such city or village, but shall be secured only upon the property and revenues of such public utility, including a franchise stating the terms upon which, in case of foreclosure, the purchaser may operate the same, which franchise shall in no case extend for a longer period than twenty years from the date of the sale of such utility and franchise on foreclosure.

SEC. 25. No city or village shall have power to abridge the right of elective franchise, to loan its credit, nor to assess, levy or collect any tax or assessment for other than a public purpose. Nor shall any city or village acquire any public utility or grant any public utility franchise which is not subject to revocation at the will of the city or village, unless such proposition shall have first received the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the electors of such city or village voting thereon at a regular or special municipal election; and upon such proposition women taxpayers having the qualifications of male electors shall be entitled to vote.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SEC. 26. The legislature may by general law provide for the laying out, construction, improvement and maintenance of highways, bridges and culverts by counties, districts and townships; and may authorize

(a) Amendment proposed by concurrent page 66; ratified November election, 1912.

resolution No. 2, P. A. 2nd Ex. Sess. 1912,

counties or districts to take charge and control of any highways within their limits for such purposes. The legislature may also by general law prescribe the powers and duties of boards of supervisors in relation to highways, bridges and culverts; may provide for county and district road commissioners to be appointed or elected, with such powers and duties as may be prescribed by law; and may change and abolish the powers and duties of township commissioners and overseers of highways. The legislature may provide by law for submitting the question of adopting a county or district road system to the electors of the counties or proposed districts, and such road system shall not go into operation in any county or district until approved by a majority of the electors thereof voting on such question. The tax raised for road purposes shall not exceed in any one year three dollars upon each one thousand dollars of assessed valuation for the preceding year.

SEC. 27. The legislature shall not vacate nor alter any road laid out by commissioners of highways, or any street, alley or public ground in any city or village or in any recorded town plat.

SEC. 28. No person, partnership, association or corporation operating a public utility shall have the right to the use of the highways, streets, alleys or other public places of any city, village or township for wires, poles, pipes, tracks or conduits, without the consent of the duly constituted authorities of such city, village or township; nor to transact a local business therein without first obtaining a franchise therefor from such city, village or township. The right of all cities, villages and townships to the reasonable control of their streets, alleys and public places is hereby reserved to such cities, villages and townships.

SEC. 29. No franchise or license shall be granted by any municipality of this state for a longer period than thirty years.

ARTICLE IX.

IMPEACHMENTS AND REMOVALS FROM OFFICE.

SECTION 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching civil officers for corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes or misdemeanors; but a majority of the members elected shall be necessary to direct an impeachment.

SEC. 2. When an impeachment is directed, the house of representatives shall elect from its own body three members, whose duty it shall be to prosecute such impeachment. No impeachment shall be tried until the final adjournment of the legislature, when the senate shall ́ proceed to try the same.

SEC. 3. Every impeachment shall be tried by the senate. When the governor or lieutenant governor is tried, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside. When an impeachment is directed, the senate shall take an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try and determine the same according to the evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office, but the person convicted shall be liable to punishment according to law.

SEC. 4. No judicial officer shall exercise his office after an impeachment is directed until he is acquitted.

SEC. 5. The governor may make a provisional appointment to fill a vacancy occasioned by the suspension of an officer, until he shall be acquitted or until after the election and qualification of a successor.

SEC. 6. For reasonable cause, which shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment, the governor shall remove any judge on a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the legislature; and the cause for which such removal is required shall be stated at length in such resolution.

SEC. 7. The governor shall have power and it shall be his duty, except at such time as the legislature may be in session, to examine into the condition and administration of any public office and the acts of any public officer, elective or appointive; to remove from office for gross neglect of duty or for corrupt conduct in office, or any other misfeasance or malfeasance therein, any elective or appointive state officer, except legislative or judicial, and report the causes of such removal to the legislature at its next session.

SEC. 8. Any officer elected by a county, city, village, township or school district may be removed from office in such manner and for such cause as shall be prescribed by law.

ARTICLE X.

FINANCE AND TAXATION.

SECTION 1. All subjects of taxation now contributing to the primary school interest fund under present laws shall continue to contribute to that fund, and all taxes from such subjects shall be first applied in paying the interest upon the primary school, university and other educational funds in the order herein named, after which the surplus of such moneys shall be added to and become a part of the primary school interest fund.

The legislature shall provide by law for an annual tax sufficient with other resources to pay the estimated expenses of the state government, the interest on any state debt and such deficiency as may occur in the resources.

SEC. 3. The legislature shall provide by law a uniform rule of taxation, except on property paying specific taxes, and taxes shall be levied on such property as shall be prescribed by law: Provided, That the legislature shall provide by law a uniform rule of taxation for such property as shall be assessed by a state board of assessors, and the rate of taxation on such property shall be the rate which the state board of assessors shall ascertain and determine is the average rate levied upon other property upon which ad valorem taxes are assessed for state, county, township, school and municipal purposes.

SEC. 4. The legislature may by law impose specific taxes, which shall be uniform upon the classes upon which they operate.

SEC. 5. The legislature may provide by law for the assessment at its true cash value by a state board of assessors, of which the governor shall be ex-officio a member, of the property of corporations and the property, by whomsoever owned, operated or conducted, engaged in the business of transporting passengers and freight, transporting property by express, operating any union station or depot, transmitting messages

by telephone or telegraph, loaning cars, operating refrigerator cars, fast freight lines or other car lines and running or operating cars in any manner upon railroads, or engaged in any other public service business; and for the levy and collection of taxes thereon.

SEC. 6. Every law which imposes, continues or revives a tax shall distinctly state the tax, and the objects to which it is to be applied; and it shall not be sufficient to refer to any other law to fix such tax or object.

SEC. 7. All assessments hereafter authorized shall be on property at its cash value.

SEC. 8. In the year nineteen hundred eleven, every fifth year thereafter and at such other times as the legislature may direct, the legislature shall provide by law for an equalization of assessments by a state board, on all taxable property, except that taxed under laws passed pursuant to sections four and five of this article.

SEC. 9. The power of taxation shall never be surrendered or sus- · pended by any grant or contract to which the state or any municipal corporation shall be a party.

*SEC. 10. The state may contract debts to meet deficits in revenue, • but such debts shall not in the aggregate at any time exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars. The state may also contract debts to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, defend the state or aid the United States in time of war. The money so raised shall be applied to the purposes for which it is raised or to the payment of the debts contracted.

SEC. 11. No scrip, certificate or other evidence of state indebtedness shall be issued, except for such debts as are expressly authorized in this constitution.

SEC. 12. The credit of the state shall not be granted to, nor in aid of any person, association or corporation, public or private.

SEC. 13. The state shall not subscribe to, nor be interested in the stock of any company, association or corporation.

SEC. 14. The state shall not be a party to, nor be interested in any work of internal improvement, nor engage in carrying on any such work, except in the improvement of, or aiding in the improvement of the public wagon roads, in the reforestation and protection of lands owned by the state and in the expenditure of grants to the state of land or other property.

SEC. 15. No state money shall be deposited in banks other than those organized under the national or state banking laws. No state money shall be deposited in any bank in excess of fifty per cent of the capital and surplus of such bank. Any bank receiving deposits of state money shall show the amount of state money so deposited as a separate item in all published statements.

SEC. 16. No money shall be paid out of the state treasury except in pursuance of appropriations made by law.

SEC. 17. An accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public moneys shall be attached to and published with the laws passed at every regular session of the legislature.

SEC. 18. The legislature shall provide by law for the keeping of accounts by all state officials, boards and institutions, and by all county officials; and shall also provide for the supervision and audit thereof

*See page 36 of this compilation (C. R. No. 7) for text of proposed amendment to this section, which is to be submitted to the people at the general election in 1914.