act so far as they relate to the city of Roanoke," by adding thereto section No. 72; having been considered by the committee in session was reported from the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The following House bills having been considered by the committee in session were reported from the Committee on Schools and Colleges: No. 62. House bill to amend and re-enact section 848 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by an act approved March 24, 1926, relating to conferring degrees at the Virginia Military Institute. No. 63. House bill to authorize the county school board of Rockbridge county, with the approval and consent of the board of supervisors of Rockbridge county, to issue school bonds not to exceed the sum of $24,000.00, for refunding the present school debt of South River magisterial district, and to provide for the levy of a tax to pay the interest on said bonds and to retire the same as they mature. No. 64. House bill to authorize the county school board of Norfolk county to borrow money not in excess of forty thousand dollars and to issue its bonds, therefor, for the purpose of acquiring a school site and erecting thereon a school building in Pleasant Grove magisterial district, Norfolk county, to require the board of supervisors of said county annually to levy a tax to pay interest thereon and to create a sinking fund to redeem said bonds at their maturity. No. 65. House bill to authorize the council of the town of Virgilina, in the county of Halifax, to borrow money not in excess of five thousand dollars, and to issue its bonds therefor, to be used for the purpose of erecting a school building in the said town, and requiring, the said council annually to levy taxes to pay the interest thereon and to create a sinking fund to redeem the principal thereof at maturity. No. 66. House bill to amend and re-enact section 1 of chapter 7 of an act entitled, "An act to incorporate the city of Danville, approved February 17, 1890, as heretofore amended; having been considered by the committee in session was reported from the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. No. 67. House bill to amend and re-enact section 17 of an act entitled, "An act to amend and re-enact an act approved February 28, 1918, entitled an act to amend and re-enact an act approved March 21, 1916," approved March 14, 1924, relating to Confederate pensions; having been considered by the committee in session was reported from the Committee on Appropriations. House bill to amend and re-enact an act entitled, "An act to provide that no person, otherwise entitled to attend any public high school in the counties of Amherst, Nelson, Louisa, Tazewell, Fluvanna, Goochland, Dinwiddie and Campbell, shall be denied such privilege because of the nonpayment by him or her, or someone for him or her, of any tuition charge," approved March 24, 1926, so as to bring the counties of Prince Edward and Cumberland under the provisions of this act; having been considered by the Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation was returned to the House with the following report: The Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation respectfully reports that in their opinion the object of the within bill cannot be reached by general law or court proceedings. SAMUEL R. CARTER, Chairman The bill was referred to the Committee on Schools and Colleges. House bill to amend and re-enact section 3210 of the Code of Virginia, as heretofore amended, which section is in chapter 127 of the Code of Virginia, relating to fishing, especially relating to the county Montgomery; having been considered by the Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation was returned to the House with the following report: The Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation respectfully reports that in their opinion the object of the within bill cannot be reached by general law or court proceedings. SAMUEL R. CARTER, Chairman The bill was referred to the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. House bill to amend and re-enact section 23 of an act entitled, "An act to amend and re-enact an act entitled an act to incorporate the town of South Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk, approved September 11, 1919, as heretofore amended, which town has since become the city of South Norfolk;" and to provide a charter for the city of South Norfolk," approved March 20, 1924; having been considered by the Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation was returned to the House with the following report: The Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation respectfully reports that in their opinion the object of the within bill cannot be reached by general law or court proceedings. SAMUEL R. CARTER, Chairman The bill was referred to the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. House bill to authorize the town council of the town of Bluefield, Virginia, to convey, with or without consideration, certain real estate, partly within and partly without the town of Bluefield, and owned by the said town for cemetery purposes, to Maple Hill Cemetery Association, a non-stock corporation; having been considered by the Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation was returned to the House with the following report: The Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation respectfully reports that in their opinion the object of the within bill cannot be reached by general law or court proceedings. SAMUEL R. CARTER, Chairman. The bill was referred to the Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns. The following communication was received from the Governor: COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND, April 5, 1927. To the General Assembly of Virginia: I beg to transmit to you the attached communication received from the State Corporation Commission. I commend the request of the State Corporation Commission to your favorable consideration. The bill referred to, however, should be changed to conform with the amendments suggested in the attached communication from the commission so that if for any reason the new method of assessment of the property referred to becomes invalid then authority is given to return to the present method. The State Corporation Commission calls your attention to the fact that at its request SEN. BARRON has presented to the Senate of Virginia a bill amending sections 27 and 28 of the tax bill with reference to the assessment and taxation of railroads. This bill makes only the following changes: (1) It provides for the assessment of the physical properties of railroad companies as of January 1 instead of June 30 as now provided. (2) It provides for the calculation of the franchise tax for 1927 upon the gross receipts for the year ending December 31, 1926, instead of the year ending June 30, 1927, as now provided; and that for each succeeding year the franchise tax shall be equal to the statutory percentage of the gross transportation receipts for the year ending December 31, preceding. (3) It requires railroad companies to make their tax reports to the commission on June 1 of each year instead of August 15, as is now provided. The Senate has given the three-fourths consent necessary to the introduction of this bill, but the House has not. We consider this bill of much importance in the administration of the taxation of railroads. (1) It will give the railroads, five months instead of six weeks in which to prepare their reports. (2) It will require the railroad to make reports for the same periods for which they report to the Federal government, which will enable this commission to check the reports to it by the reports to the Federal government, and will save the railroads much expense by enabling them to prepare their reports to us from the same data that they use in reporting to the Federal government. (3) It will give this commission four and a half months in which to check over the tax reports of the railroads, instead of the sixty days now allowed by law. It is impossible to make a proper review of the value of the physical properties of the railroads in Virginia, aggregating an assessed value of over $140,000,000 in sixty days. The bill as presented by SEN. BARRON should be safeguarded by the following amendment, inserted immediately before the emergency clause: If the provisions of this act providing for the payment by any corporation mentioned herein of an annual State franchise tax measured by, or equal to, a percentum of the gross transportation receipts of such company for the year ending the thirty-first day of December preceding the year for which such franchise tax is levied, shall be in violation of the Constitution of the United States or of Virginia, or for any other reason invalid; then there is hereby substituted for the words "The year ending the thirty-first day of December preceding,' or other words of similar import, wherever they occur in this act, the words "The year ending the thirtieth day of June of the year for which such franchise tax is payable;" and this act shall be so read and all reports required to be made by such corporation for the purpose of the ascertainment of its gross transportation receipts and the assessment of the annual State franchise tax payable by such corporation shall be made to the State Corporation Commission on or before the fifteenth day of August of each year. We request that you request the legislature to permit the introduction of this bill, and to pass it with the amendment suggested, making it an amergency act so as to be operative for 1927. At the present time the State Corporation Commission has no power to correct an error that occurs in an assessment of the physical properties of railroads or public service corporations, even though the error is patent on the face of the assessment. The only redress the State, the locality, or the company affected by the error has, is by an appeal within thirty days after the assessment is made to the circuit court of the city of Richmond. After consultation with some of the officials of counties and cities, the commission had prepared a bill permitting application for correction to be made first to the commission, with the right of appeal from the action of the commission to the circuit court of the city of Richmond, which is in line with the constitutional amendment proposed by the Prentis Commission. This bill was submitted to the railroads and to about seventy of the larger public service corporations; and has met with their cordial approval, as evidenced by letters received by the commission. At the request of the commission, SENATOR BARRON presented this bill to the Senate and has asked leave to introduce the same, the Senate has consented thereto, but as yet the consent of the House has not been given. We believe that this bill will assist materially in securing assessment fair and just to the State, the locality, and the companies; and respectfully request that you will recommend to the legislature that the introduction of this bill be permitted and that it be passed. Yours respectfully, LOUIS S. EPES, A message was received from the Senate by MR. BALL, who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to joint resolution allowing the introduction and consideration of a bill to empower councils of towns in the Commonwealth to appoint a trial justice in towns and prescribing the jurisdiction and compensation of such trial justice. A message was received from the Senate by MR. BUCHANAN, who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to No. 1 Senate joint resolution proposing amendments to section 170 of the Constitution of Virginia; in which they request the concurrence of the House. The resolution was referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice. MR. HALL moved to reconsider the vote by which the House' rejected Senate joint resolution to allow the introduction and consideration of a bill to amend and re-enact sections 154 and 155 of the Code of Virginia, section 154 of which was amended by an act approved March 23, 1926, relating to the duty of candidates for office, section 155 of which was amended by an act approved March 21, 1924, relating to how and when ballots printed, which was agreed to. The Senate joint resolution was agreed to-ayes, 88; nays, 0. AYES-Adams, Allman, Barton, Bear, Bird, George T., Bird, W. W., Bolling, Bolton, Booker, Boschen, Bowles, Boyd, I. C., Breneman, Brown, Bruce, Carter, Cato, Coiner, Cole, Coleman, Davis, Diggs, Doosing, Dovell, Fain, Folkes, Gary, George, Gordon, Graham, Graves, Hailey, Hall, Hamner, Hanes, Harman, Hicks, Horner, Jeffreys, Jesse, Johnson, Jones, C. A., Jones, E. B., Jones, J. P., Jordan Keezell, Lyon, Malbon, Milstead, Moore, Mugler, Nickles, Norris, Page, Parker, W. A., Price, Ramey, Rew, Rodgers, Saunders, Savedge, Sebrell, Shepherd, Shrader Sinclair, Smith, C. H., Smith, H. T., Smith, J. S., Snead, Stickley, Taylor, Topping, Tuck, Vellines, Waller, Warren, C. R., Warren, Geo. M., Warren, L. E., Watkins, Weeks, Wesson, Williams, Witten, Wood, Wright, J. W., Wright, W. A., Young, Mr. Speaker-88. NAYS-0. Ordered that MR. HALL inform the Senate. MR. JONES, of Spotsylvania, offered the following joint resolution: Resolved by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring that permission be and the same is hereby granted for the introduction and consideration of a bill authorizing and empowering the State Highway Commission to construct a walkway for pedestrians upon the bridge across the Rappahannock river between Fredericksburg and Falmouth on interstate route No. 1 of the State highway system, which was agreed to-ayes, 91; nays, 0. The vote required by the joint order was recorded as follows: AYES-Adams, Allman, Barton, Bear, Bird, George T., Bird, W. W., Bolling, Bolton, Booker, Boschen, Bowles, Boyd, I. C., Breneman, Brewer, Bruce, Carter, Cato, Coiner, Cole, Coleman, Davis, Diggs, Doosing, Dovell, Fain, Folkes, Fuller, Gary, George, Gordon, Graham, Graves, Hailey, Hall, Hamner, Hanes, Harman, Jeffreys, Jesse, Johnson, Jones, C. A., Jones, J. P., Jordan, Keezell, Kelly, Lyon, Malbon, Mason, Milstead, Moffett, Moore, Mugler, Nickles, Norris, Page, Parker, W. A., Price, Ramey, Rew, Rodgers, Saunders, Savedge, Sebrell, Shepherd, Shrader, Sinclair, Smith, C. H., Smith, H. T., Smith, J. S., Snead, Stickley, Taylor, Topping, Tuck, Vellines, Waller, Warren, C. R., Warren, Geo. M., Warren, L. E., Watkins, Watts, Weeks, Wesson, Williams, Witten, Wood, Wright, J. W., Wright, W. A., Young, Mr. Speaker-91. NAYS-0. Ordered that MR. JONES, of Spotsylvania, carry the resolution to the Senate, and request their concurrence. A message was received from the Senate by MR. SMITH Who informed the House that the Senate had agreed to the joint resolution. |