NEPOTISM-DEFINING AND PROHIBITING SAME.

S. B. No: 16.]

CHAPTER X.

An Act making it an offense punishable by fine and removal from office for any executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer of this State, district, county, city or other municipal subdivision of the State, to appoint or vote for the appointment of any person related to him by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree, to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty in any department of the government of which such executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer may be a member; or any person so related to any other such officer in consideration of the appointment or vote for the appointment by such other officer of any person so related to the officer making or voting for such appointment; prohibiting the payment of any such ineligible person out of any public funds and providing for suitable punishment and removal from office for the violation of this Act and fixing venue, and providing

an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. Hereafter it shall be unlawful for any executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer of this State to appoint or vote for the appointment of any person related to him by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree to any clerkship, office, position, employment or duty in any department of the State, district, county, city or municipal government of which such executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer is a member, when the salary, wages, pay or compensation of such appointee is to be paid for out of public funds or fees of office; provided, it shall be unlawful under the provisions of this Act for any district judge to appoint as official stenographer of his district any person related within the third degree to the judge or district attorney of such district.

SEC. 2. It shall hereafter be unlawful for any such executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer mentioned in Section 1 of this Act to draw or authorize the drawing of any warrant or authority for the payment out of any public fund of the salary, wages, pay or compensation of any such ineligible person, knowing him to be ineligible; and it shall be unlawful for any such executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer to pay out of any public funds in his custody or under his control the salary, wages, pay or compensation of any such ineligible person, knowing him to be ineligible.

SEC. 3. Any executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer who shall violate any provision of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor involving official misconduct and shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and shall forfeit his office.

SEC. 4. Under the designation executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer as mentioned herein, are included the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Railroad Commissioner, all the heads of the departments of the State Government, judges of all the courts of this State, mayors, recorders and aldermen of all incorporated cities and towns, public school trustees, officers and boards of managers of the State University, and its several branches, State Normals, the penitentiaries and eleemosynary institutions, mem

bers of the commissioners court and all other officials of the State, district, county, cities or other municipal subdivisions of the State.

SEC. 5. Every person guilty of violating the provisions of this Act shall independently of or in addition to any criminal prosecution that may be instituted, be removed from office according to the mode of trial and removal prescribed in the Constitution of this State and by quo warranto proceedings in all cases where the mode of trial and removal is not provided for in the Constitution.

SEC. 6. It shall be unlawful for any executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer to appoint and furnish employment for any person whose services are to be rendered under his direction and control and paid for out of public funds, and who is related by either blood or marriage within the third degree to any other executive, legislative, ministerial or judicial officer when such appointment is made in part consideration that such other officer shall appoint and furnish employment to any one so related to the officer making such appointment. Any such officer who shall violate the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction be punished as provided in Section 3 of this Act.

SEC. 7. Quo warranto proceedings instituted under this Act to oust any person from any State, as contradistinguished from any other office, shall be brought in the District Court of Travis County, Texas, and all other such proceedings shall be instituted in the district court of the county where defendant resides.

SEC. 8. The absence of any law of this State prohibiting nepotism creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity demanding the suspension of the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days and the same is so done, and that this Act take effect and be in force, from and after its passage, and the same is so enacted.

Approved February 21, 1907.

Takes effect ninety days after adjournment.

S. B. No. 49.]

STOCK LAW-AMENDMENT.

CHAPTER XI.

An Act to amend Sections 1 and 2, Chapter 71, of the Acts of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Texas, being an act to amend Section 1 of Chapter 24 of the Acts of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Texas, being an act to amend Section 1, Chapter 28, of an Act passed by the Twentysixth Legislature of the State of Texas, and sent to the Governor for his approval on the 20th day of May, A. D. 1899, and being an act to amend Sections 1 and 2, Chapter 23, of the Acts of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Texas, approved by the Governor on March 9, A. D. 1905, entitled "An Act providing a mode by which horses, mules, jacks, jennets and cattle may be prevented from running at large in the following counties or in any subdivision of said counties, viz.: Cooke, Bell, Ellis, Montague, Fayette, Johnson, Collin, Rockwall, Lamar, Milam, Denton, Falls, Navarro, Fannin, Hunt, Tarrant, Grayson, Guadalupe, Dallas, Austin, Brazos, so as to place Lavaca, Colorado, Washington, Williamson, Smith and Delta counties under the provisions of said chapter,' so as to place McLennan, San Patricio, Limestone, Coryell, Kaufman, Rains, Bastrop, Bee, Camp, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cass, Comanche, Erath, Hill, Harrison, Hopkins, Jackson, Bosque, Montgomery, Morris, Upshur, Parker, Rusk, Red River. Titus, Trinity, Victoria, Van Zandt. Wise, Walker, Wood, Wilson, Comal, Nueces, Bexar, Eastland, Cherokee and Travis counties under the provisions of said chapter,' and to provide for the holding of an election for the purpose of enabling the freeholders of such counties, or subdivisions thereof, as may have been adopted by said law, to repeal the same, so as to place Brown, Blanco, Coleman, Callahan, Franklin, Gillespie, Hood, Llano, Jones, Jack, Scurry. Somervell, Taylor and Wilbarger under the provisions of said chapter, and to exempt therefrom the counties of Bee, Calhoun, Jackson, Montgomery, Trinity, Victoria and Walker; and to provide for the holding of an election for the purpose of enabling the freeholders of such counties, or subdivisions thereof as may have adopted said law, to repeal the same.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. That Sections 1 and 2, of Chapter 71, Acts of the Twenty-eighth Legislature be so amended as to hereafter read as fol

lows:

Section 1. Upon the written petition of one hundred freeholders of any of the following named counties: Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Bosque, Brazos, Brown, Caldwell, Calhoun, Callahan, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Coleman, Collin, Colorado, Cooke, Comal, Comanche, Coryell, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Franklin, Guadalupe, Gillespie, Grayson, Harrison, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Hunt, Jack, Jackson, Jones, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lavaca, Limestone, Llano, McLennan, Milam, Montague, Morris, Navarro, Nueces, Parker, Rains, Red River, Rockwall, Rusk, San Patricio, Scurry, Smith, Somervell, Tarrant, Taylor, Titus, Travis, Upshur, Victoria, Van Zandt, Washington, Williamson, Wilson, Wise, Wood, Wilbarger, or upon the petition of fifty freeholders of any such subdivision of a county as may be prescribed in the petition and defined by the commissioners court of any of the above named counties, the commissioners court of said county shall order an election to be held in said county or subdivision of a county as may be described in the petition and defined by the commissioners court, on the day named in the order, for the purpose of enabling the freeholders of such county or subdivision of a county as may be described in the petition and

defined by the commissioners court, to determine whether horses, mules, jacks, jennets and cattle shall be permitted to run at large in such counties or such subdivision of a county as may be described in the petitions and defined by the commissioners court; provided, that where there is an application for an election to include an entire county there shall not be less than twelve freeholders from each justice precinct of said county as signers to the petition for such election.

Sec. 2. Upon the written petition of two hundred freeholders of any of the above named counties, or upon the written petition of fifty freeholders of any subdivision of the above named counties, if the law be in force in that subdivision only, the commissioners court shall be authorized and required to order an election on the date therein named to determine whether or not said law be repealed; provided, that such petition be not filed within less than two years from the date this law goes into effect; and provided, further, that such petition be signed by at least twenty-four freeholders from each justice precinct in such county. But if this law becomes operative over any of the above named counties, as prescribed, it can in no case be repealed by any sub-division, except by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the freeholders of such counties, at an election held in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 3. From the fact that the citizens of said counties desire an opportunity to vote on the question as to whether stock should be permitted to run at large, at an early date, creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills. to be read on three several days be suspended, and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its passage; and it is so enacted.

[NOTE. The enrolled bill shows that the foregoing act passed the Senate by a two-thirds vote, yeas 26, nays 0; and passed the House of Representatives by a two-thirds vote, yeas 90, nays 0.]

Approved February 21, 1907.

Became a law February 21, 1907.

TRUSTS-PROCEDURE BY WHICH EVIDENCE MAY BE TAKEN AGAINST.

An Act providing additional procedure by which evidence may be taken in suits brought by the Attorney General or by the district or county attorney acting under his direction, to enforce the laws of this State against trusts, monopolies and conspiracies in restraint of trade, or suits to enforce laws regulating and controlling corporations; providing for taking evidence within or without the State and for the appointment of special commissioner and prescribing his powers and duties; providing for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents of corporations, joint stock associations, co-partnerships or individuals, before the court, or special commissioner, within or without the State; prescribing duties of such corporations, joint stock associations, co-partnerships or individuals in such cases; providing for issuance of notices of time and place of taking evidence and manner of service; providing that judgment by default shall be rendered against any defendant in such action who fails to comply with the provisions of this act; providing that this act shall be cumulative of other laws of this State; providing immunity, and declaring an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:

SECTION 1. Whenever any suit shall be instituted or is pending in any court of competent jurisdiction in this State, by the Attorney General or by any district or county attorney, acting under his direction against any corporation, or corporations, individual or individuals, or association of individuals, or joint stock associations, or copartnerships under any law of this State, against trusts, monopolies or conspiracies in restraint of trade, or under any laws of this State regulating or controlling corporations, domestic or foreign, the Attorney General, district or county attorney, as the case may be, may in addition to the means now provided by law, examine and procure the testimony or evidence of witnesses and have books, papers and documents produced as evidence, in the manner herein provided.

SEC. 2. Whenever any action is commenced or is pending, as contemplated in section 1, of this Act, by the Attorney General, or by any district or county attorney, acting under his direction, and said officer representing the State, either upon the trial of the case, or in preparation for the trial thereof, desires to take the testimony of any officer, director, agent or employe of any foreign or domestic corporation, or joint stock association proceeded against, or in case of any co-partnership, any member thereof, or in case of any individual or individuals, either of them, and the person or persons whose testimony is desired, resides either within or without the State of Texas, the said officer shall file in said court where the action is brought, either in term time, or in vacation, or with any special commissioner, who may be appointed by the court to take testimony, as provided for in this Act, a statement in writing setting forth the name or names and residence of the person or persons whose testimony he desires to take, and in a general way shall designate any books, papers or documents he desires produced, and the time when and place where, either within or without this State, he desires such person to appear and testify, or to produce books, papers and documents, if any are desired; and thereupon.