OCR Text |
Show PRISON FUNDS MAY HINGE Oil LEGALOPINIOII Blood Asks Ruling to Clarify Act for Site Purchase Governor Henry H. Blood revealed Monday he had asked an attorney general's opinion on validity of an act of the 1937 legislature purportedly purport-edly empowering the governor to use a general fund surplus for a building program, possibly to include in-clude a new prison. The fact the opinion had been asked indicated the legislature may have been In error if It thought it was providing a way to finance a prison to be built by P W A. Despite assertions by Ward C. Holbrook, who was a Blood leader in the 1937 senate, that legislators "clearly Intended" a new prison. It seemed fate of such a project, demanded de-manded on all sides by elvte sd other groups, would hinge on a legal ' technicality. The act la question, S. B. 4. empowers em-powers the governor to appoint s commission to aid bim in selecting and buying a prison site and appropriates ap-propriates 3100,000 for this purpose. Section of the act, giving the governor purported power to "use any surplus In the general fund not otherwise appropriated, or any fund set up for use to provide employment, employ-ment, for the erection of such structures struc-tures as may be approved by him," is the point In question. The question was whether the, delegation of power was not aa Improper Im-proper one. Asked if he knew whether there was money available for a prison. Governor Blood explained he had requested a legal opinion which would answer the question. The budget Indicates a surplus of more than (2,000,000 is accruing to the general fund, which might possibly pos-sibly be swelled by 3750,000 appropriated appro-priated from the sales tax to offset expected losses from homestead exemption, ex-emption, observers pointed out |