1048
BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
of 10 cents for each $roo or fractional part of the consideration. This shows
the intent of the Legislature to impose the taxon the full consideration of
the conveyance represented by instrument, which is required to bear the stamp.
The prop"erty referred to in your letter, being situated in Florida, the
.. lease referred to is required to have the stamps under said Act imposed at~
tached, and it being a five-year lease at an annual consideration of $10,000,
the amount of the tax imposed is $50..
Yours very truly,
CARY D. LANDIS,
Attorney Genera!.
CANDIDATES-MINORITY PARTIES TO WRITE IN NAMES ON BALLOT-STICKERS ILLEGAL October 1 I, I932:
Dear Sit": .
,
This refers to your favor of the roth instant.
Under the decision of the Supreme Court candidates of the Socialist
Party and all minority parties who have not heretofore cast 30% of the vote
wiIlnot be placed upon the ticket. It will be necessary in order to vote for
any of the candidates for the minority parties to write in the names of can­
didates on the ballot and then make the proper cross mark before the name
after it is written in.
In the Hutchins case in Orange COLlnty it was 110t a question of stickers.
In that case where some people voted in the second primary .at precincts in
other parts of the State and their ballots then had to be sent on to Orange
County, some of these 'people' whel'i they voted in the other counties found
that the ballot was short, and there was not room enough on the ballot to
write in the names of all of the candidates that were voted for in the second
primary in Orange County, and in order to have room to write the name on
they simply pasted another piece of paper on the ballot and then wrote in,
the. name on this and made the proper cross mark. It is illegal to use stickers
on any ballot and it should not be done,' as it would invalidate
the ballot.
.
Very respectfully yours,
CARY D. LANDIS,
. Attorney General.
,
BOARD OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION-APPLICATION OF STAT­
UTES IN RE AUTHORITY TO ,BORROW EIGHTY
PER CENT OF BUDGETED REQUIREMENT
October 14, 1932.
Gentlemen:
The constitutional County School Fund consists of,the county ad valorem
tax of not less than threenQrmore than ten mills, the proportion of interest
on the State School Fund, the one-mill State tax apportioned to the county"
B1ENNIAL HEPORT OF THE ATTORNEY (lENERAL
Ihis shows
deration of
'the stamp.
'lorida, the'
mposed at~
of $ro,ooo,
:S,
enera I.
lESON
193 2 •
Socialist
: the vote
vote for
s of can­
the name
stickers.
:cincts in
, Orange
~s found
)a11ot to·
e second
lame on
:vrote in
stickers
ot.
ra!.
32.
alorem
pterest .
~unty.
"'0 ."
1049
all capitation taxes collected within the county, and all appropriations by the Legislature. See Sections 8 and 9 of Article XII of the Constitution. Chapter 15779, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1931, empowers the county
boards of public instruction to borrow SU111S not exceeding eighty per cent of
the amount of revenue reasonably expected to be received from the State
from the County School Fund at a rate of interest not exceeding eight per
cent, provided the estimate of all revenue to be received from said funds
has been approved by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and
provided further that any moneys borrowed under the provisions of said Act
for any fiscal year shall be repaid to the parties from whom borrowed out
of the first receipts' from the State from the County School Fund. The
money received from the State from the COU1lty School Fund consists of the
net proceeds from the Motor Vehicle License Tax, the one-mill State ad
. valorem tax, and the interest on State School Funds,. and it, is eighty per
cent of the Sl1l11 reasonably expected to be received from these sources which
the County Boards of Public Instruction are empowered to borrow under
the provisions of Chapter 15779, The limitations upon said borrowing power
are that the amount of such revenue reasonably expected to be received shall
first be approved by the State Superintendent, and further that all moneys
borrowed under the provisions of this Act. for any fiscal year shall be first
. repaid before any further amount can be borrowed.
If money is borrowed by the county board of public instruction under authority of Chapter 15779, all conditions and requirements being first com­ plied with as to the limit of eighty per cent of the amount of revenue rea­ sonably expected to be rec'eived from the State from th~ County School. Fund, the approval of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as to the es­ timate of all revenue to be received from said source, and the re-payment of all sums borowed under said Act during the preceding or previous fiscal year or years, the same would constitute a valid loan to and obligation of the board of public instruction for the re-payment of which the money to be received from the State from the County School Fund for the current year may be lawfully pledged. It is further provided in Chapter 15779 that the right and power to bor­ row money therein granted' shall be cumulative to the powers already ex­ isting, but the anticipated receipts from the County School Fund shall not be considered in borrowing under any other Act. As I construe the provisions of this Act, the Board is authorized to bor­ rOw under the limitations therein prescribed, without reference to the limi­ tations or requirements for borrowing under any other Act, but in consider­ ing the limitation upon the power or authority of the Board to borrow for the operation of the schools of the county for any given year, that is, as to the total amount which. the Board may borrow during any given year, this Ac~ should be read in connection with Section 566 of the Compiled General Laws 0f Florida, 1927, which limits the power of the Board to borrow in any one year to eighty' per cent of the amount estimated by' them to be required for the maintenance of the necessary common schools of the county for the next ensuing scholastic year. I
I .
I_
1050
BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
As I construe these two statutes together, the Board may borrow the limit
under Chapter I 5779, and in addition thereto it is empowered to borrow such
further sum, which, taken together with the amount borrowed under Chapter
15779, would not exceed eighty per cent of the budgeted requirement for the
current year. But I do not understand that it was the legislative intent in
the enactment of Chapter 15779 that money borrowed under the provisions
of Section 566, Compiled General Laws of Florida, 1927, for any previous
year, must first be repaid before the Board may borrow under Chapter 15579.
Yours very truly,
CARY D. LANDIS,
Attorney. General.
OFFICE-APPLICATION OF CONSTITUTION IN RE UNEXPIRED
TERMS
Octob~r 17i 1932.
Gentlemen:
Replying to your letter of the 15th instant, I respectfully refer you to
the following provisions of the State Constitution:
Section 6 of Article 18 limits the term of office for all appointees to fill
vacancies in any elective office· under the Constitution to the election and
qualification of a successor at the. ensuing general election.
Section, 9 of Article 18 requires that a general election shall be held in
each county every' two years for all' elective State and county officers whose
terms of office are about to expire, or for any elective office that shall have
become vacant. The, offi~e of 'Clerk of the Circuit Court of Duval County
became vacant upon the death of the former clerk, Mr. Brown. The term
of office of his successor by appointment terminates On the 8th of next
month, and Section 9 of Article 18 requires the unexpired portion of Mr.
Brown's term to be filled at the general election held November 8th this year.
The fact that no one was nominated in the primary for this unexpired term,
if such' be the fact, does not relieve the responsibility of provision for and
the filling of said office for the unexpired portion of the present term.
Even though Mr. Brown. had died after the notice of the presently ensuing
general election was published, still this unexpired portion of his term of of­
fice could be filled at this election. See Advisory Opinion to the Governor,
III SO. 252.
Section 7 of Article 18 provides that elections to fill vacancies in office
shall be for the unexpired term. The constitutional requirement is that both
the unexpired portion of the present term and the next full term of said of­
fice shall be filled at the general election, November 8th. If no one is elected
November 8th for the unexpired term, then under the provisions of Section
14 of Article 16, the present incumbent, Mr.. Hitchcock, would continue in of­
fice until the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1933, without
any further appointment, bond or commission.