Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it. Office created. Appointment and qualification. Proviso. CHAPTER 5. [SENATE BILL NO. 39.] AN ACT to provide just and equitable laws for the assessment and collection of revenue for State, county and municipal purposes whereby revenue is collected from the assessment of railroad, telegraph and telephone properties in the State of Tennessee. Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That the office of State Tax Assessors is hereby created with the powers and duties hereinafter prescribed. It shall be the duty of the Governor, on or before the first Monday in May, 1897, and biennially thereafter to appoint three freeholders, being citizens of the State of Tennessee, neither of whom shall be interested in, nor connected in any manner with the management of any railroad, telegraph or telephone company, and shall commission them as State Tax Assessors, who shall hold their office for a period of two years from the first Monday in May, and until their successors are appointed and qualified; Provided, said appointments shall not be made if a railroad commission shall be created at the present session of the General Assembly authorizing and requiring the appointment of three railroad commissioners (other than State officers) with salaries attached, and in that event, said railroad commissioners shall ex-officio constitute the "State Tax Assessors" of railroads, and shall be authorized and required to perform all acts, duties, etc., prescribed by this Act, without other salary or compensation than that allowed under the Act creating a railroad commission. Said assessors shall, before entering upon the discharge Oath. of their duties, respectively take and subscribe to an oath before a judge of the State of Tennessee, (who shall certify the same to the Secretary of State for preservation) that they will honestly, faithfully and without fear, favor or partiality, discharge all the duties imposed upon them by law. They shall be paid for their services the Compensation sum of six ($6.00) dollars per day while engaged in the discharge of their duties, together with actual traveling expenses, verified by affidavit, all of which shall be paid by warrant issued by the comptroller; Provided, that no expenses, other than office materials, shall be charged or paid during the time said assessors are engaged in the discharge of their duties at the Capitol. On the first Monday in May after their appointment Organization. and qualification, said assessors shall meet at the State Capitol and organize by selecting one of their number president, and selecting a secretary, who shall be paid for his services the sum of four ($4.00) dollars per day during the time he is engaged in the discharge of the duties herein imposed upon him. Said assessors shall not be paid for more than ninety Pay limited. (90) days' service unless otherwise directed by the Governor, who is authorized to direct said assessors to continue in the further discharge of their duties for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days during their term of office. That any two of said assessors shall be, and constitute Quorum. a lawful Board of Assessors and may do and perform all the duties enjoined upon them by this Act, and they may jointly and singly examine any property hereinafter required to be assessed by them. to file sched Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty Corporations of the owners of any railroad, telegraph or telephone ules. property in the State of Tennessee, to file with the Comptroller of the State on or before the first day of May, 1897, and biennially thereafter on or before said date the following schedules: schedules. The schedule required of the owner of any railroad Railroad property engaged in the business of common carriers, shall contain a statement of all its property, real, personal and mixed, owned or leased by such companies, set Telegraph Schedules to be verified. Comptroller to fur ish schedules. ting forth therein the length in miles of its entire road bed, switches, and sidetracks, showing the number of miles lying in this State, in each county of this State, and each incorporated town in this State, and the value of the whole, the amount of the capital stock, bonded debt, the gross annual receipts of the preceding fiscal year, the number of cars, their classes and value, the number of engines and their value, the location, description, and value of all depot buildings, warehouses and other real estate, where located, and all real, personal and mixed property belonging to the company not before enumerated, together with its value. The schedule required of the owners of telegraph and telephone properties shall contain a complete statement of the number of miles of lines of wires of its entire property, and showing how many miles thereof are in this State, and in each incorporated town and county, together with the value of the whole; the total number of instruments in use in this State and their value, the number of batteries, and their value, the capital stock, the gross receipts from the business in this State during the preceding fiscal year; and the location, value, and description of all other property, real, personal and mixed, in this State. Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That said schedules shall be verified by the affidavit of the owner or receiver of any such property, and if owned by a corporation or joint stock company, the president or secretary shall make such affidavit; and said schedule shall be filed with the Comptroller of the State within the time above prescribed; and the owner of any such property refusing or failing to file said schedule shall be deemed to have waived the mode and manner of ascertaining the value of such property, and shall not be permitted to be heard in opposition to the valuation fixed upon such property by said State Tax Assessors, and shall in addition, be liable to a penalty of $1,000, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General of the State to sue for and collect the same before any court of competent jurisdiction in the same manner as any other debt, penalty, or forfeiture is now collected by law. Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That said State Tax Assessors shall receive from the comptroller the schedules fixed, immediately upon their organization, and it is hereby made the duty of the comptroller to deliver the same to said State Tax Assessors, and they shall immediately proceed to ascertain the value of said property for taxation. property, how Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That said State Tax Valuation of Assessors, in arriving at the valuation of said property, ascertained. shall have in view, and look to, the capital stock, the corporate property, franchises of each company, and the gross receipts; and the market value of the shares of stock and bonded debt; and to ascertain these facts they are hereby invested with the power to summon before them any person or persons and call for any books, administer oaths, and examine any such person or books touching any matters deemed necessary to enable them to arrive at the correct value of such property; and they may issue summons to any county in the State to be executed by the sheriff of such county. Any person so called on to testify shall be guilty of Penalty. perjury, if he shall testify falsely; and any person failing to attend when summoned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine of $100 and thirty days in jail. Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That the road of any railroad property shall include all said tracks, switches, bridges, tressles, ties, rails and superstructure of every kind; that the line of any telegraph and telephone company shall include all wires, poles, instruments and rights of way. Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That the roadbed, rolling stock, franchises, choses in action and personal property of a railroad property having no actual situs, shall be known as distributable property and shall be valued. separately from the other property; and after ascertaining the total value of such distributable property wherever situated, and after having deducted from this value $1,000, said assessors shall divide the remainder by the number of miles of the entire length of the road, and the result shall be the value per mile of such distributable property for the purpose of taxation; and the value per mile of such distributable property shall be multiplied by the number of miles in this State, and the product thereof shall be the sum to be assessed against such property for State purposes; and the value per mile so ascertained shall be multiplied by the number of miles in each county or incorporated city, and the product shall be the amount to be assessed upon such property by said counties and incorporated towns respectively. Itemized prop erty. Distributable property. Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That the depot buildings Localized and other property, real, personal and mixed, having property. an actual situs, shall be known as the localized property of such railroad, and shall be valued separately accord Proceedings to be kept. Additional proof. Assessments to be com ingly as the same may be located in any of the counties or incorporated towns in this State. Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the secretary of said assessors to transcribe into a well bound book the entire proceedings of said assessors to be approved and signed by them each day. The secretary shall carefully preserve and file away all reports, documents and proof taken and used by said assessors. Sec. 10. Be it further enacted, That said assessors shall in addition to the schedules hereinbefore required, take such additional proof and require such additional information of the value of any property to be assessed by them as may be deemed proper, but such additional evidence shall be reduced to writing and an opportunity afforded, if desired, to the owner of any property to submit additional evidence or counter evidence to that acquired by said assessors, and the records of the assessors shall at all times be opened to inspection to the owner or owners of any property assessable under the provisions of this Act. Sec. 11. Be it further enacted, That said assessments pleted, wheu shall be completed on or before the first Monday in August, and within ten days from the first Monday in August the owner of any property assessed may appear and file exceptions to said assessments, together with such evidence as they may desire to submit as to the value of the property assessed; and at the expiration of said ten days said assessors shall re-assemble and examine such additional evidence and exceptions as may have been filed and change the valuation accordingly; on or before the first Monday in September said State Tax Assessors shall file with the comptroller the assessments made by them, together with all other records of every kind and character. Board of Sec. 12. Be it further enacted, That the Governor, Treasurer and Secretary of State are hereby constituted a Board of Equalization of which the Governor shall be chairman, and the Secretary of State, secretary, and within three days after the comptroller shall have received the assessments and records from said State Tax Duty and pow- Assessors, he shall deliver the same to the Governor and said Board of Equalization shall proceed to examine said assessments, so made by the assessors, and they are hereby authorized to increase or diminish the valuation placed upon any property valued by said assessors, and are further authorized to require of said assessors any additional evidence touching any one or more of the ers. |