A proclamation by Clifford Walker, Governor of the State of Georgia issued March 18, 1926

A PROCLAMATION
BY
Cl~fford Walker
GOVERNOR
STATE OF GEORGIA
ISSUED ::\L\.RCH 18, l!>':?(i

WHEREAS, one-half of the boys and girls of the State living outside of the towns and cities are suffering from the rankest discrimination as to educational opportunities and

WHEREAS, common justice requires that equal elemental educational advantages must in good morals be given to the children in the country as well as to those in the towns and cities and

WHEREAS, these equalizing opportunities can be afforded the underprivileged children in the country only by providing additional revenue from the taxation of properties now escaping taxation and

WHEREAS, expert tax authorities estimate that an amendment to the Constitution authorizing the classification of property for taxation will provide additional revenue of from one million to four million dollars annually from taxes upon notes, mortgages, stocks, bonds and other intangible properties now escaping taxation, and

WHEREAS, several hundred thousand dollars annually of additional revenue can be provided by an amendment to the Inheritance Tax laws of the State without increasing taxes and

WHEREAS, the State laws chartering and empowering corporations are out of date, containing glaring defects which should be corrected in anticipation of increased corporate business under changed modern business conditions adding materially to the revenues of the State through charter fees and saving to the State highly valuable citizens, corporations and investments and

WHEREAS, the corporation occupational tax laws are now assessed upon an inequitable basis and .otherwise are not up to date under modern business conditions and

WHEREAS, a revision of the same will provide a ma.:erial

sum of additional revenue wichout placing an undue burden

upon any such corporation, and



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WHEREAS, the Supreme Court has recently declared inoperative and void the laws levying an occupation tax upon certain insurance agent8 involving a loss of State revenues estimated at $60,000.00 annually and
WHEREAS, other hundreds of thousands of savings can be effected indirectly and the interests of the State advanced otherwise by an amendment to the Constitution authorizing the Legislature to amend, revise and perfect certain parts of the Vital Statistics laws of the State recently declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and
WHEREAS, a defect has also been found in the Crop Bill of Sale Act of 1925 which deprives the farmers of the State of the full benefits of that Act and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court has recently declared unconstitutional and void certain vital provisions of the laws relating to the sale of speculative securities and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court has recently declared unconstitutional and void laws under which certain county schools are maintained and
WHEREAS, the Trustees of the Georgia State Sanitarium officially report that whereas the buildings of that Institution were crowded in 1916 with :3,800 inmates, the same buildings are now overcrowded with 4,600 inmates and that number increasing weekly and
WHEREAS, it appears that unless additional quarters are provided in the immediate future, unsanitary conditions and other incidents of overcrowding will result in suffering on the part of these unfortunate wards and the most severe reflection upon our State and
WHEREAS, the adminisLration building of the Twelfth District Agricultural School was recently destroyed by fire and provisicn should be made for replacing the same, and
WHEREAS, the completion of a State system of connected paved highways embracing every county and connecting each county site in a reasonable length of time as provided by the present laws of the State is impossible under the present system of construction and
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WHEREAS, the expenditure of millions upon our highways should be protected by the .wisest limitations and sanest safeguards and the highwar when constructed preserved by every reasonable regulation and

WHEREAS, by clerical oversight the regular session
of the General Assembly of 1925 failed to provide for the maintenance of the Veterans Service Bureau for the latter half of 1925 and the salary of the Assistant Commissioner of Commerce and Labor, as fixed by previouc laws and

WHEREAS, the constructive program of better roads
and better schools can be advanced by the passage of certain local measures affecting directly certain municipalities and conn ties and

vVHEREAS, such conditions create an emergency of

sufficient importance under the terms of the Constitution

as to demand an extraordinary session of the General

:\ssembly,



WHEREAS, in equity and good conscience a debt
secured by lands should be credited with the fair value of the lands upon the sale of the same under execution of other legal process, and

WHEREAS, confusion attends the amending of a call
by the Governor of an extraordinary session of the General Assembly by adding additional subjects for its consideration, which additions may appear necessary through emergencies which may arise after the issuance of the call or through developments which may arise in debate or other legislative process while the A.ssernbly is in session,

NOvV, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by A.rticle V, Se~tion 1, Paragraph 13, ~f the Constitution, I, Clifford \Valker, Governor of Georgia, do hereby convoke the General Assembly of the State in extraordinary session, to meet in their respective halls at the Capitol in the city of Atlanta on the ninetee;1th d~y of March, 1926, at 10 o'clock:\. ,'VI., for the followmg objects, all of which are considered bv the Executive of sufficient importance to make the necdssity for such extraordinary session, to-wit:
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To submit to the people Constitutional Amendments and to enact legislation providing for:
(1) A Constitutional Amendment authorizing the Legislature to classify and segregate property for taxation,
(2) Amendments to the Inheritance Tax laws of the State,
(3) Constitutional Amendments and statutes authorizing the chartering and empowering of corporations and amending, revising and perfecting the present corporation laws of the State generally and particularly amending and correcting the Act of 1925 authorizing the issuance of non par values stock,
(4) The revision of the corporation occupational tax laws of the State,
(5) The enactment of laws rev1s111g Paragraph 61, Section 2 of the General Tax Act approved December 19, 1923, and laws levying occupational taxes on insurance agents.
(6) Constitutional Amendments to Paragraph 2, Section 6 of Article 7 authorizing laws promoting health and the gathering and dissemination of vital statistics.
(7) Amending and correcting the Crop Bill of Sale, Act of 1925,
(8) Revising, amending and perfecting laws of the State regulating the issuance and sale of securities,
(9) Constitutional Amendments and statutes authorizing the county authorities of the various counties of the State or of those counties in this State which have wholly or partly within their boundaries a city of not less than two hundred thousand population or any county in the State which the Legislature may authorize to levy a tax for educational purposes on all the taxable property throughout the entire county, including territory embraced in independent school systems,

(10) A Constitutional Amendment authorizing the Legislature to issue bonds not to exceed $1,000,000.00 for the purchase of additional lands and the construction and equipment of buildings for the care of the insane,
(11) The appropriation of funds for the construction of a new administration building for the Twelfth District .-\gricul tural School,
(12) Appropriations to supply the further needs of the Veterans' Service Bureau and the salary of the Assistant Commissioner of Commerce and Labor in the light of the defects in the legislation of 1925,
(lS) Laws providing a state system of connected paved highways, the means to meet the cost of construction of the same and amending, altering and perfecting laws establishing a State Highway Board and state highways,
(14) Laws regulating the use of highways by trucks, busses .and other vehicles and otherwise protecting and preservmg same,
(15) Amendments to strengthen the enforcement of the present laws levying a state stamp tax upon cigars and cigarettes,
(16) Local legislation, either county or municipal, providing for construction, equipment and maintenance of schools and colleges, for construction of highways, closing and conveying of streets, and for registration of voters in municipalities where no provision for such registration has been made in the charters thereof,
(17) The paymenl of the obligation-: of the State to its Confederate Veterans,
(18) An Amendment to the Constitution of the State to authorize ~he issuance of State bonds for educational purposes,
(19) A change in the school fiscal year to run from June 30th to June :30th,
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(20) A supervisor of construction of school buildings to standardize the utility) the economy, the safety and the sanitation of public school buildings,
(21) Authorizing any independent school system to vote on the abolition of such independent system and the merging with its county system of schools,
(22) To submit to the people for their ratification or rejection a Constitutional Amendment: giving the State Highway Board legal authority to construct and maintain a modern, connected, twelve-months state system of paved highways and authorizing the issuance of state highway bonds to meet the cost of construction of same,
(2:)) That when real estate is sold under any judgment or decree or mortage foreclosure or power of sale or other process said sale shall not be complete unless and until confirmed by the Judge of the Superior Court,
(24) The payment of the expenses of the extraordinary sessions as fixed by law,
(25) A Constitutional Amendment affirmatively and clearly authorizing the Governor to amend a call of an extraordinary session of the General :\ssembly by adding subjects for its consideration,
GIVEN under my hand and the Great Seal of the State at the City of Atlanta, this the eighteenth day of March in the year of our Lord ~ineteen Hundred and Twenty-six at 1:30 P. M.
CUFFORD WALKER,
Governor.
By the Governor: S. G. McLENDON, Secretary of State.
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