cally and made payable serially from the first of January, 1920, and each year thereafter or until a sufficient fund is created by the sale of said certificates to provide for the payment of the work set forth in Section 1 of this Act, provided that no certificate shall be issued in excess of the prospective revenues of the year against which these certificates are drawn, and the prospective revenues of the year against which these certificates are drawn shall be fixed and determined by the extent of the aggregate of the revenues of the previous year from the same territory and the same sources, to be estimated from the year 1919 as a base and the revenues of each year will be estimated by the Secretary of State, the Treasurer and the Highway Engineer the judgment of the majority of whom shall be final.

FORM OF CERTIFICATES.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, etc., That the certificates shall be drawn on the Treasury of the State of Louisiana, shall be known as the State of Louisiana Highway certificates and be in approximately the following form: No. Series The Treasurer of the State of Louisiana shall pay to bearer the sum of Dollars ($.. ..) for labor performed under the terms of a certain contract entered into by the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana of date and in accordance with Act 49 of 1910. This certificate shall be paid only out of funds arising from the collection of licenses on motor vehicles collected in the parishes of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, and St. Tammany, as provided by Act No. - of 1917 and no other, which said funds are specially dedicated and are deposited with the State Treasurer to meet this and similar obligations of like character, and is one of a series of certificates issued under the terms of Act No. of 1917, to meet the conditions of a contract provided for in accordance therewith. This certificate bears interest at the rate of 5% per annum, payable semi-annually, as evidenced by the interest coupons attached and made part of the certificate, and will be paid out of the revenues of the year 19.... which are estimated by the proper authorities to be ample to meet this and all other certificates of this series.

Executed in the City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this 19...., as above set forth.

day of

Approved:

Highway Engineer:

Treasurer of the State of Louisiana.

Secretary of the State of Louisiana.

CERTIFICATES ARE NEGOTIABLE, ETC.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, etc., That the certificates issued under the terms of this Act shall be negotiable in character and shall constitute between the holders of said certificates, the Highway Department, the Contractor to whom the contract is issued and the Treasurer of the State of Louisiana an irrevocable, bonding and executory contract protected by every guarantee of good faith that same shall be paid out of the funds specially provided to meet the same in interest and principal.

HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT MUST SELL CERTIFICATES, ETC.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, etc., That whenever a contract is let for the construction of public highway works under the terms of this act, the letting and the execution of such contract by the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana will create such a vested right and binding obligation on the part of the Highway Department as to make it mandatory upon the officials charged with that duty to issue or sell certificates in payment of the work hereabove outlined and described. and no officers of the State of Louisiana charged with such duty shall refuse to issue or sell certificates of indebtedness in payment of said work unless such refusal is based

on non-acceptance of the work or based on a refusal to accept the work for causes that might arise out of faulty construction or out of absolute failure to fulfill the obligation of the contract let.

SALE TO HIGHEST BIDDER-DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Highway Engineer and the State Treasurer and the Secretary of State if they conjunctively deem it best to offer for sale and sell to the highest bidder the certificates of indebtedness as above outlined and secured and make same payable to bearer and shall deposit the proceeds of sale of said certificates with the Treasurer of the State of Louisiana to a specific fund for the payment in cash of the work of public improvement outlined under the terms of said act, provided that no such certificates shall be sold at less than ninety-five per cent of the face value thereof, nor run for a period longer than fifteen years from their date, and provided further that these certificates may be sold as an entire issue or as a partial issue, and deliverable after the sale in such manner as in the discretion of the State Highway Engineer, Secretary of State and the State Treasurer may be deemed most advisable, and provided further, that the funds so deposited with the Treasurer may be drawn for the payment of labor, materials, and services, by vouchers signed by the Highway Engineer and countersigned by the Secretary of State and State Treasurer.

USES OF PROCEEDS.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, etc., That the proceeds of sale of these certificates will be used, first, to pay for the completion of the Chef Menteur Road and Bridges in the Parish of Orleans, St. Tammany, State of Louisiana, and, second, on and after reserving and setting aside an amount necessary to pay for the completion of the Chef Menteur road and for the building of all necessary bridges therefor; to pay for the construction and maintenance of a public highway from Hammond to New Orleans.

RECORD OF CERTIFICATES ISSUED.

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Auditor of Public Accounts shall be furnished by the State Treasurer with, and he shall keep a record of all certificates sold and outstanding against the funds of each and any year and shall keep an accurate account of such specially dedicated funds, and in the event any surplus should arise in any year from the revenues thus derived such surplus shall be dedicated and set apart as a sinking fund to meet the deficiencies of any other year, and should in any year or years the revenues be overestimated by the officials charged with that duty and certificates for that year be issued in excess of the revenues for the year, then any surplus of any year or years will be applied to the liquidation of the excess certificates, and should surplus not fully pay such certificates then the fiscal bank shall provide for their payments by advancing money therefor, and if in the last year for which any certificates are issued any unliquidated ones remain in the Fiscal Bank, there shall be dedicated the revenues herein provided for at least one more year to accomplish said final liquidation.

SELECTION OF DEPOSITARY.

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Highway Engineer shall constitute a board who shall let the privilege to become depositary of the special funds provided for under the terms of the act and they shall have the discretion to let such funds under such terms and conditions as will provide an advantageous negotiation of the certificates sold and provide always ready funds for the payment of the interest and principal on such certificates. All funds arising from the collection of licenses, fines and penalties as set forth in this act, and all funds arising from the sale of certificates shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the State in a specific fund as set forth and be paid out as herein provided, and no part thereof shall go into the Treasury of the State of Louisiana, and the Treasurer of the State and of this fund is hereby authorized to pay all interest coupons due upon the certificates of indebtedness issued under the

terms of this Act, and all certificates becoming due thereunder. Provided further that the motor vehicle licenses from the Parishes of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Orleans, collected after the certificate of indebtedness provided for in this act are all paid in principal and interest, and after the highways shall have been completed with the funds dedicated for that purpose, shall then revert to the said Parishes and shall be paid into their respective treasuries in the same manner as now provided for under Act 260 of 1914, and in the same manner as said motor vehicle licenses are turned over to the other parishes of this State.

CHEF MENTEUR-HAMMOND-NEW ORLEANS STATE

TITLE.

HIGHWAY.

Act 18, E. S. 1918, p. 23.

AN ACT to provide for the laying out, construction and maintenance of the Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highway; to provide a revenue for carrying out the objects and purposes of this Act; to authorize the funding of said revenue into bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness; to define the duties of the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana, the State Highway Engineer, the State Treasurer, the Secretary of State and the State Auditor in connection therewith; and to provide for a fiscal agent to whom the funds shall be let for deposit; and an act whereas it is intended to have this act ratified by an amendment to the Constitution of the State. CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF ROAD.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana, That the Highway Engineer of the State of Louisiana is hereby authorized to let contracts for the construction and completion of the Chef Menteur Road, commencing at Peoples Avenue, in the Parish of Orleans, and extending to a place in the Parish of St. Tammany at the boundary line between the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, opposite, or nearly opposite, to Logtown, in the State of Mississippi, which said road has already been begun and contracted for, and has been designated as a State Highway by the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana; and for the construction of all such bridges as may be necessary for said road; and for the construction and completion of a model State Highway, on such route as the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana has designated or may deem wise to designate, to extend approximately parallel to the Illinois Central Railroad from Hammond into New Orleans, and in the construction of the necessary bridges upon said highway; provided, that in the construction of the said Hammond-New Orleans Highway no natural drain shall in any way be in the least manner obstructed; and provided further, that said Hammond-New Orleans Highway shall be provided with culverts or other engineering outlet of passing the same volume of water as is now passed or in the future shall be passed by the culverts or other engineering outlets in the roadbed of the Illinois Central Railroad parallel to said Ham. mond-New Orleans Highway.

That before any such contract is let as herein provided, same shall be approved by the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana.

FUNDS FOR CONSTRUCTION.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, etc., That in order to provide funds for the construction, completion and maintenance of the above mentioned highways, the Secretary of State from and after the first day of January, 1919, shall, as soon after collection as practicable, deposit with the State Treasurer for the account of the Highway Department of the State of Louisiana all motor vehicle licenses collected under the provisions of Act No. 260 of the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana for the year 1914,

approved July 9, 1914, from the Parishes of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Orleans, and the licenses so collected shall be paid by the State Treasurer into a special fund to be known as "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways;" and in addition to the motor vehicle licenses paid into said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and HammondNew Orleans State Highways" from the Parishes above enumerated, the State Treasurer shall likewiise pay into said fund such portion or sufficient amount out of the Special Road Tax collected under Article 291 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1913 from the Parish of Orleans as may be necessary to create and maintain in said fund a sum of Sixty Thousand Dollars per year, which said special fund is hereby set apart and dedicated for the purpose of paying any and all contracts heretofore made and hereafter to be made, and any and all bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness made or issued by the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana to provide moneys for the costs of constructing said highways.

ISSUANCE OF BONDS.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, etc., That in order to provide ready funds for the payment of the contracts provided for in Section 1 of this Act, the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana shall have authority to issue bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness in anticipation of the collection and receipt of the taxes, licenses and revenues set apart and dedicated to the said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways," payable exclusively from the said special fund, which said special fund is hereby set apart and dedicated to the payment, principal and interest, of any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness.

POWER TO BORROW MONEY, ETC.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana shall have power to borrow money for the purposes of financing the construction and completion of the said Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans Highways hereinabove referred to, and to that end may issue bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness in any amount not to exceed the sum of Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars, in such sums and denominations as the said Board shall prescribe, not less than Five Hundred Dollars each, may be registered bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness, or payable to bearer, as may be preferred, and shall be designated as Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highway Bonds, or Notes or Certificates of Indebtedness; that at the discretion of said Board all or any part of said bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be payable from one to twenty years. Said bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness may contain such provisions as may be deemed expedient for registration in the name of the holder, or for the release thereof from registration; shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding five per centum per annum, payable at such time or times as the Board may prescribe and the place or places of payment of principal and interest shall be fixed by the said Board. Said bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be sold to the highest bidder at public sale at not less than par, after thirty days advertisement by the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York; and the money arising from the sale thereof shall be paid to the State Treasurer to the account of the Highway Department of the State of Lou. isiana, and to the credit of the "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways," and only paid out on the warrant of the State Highway Engineer approved by the President of the Board of State Engineers. Said bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be signed by the Governor, the Auditor and the Treasurer of the State. Any coupons attached thereto shall bear the fac-simile signature of the Treasurer of the State. Any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued by virtue hereof, shall be and are hereby declared to have the

qualities of negotiable paper under the law merchant, and shall not be invalid for any irregularity or defect in the proceedings for the issue and sale thereof, and shall be incontestable in the hands of bona fide purchasers or holders thereof. No proceedings in respect to the issue of any such bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness shall be necessary, except such as are required by this Act.

STATE HIGHWAY FUNDS.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, etc., That the funds collected annually and directed to be set apart and paid into "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways," under the provisions of this Act, and by this Act directed to be applied to the construction of the said Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways, are hereby pledged to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, nates or certificates of indebtedness as the same shall become due and payable, and it shall be the duty of the Treasurer of the State of Louisiana to transfer from said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highway" to the credit of a special account to be known as the "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and HammondNew Orleans State Highway Bonds, Interest and Redemption Account," out of the first funds collected and received for the said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways," a sum sufficient to pay the principal and interest upon any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued hereunder, that may have been sold and delivered for the period of one year ensuing, and to maintain in said special accounts styled "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and HammondNew Orleans State Highway Bonds, Interest and Redemption Account," at all times from said source, a sum equal to one year's principal and interest upon the said bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness, and also sufficient to pay all bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued hereunder which shall become due and payable during the year next ensuing. After any bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness authorized hereby shall have been issued and delivered, no part of said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highways," shall be applied to any of the purposes authorized herein until the said "State Highway Fund No. 2, Chef Menteur and Hammond-New Orleans State Highway Bonds, Interest and Redemption Account" shall have been created, and the State Treasurer shall have transferred into it, the funds hereby directed to be transferred.

PURPOSES FOR WHICH FUNDS SHALL BE USED.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, etc., That the proceeds of the sale of all bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness issued hereunder shall be used first to pay for the construction and completion of the Chef Menteur Road and bridges in the Parishes of Orleans and St. Tammany, State of Louisiana, and second, on and after reserving and setting aside the amount necessary to pay for the completion of the Chef Menteur Road and for building all necessary bridges therefor, to pay for the construction of the said public highway from Hammond to New Orleans, and the building of all necessary bridges therefor.

RECORD TO BE KEPT BY AUDITOR.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Auditor of the State of Louisiana shall keep a record of all bonds, notes or certificates of indebtedness sold or outstanding, and shall keep an accurate account of all such specially dedicated funds.

SELECTION OF DEPOSITORY.

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, etc., That the Board of Liquidation of the State Debt of the State of Louisiana shall let the privilege to become depository of the special funds provided for under this Act and said Board shall have the discretion to let such funds under such terms and conditions as will provide an advantageous negotiation of the bonds, notes or certifi