Page:Address of Frederick V. Holman at Oregon Bar Association annual meeting.djvu/10

 by adding to it a section called Section 1a, and at the same time amended Section 2 of Article XI of the Constitution.

The part of said Section 1a relating to municipalities and districts is as follows:

"The initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people by this Constitution are hereby further reserved to the legal voters of every municipality and district, as to all local, special and municipal legislation, of every character, in or for their respective unicipalities and districts. The manner of exercising said powers shall be prescribed by general laws, except that cities and towns may provide for the manner of exercising the initiative and referendum powers as to their municipal legislation. Not more than ten per cent of the legal voters may be required to order the referendum nor more than fifteen per cent to propose any measure, by the initiative, in any city or town."

Said Section 2 of Article XI as so amended is as follows:

"Corporations may be formed under general laws, but shall not be created by the Legislative Assembly by special laws. The Legislative Assembly shall not enact, amend or repeal any charter or act of incorporation for any municipality, city or town. The legal voters of every city and town are hereby granted power to enact and amend their municipal charter, subject to the Constitution and criminal laws of the State of Oregon."

The Oregon Supreme Court has held that Section 1a of Article IV and Section 2 of Article XI of the Oregon Constitution as amended must be construed together, so that this question may be considered as settled.

Farrell v. City of Portland, 52 Ogn. 587.

These two amendments of the Oregon Constitution (Sec. 1a of Article IV and Section 2 of Article XI) I shall refer to as "the amendments of 1906."

The Oregon Supreme Court has held in several cases that the provisions of the amendments of 1906 are not self-executing, but require a general law passed by the Legislature or proper action by a municipality or its voters to make these amendments effective. These decisions I shall more specifically refer to.