and full power and authority to regulate, prevent and abolish the same, and to this end said courts are given the power and authority whenever the public interest may require to fix and establish rates for the service and products of all public utility corporations, and whenever the public interest may require, and to carry out the provisions herein conferred, said courts are hereby expressly authorized to issue injunctions, quo warranto and all other writs for the purpose of carrying out and making effective the purposes of this Act, and said writs shall be governed by the rules and regulations now prescribed by law; provided, that no proceeding shall be begun in a district court having for its purpose the fixing of rates of public utility corporations until and unless the city council of the city or town desiring to invoke the power herein conferred upon the district courts shall comply with the provisions of Section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 2. If the city council of any city or town incorporated under the general laws of this State shall desire to invoke the power of the district court granted in Section 1 of this Act, such council shall, by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to said council, pass a resolution setting forth the matters complained of, naming the corporation against which the complaint is made, and in a general way the reasons for such complaint, and shall cause a copy of the same to be delivered to the president, vice president or secretary of said corporation, or cause to be left a copy of said resolution at the principal office of such corporation. If within twenty days after the said corporation has been furnished with a copy of the resolution of the city council, the wrongs complained of shall not be corrected to the satisfaction of the city council, a petition setting forth the wrongs and grievances complained of, and stating the relief sought, may be filed in the name of the city or town as plaintiff against the corporation as defendant in any district court of the county in which such city or town may be situated, and process shall be issued upon said petition, and be served upon such corporation as now provided by law in civil cases, and the case shall be set for trial in the same manner as other civil cases except that it shall have precedence over all cases of a different character filed in such court as to the time of trial. Process shall issue in said cause at the instance of either party in the same manner as process is now or may hereafter issue in civil cases and the right of trial by jury of the issues involved shall also be given upon the demand of either party as provided by law.

SEC. 4. Upon the trial of the cause, it shall be the duty of the court or jury in arriving at a decision as to whether or not the rates complained of are reasonable or extortionate, and in fixing the rates, to consider the cost of construction of the plant of the public utility corporation against which the petition is filed, the cost of the operation of such plant, its maintenance and repairs, the fixed charges that may be against the corporation, amount invested in such plant, and such other matters as may be material to the issues. And the court trying the same shall have the power to order the corporation to make profert of its books and records for inspection in court for its information in determining the question in issue. After a full hearing of all the evidence adduced by the parties, the court or jury shall have power, and it shall be their duty to

fix the rates which may be charged by such public utility corporation; provided, that the rates fixed must be sufficient to yield such public utility company not less than ten per cent upon the investment, and the same shall continue in force for a period of three years. The rates fixed shall be entered of record upon the minutes of the court, and shall be held conclusive, as reasonable, fair and just, and shall remain for three years as the rates to be charged by such corporation, unless changed or modified by the judgment of said district court, or by the appellate courts to which either of the parties to said suit may appeal, or have writ of error to the Supreme Court.

SEC. 5. If either party to the suit shall be dissatisfied with the decisions of the court and the rate thereby established, an appeal may be taken by either party to the appellate court of the supreme judicial district in which such district court may be located, and said appeal shall at once be returnable to said appellate court, and shall have precedence in such appellate court of all cases of a different character therein pending, and the said parties to said suit may have their writ of error from the Supreme Court.

SEC. 6. When final judgment is rendered in any cause fixing the rates to be charged by said corporation, the court rendering such judgment shall order in its decree the enforcement of the same, and to this end and to carry out and execute such judgment the court is hereby specially authorized and empowered to provide in its decree that if the same is not obeyed according to the terms thereof, the said corporation shall forfeit its charter, if the same be a domestic corporation, or its permit to do business in this State, if the corporation be a foreign corporation, and if said order or decree be violated, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General or county or district attorney, under the direction of the Attorney General, to institute suit in the district court of the county in which such corporation may have its principal office or in Travis County, Texas, for the forfeiture of its charter or the cancellation of its permit, as the case may be, and if said charter be forfeited or permit cancelled, the offending corporation shall thereafter be prohibited from carrying on its business within this State.

SEC. 7. The public utilities included within the meaning of this Act are defined to be water companies, furnishing water to the public; gas companies, furnishing gas to the public; electric light or power companies, furnishing light or power to the public; telephone companies furnishing telephones to the public; and sewerage companies, conducting sewerage for the public, whether said companies are incorporated under the laws of this State or of a foreign State.

SEC. 8. Any city within this State incorporated under a special law may, at its option, avail itself of the provisions of this Act, but the same shall be cumulative of any other method which may now be provided in such special charter, and this Act shall not repeal any provisions of such special charter.

SEC. 9. The importance of providing some method by which cities and towns incorporated under the general law may secure the regulation of the rates charged by public utility corporations, the near approach of the end of the session, and the crowded condition of the calendar, create an emergency and an imperative public necessity which

requires that the constitutional rule which provides that all bills shall be read upon three several days be suspended, and the same is hereby suspended, and this Act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.

[NOTE. The enrolled bill shows that the foregoing act was passed by the House of Representatives, no vote given; it was referred to the Senate, where it was amended and passed, no vote given; the House of Representatives concurred in the Senate amendments by a two-thirds vote, yeas 90, nays 1.]

Approved April 17, 1905.

Takes effect 90 days after adjournment.

TAXES PROVIDING FOR TAXING INTANGIBLE ASSETS
OF CERTAIN CORPORATIONS.

An Act for the taxation of the intangible assets of certain corporations, associations and individuals, and to provide for the creation of a State Tax Board, for the valuation of such intangible assets, and for the distribution of said values for local taxation, and for the assessment of said assets, and the levy and collection of taxes thereon; and to provide for the repeal of all laws and parts of laws laying taxes on the gross incomes of the corporations, associations and individuals affected by the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That each and every incorporated railroad company, ferry company, bridge company, turn-pike or toll road company, wharf company, telegraph company, inter-urban railroad company, express company, chair car company, refrigerator car company, stock car company, tank car company, and every other car company except sleeping car, dining car and palace car companies which are especially excepted from the provisions of this bill, and every packing house company and pipe line company doing business wholly or in part within the State of Texas, whether incorporated under the laws of this State or of any other State, or of any territory or foreign country, and every other company, corporation or association doing business of the same character in this State, and every individual or association of individuals doing such business shall in addition to the ad valorem taxes on tangible properties which are now imposed upon them by law, annually, beginning with the first day of January, A. D. 1906, pay a tax to the State for the year 1906, and for each year thereafter on their unrendered intangible assets and property, and local taxes thereon to the counties in which its business is or shall hereafter be carried on, which additional tax shall be assessed and levied upon such assets and property in the manner hereinafter provided. The place or places where such local taxes are to be paid, and the manner of the apportionment of the same in cases where more than one jurisdiction is entitled to a share of such tax, shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 2. Between the second day of January and the first day of March of each year, every company, corporation and association embraced

within the provisions of the first Section of this Act, or coming otherwise within its scope and intent, shall make out and deliver into the possession of the Comptroller of Public Accounts of the State of Texas a statement containing the information hereinafter prescribed, which statement shall be duly verified by the affidavit of one of the officers of the company, corporation or association in whose behalf it is made.

SEC. 3. Each such statement shall show the following items and particulars as the same stood on the next preceding first day of January, towit:

1. The name of the company, corporation or association making the statements, and the character of its business.

The authority by which it was incorporated, and the purposes of its incorporation as expressed in its charter or articles of association.

3. The locality of its principal office and the amount and kind of business done by it in this State, and the total gross receipts derived from its business therein, including a due proportion of its inter-state business, if it has done any business of that character.

4. Its total capital stock and the number of shares which have been issued and are outstanding, and the par or face value of each such share. 5. The market value of the said shares of stock, or, if they have no market value, then the statement must show the actual value thereof.

A brief description of each tract of real estate and of the improvements thereon, and of the buildings, structures, machinery, fixtures, appliances and other tangible property and assets owned and assessed or liable to assessment for the same year within this State, and the location and assessed value thereof, and the county, city or town wherein the same is assessed for taxation for State and county purposes, or is liable to assessment.

7. A brief description of each tract of land and of the improvements thereon, and of the buildings, structures, machinery, fixtures, appliances, and of the other tangible property and assets owned and held outside of this State, and of all other property and assets having a fixed situs outside thereof, and the location of each item of such property, and the purpose for which it is used, and whether or not it is specifically used in the business of the company, corporation or association making the report, and its true and fair market value, and the sum or value at which it is assessed for taxation, and the locality in which it is assessed.

8. A statement of each and every lien, mortgage and other charge upon the whole or any part of the property of said company, corporation or association, with a statement of the property encumbered or charged thereby and of the amount of unpaid debt secured by each such mortgage, lien or charge, and of the interest charged thereon, and to what extent interest has been paid, and the true and fair market value of every such debt.

A statement of the gross and net income and earnings for the next preceding twelve months, including therein all interest on investments, and all rents, fruits, revenues and receipts from every source whatsoever, and a statement of the income used for repairs and of the amount used for betterments and the amount used for extensions; and each pipe line company shall include as a part of its gross receipts

such sum or sums as it would have been compelled to pay out for conveying its own product, if another company had conveyed same for it.

10. Every railroad company and every telegraph company, and every pipe line company shall show in each statement made by it the following particulars, which are in addition to the foregoing requirements, towit: (a) the total length of all of the lines of said company, whether within or outside of this State, and (b) the total length of so much of said lines as are within this State, and (c) the length of its lines in each of the counties of this State into which its lines extend. The length of the lines of the telegraph companies shall be estimated and stated according to its mileage of poles, conduits and cables, or either.

11. Every refrigerating car company, chair car company, stock car company, tank car company and every other car company, except sleeping car companies, dining car companies and palace car companies, which are especially excepted from the provisions of this bill, and except railroad companies under the control of the Texas Railroad Commission, shall also and in addition to the said foregoing requirements, show by each of its said statements, (a) the total mileage traveled by the cars of said company during the next preceding twelve months, whether within this State or beyond its borders, and (b) the total mileage traveled by such cars within the State during the same period, and (c) the mileage traveled by such cars within each county in this State during said period.

12. Every express company shall also, in addition to the foregoing requirements having application to such companies, show (a) its total gross receipts for all business done under its charter, whether within this State or outside of it, during the next preceding twelve months, and (b) its total gross receipts within this State for the same kind of business done during the same period, including a due proportion of receipts from interstate business, and (c) its total gross receipts in each county in this State for the same kind of business done during the same period. SEC. 4. The State Comptroller of Public Accounts shall receive. all tax statements offered to him under the provisions hereof, and he shall endorse upon each the date upon which he received it, signing the endorsement officially. He shall examine the statements as soon as may be practicable, and if any of them are insufficient, or if he shall believe other or further information to be necessary, he shall at once demand such additional statements and information as he may think proper.

SEC. 5. On the first Monday after the first day of March of each year, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, the said Comptroller shall place all facts and statements, and all information relating thereto which he has received, before a State Tax Board, which is hereby created, and which shall consist of the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Secretary of State and of a third member, to be known as the Tax Commissioner of the State of Texas, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, subject to the provisions of Section 12 of Article 4 of the State Constitution. The Tax Commissioner shall hold office for two years, and until his successor is appointed and qualified, and shall receive an annual compensation of wo thousand five hundred dollars ($2500), in equal installments, payable at the end of each month.