neglect to make such designation on or before said date the state engineer and surveyor shall procure such information as will enable him to make such designation of highways within such county. To secure an equitable apportionment of improved highways among the counties the state engineer and surveyor immediately after December first, nineteen hundred and six shall prepare a map of all the highways of the state as near as may be showing thereon such highways as have been so designated and certified to him or such as he himself shall designate in any county where a board of supervisors shall have neglected to make such designation and certificate. He shall also indicate on such map which of such highways and what other highways within the state are deemed by him of sufficient public importance to be improved under this act and which will in his opinion when so improved provide an 'appropriate county and state system of improved main or market roads and an equitable apportionment of such improved highways among the counties. Such map shall be filed on or before the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven in the office of the state engineer and surveyor, together with the information, designations and certificates upon which it is founded and shall be open to public inspection and shall be included in his annual report and shall be submitted by him to the legislature of nineteen hundred and seven for its approval, amendment and modification and thereafter the improvement of such highways under this act shall be made in the respective counties upon the highways so designated upon said map except as the same may be thereafter altered and modified by the state engineer and surveyor with the approval of the legislature or by legislative enactment and pending such report by the state engineer and approval by the legislature it is further provided that the state engineer and surveyor shall not cause the improvement of highways nor approve of resolutions under chapter one hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninetyeight and the acts amendatory thereof in any one county in excess of one-fiftieth of the entire mileage of highways within such county to be determined by the state engineer and surveyor from the data and information on file in his office. And whenever resolutions, approving plans and specifications are certified by boards of supervisors to the state engineer it shall be the duty of said state engineer to apportion the highways described therein equitable among the several counties and he shall proceed with *So in original. the work of improving highways in all counties from which resolutions of approval have been or shall hereafter be approved without discrimination as between the counties. In addition to his other powers and duties, the state engineer and surveyor shall compile statistics relative to the public highways throughout the state, and shall collect all information in regard thereto deemed expedient. He shall investigate and determine upon various methods of road construction adapted to different sections of the state, and as to the best methods of construction and mainte nance of roads and bridges, and such other information relating thereto as he shall deem appropriate. He may be consulted at all reasonable times by county, city, town or village officers, having care and authority over highways and bridges, and shall advise such officers relative to the construction, repair, alteration, or maintenance of the same; and shall furnish such other information and advice as may be requested by persons interested in the construction and maintenance of public highways, and shall, at all times, lend his aid in promoting highway improvement throughout the state. He shall hold or cause to be held in each year at least one public meeting in each county, and shall cause due notice of such meeting to be given. He shall cooperate with all highway officers and shall assist county and town authorities, and when requested by them, furnish them with plans and directions for the improvement of the public highways and bridges. § 15. Section eighteen of said chapter is hereby amended to read as follows: 18. The operation of this act shall not be affected by any special act, but the highways may be improved under this act or such special act wherever the same may now exist. The provisions of section three of chapter thirty-two of the general laws, known as the labor law, or any acts amendatory thereto, shall not apply to any contract for the construction, maintenance or repair of any highway outside the limits of a city or incorporated village. § 16. This act shall take effect immediately. Chap. 469. AN ACT to provide for issuing of bonds of the state for the improvement of highways, and making an appropriation therefor. Became a law, May 16, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed by a two-thirds vote. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: Section 1. There shall be issued in the manner and at the times hereinafter provided, bonds of the state pursuant to the provision of section twelve of article seven of the constitution, which bonds shall be sold by the state and the proceeds thereof paid into the state treasury; and so much thereof, as may by law be appropriated from time to time, shall be expended for the improvement of highways in the manner provided by chapter one hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-eight and acts amendatory thereof. Said bonds shall be known as bonds for the improvement of highways, shall recite the provisions of the constitution and the act under which they are issued and shall be exempt from taxation. § 2. The comptroller is hereby authorized and directed to cause bonds of the state to be prepared which shall be of two classes as hereinafter described. The principal and interest of said bonds shall be payable as they become due at the transfer office in the city of New York designated by the commissioners of the canal fund for the issue and transfer of bonds for canal improvement. No bond issued either originally or upon a transfer or to supply the loss of a bond shall be valid unless it shall be signed by the comptroller of the state, sealed with his seal of office and countersigned by an officer designated for such purpose at such transfer office. The comptroller may make a separate contract for engraving the plates for such bonds and printing such bonds therefrom with such person, firm or corporation as he may deem to be for the best interests of the state. § 3. There shall be two classes of bonds for highway improvement, known as class A and class B, the former being redeemable from a sinking fund maintained by the state as hereinafter provided, and the latter redeemable from redemption fund provided by the counties and towns wherein the proceeds of such bonds have been applied to the improvement of highways. 4. Class A bonds shall be sold in such lot as in the judgment of the comptroller may be required for the purpose of making partial or final payment for the improvement of highways and for such other payments as may be authorized by law. But the amount of such bonds shall not exceed the aggregate amounts appropriated for such purpose. They shall be of such denomination as the comptroller may determine, shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed three and one-half per centum per annum, shall be issued to run for a period of fifty years and shall be sold for not less than par. The comptroller shall sell said bonds to the highest bidder after advertisement for a period of twenty days, Sundays and holidays excepted, in at least two newspapers printed in the city of New York and one in the city of Albany. Such advertisement shall provide that the comptroller may in his discretion reject any or all bids, and in the event of such rejection the comptroller may readvertise in the same manner as many times as in his judgment may be necessary to effect a satisfactory sale. The bonds shall be issued in coupon or registered form at the option of the purchaser. Registered bonds may be issued in exchange for coupon bonds upon request of the owner of said bonds but coupon bonds shall not be issued in exchange for registered bonds. There is hereby imposed for each year hereafter until all the class A bonds issued under the authority of this act shall be due, an annual tax of fifty-five ten-thousandths of a mill upon each dollar of real and personal property in this state subject to taxation for each and every one million dollars or part thereof in par value of said bonds issued and outstanding in any of said fiscal years. The annual amount of such tax shall be computed by the comptroller and shall be assessed, levied and collected annually in each of such years in the manner prescribed by law for the assessment, levy and collection of state taxes and shall be paid by the several county treasurers into the treasury of the state and the proceeds of such taxes after paying the interest due upon such outstanding bonds shall be invested by the comptroller in securities in which he is authorized by law to invest the trust and sinking funds of the state and together with the interest arising there from and any premiums received on said bonds and interest accruing on deposits of money received from the sale of such bonds shall constitute a sinking fund which is hereby created for the redemption of such bonds. Such sinking fund shall be used solely for the purpose of paying the principal and interest on class A bonds issued in accordance with the provisions of this act, provided however, that in case the legislature shall hereafter in any fiscal year appropriate out of funds in the treasury moneys to provide a sum equal to the amount which would otherwise have been raised as hereinbefore provided in such fiscal year for such sinking fund, no direct annual tax for such year shall be imposed and collected as before provided. § 5. Whenever the improvement of a highway or section thereof under a contract shall be completed and final payment therefor shall have been made the comptroller shall prepare a statement of the cost of such improvement including engineering, inspection and all charges and expenses properly chargeable thereto, showing in detail the date of each payment, and the purpose and amount of such payment. Such payments shall be grouped as far as practicable by dates and interest thereon shall be computed from the date of each group of payments to the date of issue of bonds as hereinafter provided and at the rate of interest specified in such bonds and the total thus obtained shall be deemed the cost of such improvement. If a highway or section thereof so improved shall be situate in two or more towns the comptroller shall apportion such expense to such towns according to the cost of such improvement in each of such towns. Such statement when certified by the comptroller shall be filed in his office and his decision thereupon shall be final, and a duplicate thereof shall be filed with the county treasurer of each county wherein the highways or section thereof has* been improved. If the board of supervisors of such county shall have theretofore provided funds to pay one-half the cost of improvement of the highway or section thereof as shown by said statement, it shall be the duty of the county treasurer to pay the amount thereof to the comptroller, who shall deposit the same in the state treasury to the credit of the fund for the improvement of highways and thereafter the county and town shall be deemed to be fully discharged of its obligation to the state on account of the construction of said improved highways. If such payment shall not be made, one-half the total cost of such improvement in any town shall form the basis for an issue of class B bonds which shall refer to the number of the road and the town and county in which it is situate. Such bonds shall be registered in form, shall be of such denomination as the comptroller may *So in original. |