Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-173

Opinion No. 173 Statutes-Constl'tlction-Schools-War- rants-Bonds. HELD: Where two affirmative >:tat- utes are not inconsistent with each oth- er, but are so dissimilar that they can- not be reconciled and made into one, each statute is complete in itself and must be held to be legal and valid. April 20, 1933. You request an opinion as to the is- suance of school district bonds for war- rants. The Twenty-third Legislative Assem- bly passed two acts covering the ques- tion of bonds to re-place warrants out- standing on June 30, 1933. These laws are Chapters 160 and 107 of the Twen- ty-third LegislatiYe Assembly. They cover very much the same field and permit the issuance of bonds for the same purposes. Other portions of said acts are entirely dissimilar as the pro- vision contained in subdhision 1 of Section 3 of Chapter 160, which pro- vides for the payment of outstanding warrants by special ievies between July 1; 1933 and July 1, 1936, which is an addition to and different from any pro- \'ision in Chapter 107. The question to be determined is whether or not one, or both, of these acts is in force, wheth- er either repeals the other, whether they are to be construed separately or as one act. Both laws were passed at the same legislative assembly, the first bill to he passed hy the legislative assembly was the last bill signed by the Govern- or, so no decided inference can be drawn that either bill expressed the last legislative intent upon the subject. Both hills are affirmative acts and are not inconsistent with each other. Un- der such circumstances each act must be held to be legal and valid. Suther- land on Statutory Construction, Sec- tion 218; 59 C. J. 918; State v. Quinn, 40 Mont. 472. 'l.'he provisions of the two acts are so dissimilar that they cannot be re- cone-iled and made into one. Therefore. each statute is complete in itself ancl must be so construed. Neither statute negath"es or makes ineffectual the oth- er statute.