(e) For the punishment of those who violate its laws or ordinances, but no punishment shall exceed a fine of five hundred dollars or imprisonment for ninety days, or both in the discretion of the court; said imprisonment may be in the county jail or city prison, or in any work house in the State authorized by law to receive prisoners from such city;

(f) For the establishment of any department that it may deem necessary for the general welfare of the city, and for the separate incorporation thereof: Provided, however, That these provisions shall not be construed to extend to public schools;

(g) For the reasonable use, regulation and control of the surface of its streets and of the space above and beneath them;

44

(h) For assessing and reassessing the cost, or any portion thereof, of any public improvement to a special district;

(i) For the purchase of the franchises, if any exist, and of property used in the operation of companies or individuals engaged in the plank-road, cemetery, hospital, alms-house, electric light, gas, heat, water and power business; and in cities having not less than twenty-five thousand inhabitants the purchase of the franchise, if any, and the property of street railways and tram railway companies, State and county taxes shall be paid upon such transportation property so purchased and owned by any such city;

(j) For owning and operating transportation facilities within its limits, if according to the next preceding United States census it had a population of not less than twentyfive thousand inhabitants;

(k) For the purchase of private property for any public use or purpose within the scope of its powers;

(1) For the use, by others than the owner, of property located in streets, alleys and public places and used in the operation of a public utility, upon the payment of a reasonable compensation to the owners thereof;

(m) For the initiative upon petition of not less than twenty-five per cent of the registered voters of the city entitled to vote for municipal officers, and referendum on all matters within the scope of its powers;

(n) For a plan of streets and alleys within and for a distance of not more than three miles beyond its limits;

(0) For the use and control and regulation of streams, waters, and water courses within its boundaries, but not so as to conflict with the law or action thereunder where a navigable stream is bridged or dammed; nor with riparian or littoral rights without their corporate limits;

(p) For altering, amending or repealing any special act affecting any municipal concerns or existing municipal de partment, but the department in control of the public schools shall not be construed to be municipal department;

(q) For the enforcement of all such local, police, sanitary

and other regulations as are not in conflict with the general laws;

(r) For a system of civil service;

(s) For non-partisan primaries and elections;

(t) For the exercise of all municipal powers in the management and control of municipal property and in the administration of the municipal government, whether such powers be expressly enumerated or not; for any act to advance the interests of the city, the good government and prosperity of the municipality and its inhabitants, and through its regularly constituted authority to pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns, subject to the constitution and general laws of this State. SEC. 5. No city shall have power:

(a) To lay and collect taxes in a sum in excess of two per centum per annum of the assessed value of the real and personal property in such city;

(b) To submit to the electors a charter or to resubmit any amendment thereto oftener than once in every two years, nor unless it shall be filed with the city or village clerk ninety days before the election: Provided, however, That this provision shall not apply to the submission and resubmission of charters of cities which may be incorporated under this act until they shall have first adopted a charter;

(c) To call more than two special elections within one year: Provided, however, That this prohibition shall not apply to elections which may be held in the submission and resubmission of charters of cities which may be incorporated under this act until they shall have first adopted a charter;

(d) To change the salary or emoluments of any public official after his election or appointment or during his term of office;

(e) To adopt a charter or any amendment thereto, unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon; to sell any property of a value in excess of ten cents per capita according to the last preceding United States census, or any park, cemetery, or any real estate used in carrying on a public utility, or any part thereof, or any property bordering on a water front, or vacate any street or public place leading to a water front, or engage in any business enterprise requiring an investment of money in excess of ten cents per capita, or authorize any issue of bonds except special assessment bonds, refunding bonds, and emergency bonds as defined by this act and bonds that it is annually authorized to issue, unless approved by three-fifths of the electors voting thereon at any general or special election;

(f) To make any contract with, or give any official position to one who is in default to the city;

(g) To issue any bonds without providing a sinking fund, to pay them at maturity, but no sinking fund shall be required in the case of serial bonds which fall due annually;

(h) To repudiate any debt by any change in its charter or by consolidation with any other municipality;

(i) To submit a franchise to the electors at a special election, unless the expense of holding the election, as determined by the legislative body, shall be paid in advance by the grantee in said franchise to the city treasurer.

charter.

mission.

SEC. 18. Any city desiring to revise its charter shall do so Revision of in the following manner, unless otherwise provided by charter: When its legislative body shall by a two-thirds vote of the members-elect declare for a general revision of the charter, or when an initiatory petition shall be presented therefor, as provided in section twenty-five of this act, the question of having a general charter revision shall be submitted to the Submission. electors for adoption or rejection at the next general or municipal election, or at a special election in case the electors shall, by a majority vote, declare in favor of such a revision, a charter commission shall be selected within sixty days con- Charter comsisting of one elector from each ward and three electors at large, having a residence of at least three years in the municipality, or the legislative body by a two-thirds vote of the members-elect or the initiatory petition may provide that the charter commission be selected at the same election at which the proposition to revise is submitted; the selection shall be void if the proposition to revise is not adopted; no city offi cer or employe, whether elected or appointed, shall be eligible to a place on said commission. The names of all candidates who have been duly nominated as hereinafter provided shall be placed upon a separate ballot at the election designated to be held for the election of a charter commission and without their party affiliations designated; the candidate having the greatest number of votes in each ward shall be declared elected and the three candidates at large having the greatest number of votes cast in the city shall be declared elected; the nomination and election of the members of such Conduct of commission, except as herein specified, shall be conducted as near as may be as now provided by law for the nomination and election of city and ward officers in the respective cities of this State.

election.

lative body.

SEC. 19. The legislative body of the municipality (shall Duty of legisprovide for the election of said charter commission at the next general or municipal election to be held in said municipality, if there shall be a general or municipal election within sixty days after such legislative body or the electors of said municipality shall have declared for such general revision in the manner provided in the preceding section, and if there shall be no such general election within said sixty days, then said legislative body shall within ten days after such declaration, call a special election for the selection of such charter commission to be held within sixty days and) shall fix in advance of the election of such charter commission the place of its meeting, the compensation of its members, and provide

City clerk to preside.

Powers of commission.

the money for the expense thereof and if need be, provide the ballots for election.

SEC. 20. The charter commission shall convene on the second Tuesday after the election at the place designated therefor. The city clerk shall preside at the first meeting, shall administer the oath of office to the members-elect, and shall act as clerk of the commission. It shall be the sole judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own. members, choose its own officers, except clerk, determine the rules of its proceedings and keep a journal. A roll call of its members on any question shall be entered on the journal at the request of one-fifth of its members or less if it shall so determine. It may fill any vacancy in its membership, and it shall fix the time for the submission of the charter to the

Compensation. electors. No members shall receive compensation for more than ninety days and only for actual attendance. A majority of all the members shall constitute a quorum and its sessions shall be public. The commission may submit with the charter. independent sections or propositions, and such of them as shall receive the approval of a majority of the electors voting thereon shall become a part of the charter if the charter is adopted by the electors.

Charter, amendment

of.

Petitions, electors, etc.

Justices of the peace,

etc.

SEC. 21. Any existing charter, whether passed pursuant to the provisions of this act or by the State legislature, may from time to time be amended as follows: An amendment may be proposed by the legislative body on a two-thirds vote of the members-elect or by an initiatory petition as herein provided, and shall be submitted to the electors as herein provided at the next general or special election. When it originates in the legislative body it shall be published and remain on the table for thirty days before action is taken thereon. The form in which any proposed amendment shall be submitted on the ballot, unless provided for in the initiatory petition, shall be determined by the legislative body.

SEC. 25. The initiatory petitions herein referred to shall be signed at the regular registration or election places at a regular registration or election under the supervision of the officials thereof, who shall verify the genuineness of the signatures and certify the fact that the signers are registered electors of the city and shall be filed with the city clerk. No person shall be deemed to be an elector under the provisions of this section except male electors whose names shall appear upon the registration books in such city. No such initiatory petition shall be effective unless signed by twenty-five per cent of the registered voters entitled to vote for municipal officers.

SEC. 28. In all cities now organized, which may hereafter amend or revise their charters under the provisions of this act, all of the provisions of the present law, whether general or special, applying to any such city relating to the qualifications, term of office, powers, jurisdiction, duties and compensation of justices of the peace and constables therein, and

the conduct of all proceedings, suits and prosecutions before such justices of the peace, and appeals therefrom, and all laws creating municipal courts and the proceedings thereof in any such city, shall remain in full force and effect, except as to the time and manner of nomination and elections of judges, justices and court officers.

validated.

SEC. 37. All charters heretofore formulated and all pro- Proceedings ceedings of charter commissions heretofore had under this act are hereby validated and made effectual so far as the same shall conform to and be within the provisions of this act as amended.

SEC. 2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith are Conflicting hereby repealed.

Approved April 29, 1911.

acts.

[No. 204.]

AN ACT to amend section six of act number two hundred three of the public acts of eighteen hundred seventy-seven, entitled "An act relative to dividing townships and vil lages into election districts, and to provide for the registration of electors in such cases," being section three thousand five hundred eighty-seven of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

amended.

of electors.

SECTION 1. Section six of act number two hundred three Section of the public acts of eighteen hundred seventy-seven, entitled "An act relative to dividing townships and villages into election districts, and to provide for the registration of electors in such cases," being section three thousand five hundred eighty-seven of the Compiled Laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven, is hereby amended to read as follows: SEC. 6. The board of registration shall complete the regis Registration tration of electors in each district in separate district registers, and shall transcribe to such district register from the township register the names of such electors as they know are qualified electors and residents of such district, and shall cause such district register to be present at every meeting of the district board of registration and at every election held in such district. The two justices of the peace whose terms of office shall last expire shall constitute the board of regis tration in said election district number two, and the said board of registration shall hold meetings for the registration of the qualified electors of said district, under like notice, at the same time and in the same manner as is prescribed by the general laws of this State relative to registration of electors