[No. 157.] AN ACT to amend section four of chapter nine of act num ber three of the public acts of eighteen hundred ninety-five, entitled "An act to provide for the incorporation of villages within the state of Michigan, and defining the powers and duties," being section two thousand seven hundred twentynine of the compiled laws of nineteen hundred fifteen. The People of the State of Michigan enact: amended. SECTION 1. Section four of chapter nine of act number Section three of the public acts of eighteen hundred ninety-five, entitled "An act to provide for the incorporation of villages within the state of Michigan, and defining the powers and duties," being section two thousand seven hundred twentynine of the compiled laws of nineteen hundred fifteen, is hereby amended to read as follows: cemetery. limit. SEC. 4. The council may for the purpose of purchasing Tax for grounds for a cemetery, raise by general tax a sum not exceeding in any one year, one-fourth of one per cent of the assessed value of the property in the village: Provided, Proviso, That the whole amount which may be so raised for the purchase of grounds for such purpose, shall not at any time exceed five thousand dollars. The council may, for the purpose of maintaining the cemetery, raise by general tax a sum not exceeding in any one year one-tenth of one per cent of the assessed value of the property in the village. Approved May 10, 1923. [No. 158.] AN ACT to promote the safety of the general public by requiring railroad companies to equip their locomotives with automatic bell ringers. The People of the State of Michigan enact: bell ringer, SECTION 1. That from and after January first, nineteen Automatic hundred twenty-four, it shall be unlawful for any railroad engine to be company to operate on its tracks within the state of Michigan equipped with. any engine that is not equipped with an automatically operated bell ringer for ringing the bell on such engine. automatic bell ringer required by this act may be any appliance so constructed as will cause the bell on such engine to continue to ring after being set in motion by the engineer or fireman. The device for starting or stopping such bell ringer Failure to provide, misdemeanor; penalty. Proviso. shall be placed in such a position in the cab of such engine that it can be operated by the engineer or fireman from his usual position in the cab. SEC. 2. Each and every steam railroad company failing to provide and maintain in good condition and working order an automatic bell ringer as in the first section of this act required shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars for each day that any locomotive engine is used in violation of the provisions of this act: Provided, That where such automatic bell ringer shall become inoperative while such engine was being used by such railroad company, said engine may complete its trip or tour of duty without such railroad company being liable for the penalties provided by this act. SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the Michigan public utilities commission to enforce the provisions of this act. Approved May 10, 1923. May appro tennial celebration. [No. 159.] AN ACT authorizing the board of supervisors of any of the several counties of the state of Michigan to appropriate money from the general fund for the purpose of celebrating the centennial of the organization of the county or paying the deficit existing for the expenses of such celebration after it has been held. The People of the State of Michigan enact: SECTION 1. The board of supervisors of any of the several priate for cen- counties of the state of Michigan may appropriate out of the general fund of said county a sum of money not exceeding two thousand dollars to be used for celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the county or to pay a deficit existing for the expenses of such a celebration after it has been held. What to include. SEC. 2. This statute shall include, so far as its provisions apply, centennial celebrations heretofore held and appropriations may be made to pay existing deficits in relation thereto not exceeding the amount specified in the foregoing section notwithstanding prior appropriations made for the expense thereof. Approved May 10, 1923. [No. 160.] AN ACT to make appropriations for the board of registration in medicine for the fiscal years ending June thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-four, and June thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-five, for maintenance, operation and other purposes. The People of the State of Michigan enact: SECTION 1. There is hereby appropriated from the general Amounts and fund for the board of registration in medicine for the fiscal purposes. year ending June thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-four, the sum of eleven thousand twenty-six dollars, and for the fiscal year ending June thirty, nineteen hundred twenty-five, the sum of ten thousand nine hundred twenty-six dollars, for the purposes and in the specific amounts as follows: Each of said amounts shall be used solely for the specific purposes herein stated, subject to the general supervisory control of the state administrative board: Provided, That Proviso. in no case shall the expenditures of said board exceed the fees collected by it. out. SEC. 2. The amounts hereby appropriated shall be paid How paid out of the state treasury, at such times and in such manner as is or may be provided by law. deposited. SEC. 3. All fees or other moneys received by said board Fees, etc., of registration in medicine shall be forwarded to the state where treasurer each month and shall be by said treasurer deposited in the state treasury to be disbursed in such manner and for such purposes as may be provided by law. This act is ordered to take immediate effect. Sinking fund. Sinking fund commissioners, who to compose. Proviso. To control [No. 161.] AN ACT to provide for the establishment of county sinking funds and to create a county sinking fund commission, to prescribe the powers and duties thereof, and to repeal all acts and parts of acts contravening the provisions of this act. The People of the State of Michigan enact: SECTION 1. That from and after the passage of this act, before any county in the state of Michigan shall issue any bonds except serial bonds and bonds having a special security, the legislative body of such county shall pass a resolution providing for the levying and assessment in each year during the life of the bonds to be issued of a tax which shall raise annually a sufficient sum to pay the interest on said bonds as the same shall accrue and to pay the principal of said bonds at maturity. Said resolution may contain a proviso that the amount levied and assessed in any one year under the provisions of the resolution may be reduced by the amount of money earned by the sinking fund during the immediately preceding year. The county treasurer shall keep a separate and distinct account for each item of the sinking fund set aside and pledged to the retirement of each issue of county bonds. SEC. 2. The county treasurer, the county clerk, the register of deeds, the chairman of the board of supervisors and the chairman of the finance committee of the board of supervisors of the several counties of this state shall constitute and be a board of sinking fund commissioners: Provided, however, That in counties having a board of auditors, the board of sinking fund commissioners shall consist of the county treasurer, the county clerk, chairman of the board of supervisors and the chairman of the board of county auditors. SEC. 3. The said board of sinking fund commissioners sinking fund. shall have exclusive control of the money of the sinking fund and shall faithfully apply the same whenever possible, or it may appear to the county's interests, to the payment of the principal and interest of the bonded indebtedness of the county, and to no other purpose whatever, excepting as herein otherwise provided. The moneys in the sinking fund and the various accounts thereof shall be held by the county treasurer but no warrant shall be paid from said fund except in compliance with the resolution duly passed by said board of sinking fund commissioners, appearing upon the minutes of said board, and upon a warrant countersigned by the Proviso, how chairman of the board of sinking fund commissioners: Procountersigned. vided, however, That the countersigning of any warrant by the chairman of the board of sinking fund commissioners shall be invalid unless the signature include the designation "chairman of the board of sinking fund commissioners." Warrants. board to pay, SEC. 4. The said board of sinking fund commissioners Bonded debt, shall from time to time, as it shall deem expedient, purchase etc. or pay the outstanding bonded debt of the county or such part thereof as it may be able to purchase or pay until the full amount thereof be fully purchased or paid. Whenever May invest the board of sinking fund commissioners cannot arrange for moneys. the purchasing or paying of said debt or any part thereof, it shall temporarily, or until it can so arrange, invest the moneys belonging to the sinking fund in such interest bearing securities issued by the state of Michigan or by any municipal subdivision thereof or by the United States government as it may deem advisable; and all matured bonds or evidences of debt so purchased shall be delivered to the county treasurer and shall become and be the property of the county, held and controlled by said board of sinking fund commissioners, and the interest thereon as it thereafter becomes due shall be credited and belong to the sinking fund. SEC. 5. The annual meeting of the said board of sinking Annual fund commissioners shall be held on the first Tuesday of each meeting. year. Said board may, however, meet from time to time for the transaction of business and may adopt rules of procedure for its meetings. A majority of the whole board shall Quorum. constitute a quorum for the transaction of business but they shall not purchase or pay the outstanding debt of said county, or invest any of the money belonging to the sinking fund as above provided, unless by affirmative vote taken by yeas and nays, entered upon the record, showing a three-fifths vote of all the members-elect at a regular meeting or a special meeting called for such purpose. The county clerk shall be clerk Clerk. of the board of sinking fund commissioners and the chairman shall be either the chairman of the board of supervisors or the chairman of the board of county auditors as the case may be. The records of the sinking fund commission shall be kept on file in the office of the county clerk as part of his official records. dition of SEC. 6. The board of sinking fund commissioners shall Report confrom time to time, but at least annually, and whenever re- fund. quested by the board of supervisors, make report of the condition of the sinking fund, which report shall be made to the board of supervisors and then referred to and filed with the county clerk and be recorded by him. It shall recommend to the board of supervisors the sum of money that in its judgment should be raised by direct taxation for the benefit of the sinking fund. sinking fund. SEC. 7. Whenever any issue of the bonds of the county Interest, etc., shall be sold for more than par value all the premium and credited to accrued interest shall be credited and belong to the sinking fund. All the interest paid to the county on securities held by the county shall belong to and be placed in the sinking fund. The board of sinking fund commissioners shall receive their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their |