2. Keep them clear from obstructions, and in good repair, and destroy, or cause to be destroyed, at least once a year, all thistles, Mexican cockleburs, of any kind, and all noxious weeds, growing or being on any portion of the public highways or public roads in their respective districts.

3. Cause banks to be graded, bridges and causeways to be made when necessary, keep the same in good repair, and renew them when destroyed. [Amendment approved 1893; Stats. 1893, p. 115.]

Legislation § 2645. 1. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 9; an amendment of the first three subdivisions of old § 2650. 2. Amended by Stats. 1889, p. 339. 3. By Stats. 1891, p. 476. 4. By Stats. 1893, p. 115. See ante, Legislative Chapter II, and Legislation Article III.

§ 2646. Highways in charge of supervisors. Whenever any of the highways of a county have been constructed or improved under the provisions of an act entitled: "An act providing for the laying out, constructing, straightening, improvement and repair of main public highways in any county, providing for the voting, issuing and selling of county bonds and the acceptance of donations to pay for such work and improvements, providing for a highway commission to have charge of such work and improvements, and authorizing cities and towns to improve the portions of such highways within their corporate limits and to issue and sell bonds therefor," approved March 19, 1907, and all acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, the board of supervisors of said county shall have the charge of the maintenance and repair of said highways and may employ a superintendent or inspector to have charge of the repairing and maintenance of all of said roads under the orders and direction of said board, and may employ such workmen and purchase such materials, equipment, tools and appliances as may be necessary to maintain said roads and keep them in repair, the cost of such maintenancee and repair to be paid out of the general fund of the county. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the board from having any such work of repair of [or] maintenance done by contract under the provisions of section 2643, if they, deem it advisable.

Former section 2646 relating to bids to maintain roads was repealed in 1893. Stats. 1893, p. 115.

Legislation § 2646. Added by Stats. 1911, p. 318. The original § 2646 relating to the division of road districts into sections was enacted by Stats. 1887, p. 149, amended by Stats. 1891, p. 477, and repealed by Stats. 1911, p. 318. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article III.

§ 2647. Duties and powers of supervisors respecting roads. Whenever any right of way for a public highway has been or may hereafter be conveyed to a county without consideration, other than that the said county shall construct and maintain a highway thereon and shall construct road fences along the lines thereof; and said right of way shall have been or shall hereafter be accepted and declared by the board of supervisors of the county a public highway, the said board may, in its discretion, provide for the building of road fences along the said right of way, at any time within five years from the date of such conveyance to the county. The cost of such fences may be charged to and paid from the general county fund, the general road fund, or the district fund of the district or districts benefited; provided, that not to exceed one half

of the cost of any fences so constructed shall be paid from the general county fund.

Legislation § 2647. Added by Stats. 1901, p. 633.

§ 2654.

§ 2655.

Assessment and collection of property highway tax.
Taxes to be expended in districts.

§ 2656. Road funds; division of, in certain event,

Legislation Article IV. 1. Enacted March 12, 1872, and was then composed of §§ 2657-2664. The section numbers and titles (with amendments and repeals before 1883) were as follows: 2657. Who owe a road poll-tax (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 120; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 70). § 2658. Overseers to make a list of inhabitants (amended by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 120; repealed by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 76). § 2659. Levy of road poll-tax, when and how made (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 121; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 70). § 2660. Road poll-tax receipts (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 121; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 70). § 2661. Tax-list made out. Tax collected and applied (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 121; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 70). § 2662. Overseers to add omitted and new inhabitants (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 121; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 70). § 2663. Annual property road-tax, how levied and collected, etc. (amended by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 71). § 2664. Cities and towns not to pay tax (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 122; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 71; cited in 60 Cal. 69; 137 Cal. 520). As to preservation of the subject-matter of the original code article IV, compare the sections of the present article, post. 2. Original code Article IV repealed by Stats. 1883, p. 5, in repealing the old and substituting a new Chapter II, and a new Article IV enacted. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and compare, generally, titles "Legislation" of the various subdivisions of the chapter.

§ 2651. General road fund. The board of supervisors may, at the meeting at which they are required to levy the property tax for road purposes, establish a general road fund and order to be apportioned thereto an amount not exceeding thirty-five per centum of the aggregate roadtax collected from all sources. The moneys in such general road fund shall be applied to the following purposes only: First, the payment of the expense of general county road improvements in which the inhabitants of all of the districts within the county are interested; second, the assistance of weak and impoverished districts in keeping roads in repair; third, the payment of such demands as are payable by law out of the general road fund; provided, that no greater proportion of such general road fund shall be used or expended in any road district than the amount collected in such road district, unless the board of supervisors shall by a two-thirds vote of all its members authorize the expenditure therein of such greater proportion, and the said board shall have no power to create a debt on any road district in excess of the estimated amount of receipts from said district for the current year. The moneys in such general road fund at the end of the fiscal year, after the payment of

all warrants drawn on such fund, shall be reappointed by the county auditor to the district funds of the several road districts in which it was collected. All contracts, authorizations, allowances, payments, and liabilities to pay, made or attempted to be made in violation of this act, shall be absolutely void, and shall never be the foundation or basis of a claim against the treasury of such county. And all officers of said county are charged with notice of the condition of the treasury of said "ounty, and the extent of the claims against the same. All supervisors, and any other officer authorizing or aiding to authorize, or auditing or allowing any claim or demand upon or against said treasury, or any fund thereof, in violation of any of the provisions of this act, shall be liable in person, and upon their several official bonds, to the person or persons damaged by such illegal authorization, to the extent of his loss by reason of the non-payment of his claim. The treasurer paying any claim authorized, allowed, or audited in violation of this provision shal! be liable on his official bond to refund the same to the county treasury. [Amendment approved 1901; Stats. 1901, p. 655.]

Legislation § 2651. 1. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 10 (as to origin, compare original code § 2653). 2. Amended by Stats. 1901, p. 655. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

§ 2652. Road poll-tax. The board of supervisors may, annually, at any regular meeting held between the first days of January and March of each year, levy on each male person over twenty-one and under fiftyfive years of age, found in each road district during the time for the collection of road poll-taxes for that year, excepting all persons who were honorably discharged from service in the army or navy of the United States, at any time within the first day of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and the first day of September, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-five, an annual road polltax not exceeding three dollars; and from every such person not above excepted, in a road district, who has not paid the same in some other district, must be collected the amount of road poll-tax so levied. Said road poll-tax shall be collected by the county assessor in the same manner that state poll-taxes are collected, and all remedies given by law for the collection of state poll-taxes shall apply to and be in force for the collection of road poll-taxes. Road poll-tax receipts, in blank, signed and numbered in the same manner that other poll-tax receipts are signed and numbered, shall be delivered by the auditor of the county to said county assessor on or before the first Monday of March of each year; and said assessor shall be charged with the amount of such road poll-tax receipts delivered to him, and be credited with those returned, and shall settle with the auditor, and pay over the amounts collected, in the manner provided by section thirty-eight hundred and fifty-three of this code: A sum not exceeding thirty-five per cent of all road poll-taxes so collected may be apportioned to the general road fund, and the balance shall be apportioned to the several districts of the county from which said road poll-tax was collected. [Amendment approved 1891; Stats. 1891, p. 478.]

Legislation § 2652. 1. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 10 (as to origin, compare original code Article IV, §§ 2657-2664). 2. Amended by Stats. 1889, p. 353. 3. By Stats. 1891, p. 478. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

§ 2653. Property highway tax. The board of supervisors must, each year, at the meeting at which they are required to levy the property tax for county purposes, estimate the probable amount of property tax for highway purposes which may be necessary for the ensuing year, over and above the road-tax, and must regulate and fix the amount of property highway tax, and levy the same thereby; provided, that said property tax for highway purposes shall not exceed the sum of forty cents upon each one hundred dollars of assessable property in any one year.

Legislation § 2653. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 11 (as to origin, compare original code Article IV, §§ 2657–2664). See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

§ 2654. Assessment and collection of property highway tax. The annual property tax for road purposes must be levied by the board of supervisors at their session when the tax is by them levied for county purposes. This property road tax, when levied, must be annually assessed and collected by the same officers and in the same manner as other state and county taxes are levied, assessed, and collected, and turned over to the county treasurer for the use of the road districts from which it is respectively collected.

Legislation § 2654. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 11 (as to origin, compare original code §§ 2663, 2664). See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

§ 2655. Taxes to be expended in districts. All property read tax and road poll-tax collected in each road district shall be expended for road purposes within the district in which it is collected, subject to the provisions of sections two thousand six hundred and fifty-one and two thousand six hundred and fifty-two.

Legislation § 2655. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 12 (as to origin, compare original code Article IV. §§ 2657-2664). See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

§ 2656. Road funds: division of, in certain event. Whenever any territory is included in a city, or incorporated town, or city and county, either at the original incorporation of such city, incorporated town or city and county, or by annexation thereto subsequently, and such terri tory shall have constituted a road district, or a part of a road district, it shall be the duty of the county board of supervisors, as soon as practicable after such incorporation or annexation, to ascertain how much of the unexpended moneys in the general road fund or of the highway taxes of all kinds then levied and in the course of collection, is derived from property situate or persons residing in such territory; and they shall cause the amount so ascertained to be paid to the proper officers of such city, incorporated town, or city and county, as soon as practicable after it shall have come into the general road fund. The sum or sums so paid over to such city, incorporated town, or city and county, shall become part of the general fund of such city, incorporated town, or city and county.

Legislation § 2656. Added by Stats. 1907, p. 63. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and Legislation Article IV.

ARTICLE V.

Performance of Highway Labor and Commutation.

§ 2671. Employers responsible for road-taxes assessed against employees. Legislation Article V. 1. Enacted March 12, 1872, and was then composed of §§ 2680–2688, and was entitled "Performance of Highway Labor and Commutation." The section numbers and titles (with amendments and repeals before 1883) were as follows: § 2680. Persons must not work out of district. § 2681. Employers responsible for highway labor assessed to employees (amended by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 71); preserved in § 2671, post. § 2682. Penalty for loss of time or idleness. Substitutes. § 2683. Penalty for neglect. § 2684. Excuse for neglect no exemption. § 2685. Overseers, to whom and what to report (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 122; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 71). § 2686. Reports by whom and what (repealed by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 123; repealed by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 76). § 2687. Report of unexpended moneys (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 123; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 71). § 2688. Penalty for failure to report or pay over (amended (1) by Code Amdts. 1873-74, p. 123; (2) by Code Amdts. 1880, p. 72). 2. Original code Article V repealed by Stats. 1883, p. 5, in repealing the old and substituting a new Chapter II, and a new Article V enacted. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, and compare, generally, titles "Legislation" of the various subdivisions of the chapter.

§ 2671. Employers responsible for road taxes assessed against employees. Corporations, or other employers of persons in any road district subject to road-tax, are chargeable for the road poll-tax assessed against their employees to the extent of any credit in their hands not exceeding such tax; provided, the road overseer shall first give notice to such employer, or the managing agent of such corporation, and from the time of such notice, the amount of any credit in his hands, or that shall thereafter accrue sufficient to satisfy said tax, shall be paid to the road-tax collector, whose receipt shall be evidence in bar of the prosecution of any action by the employee against the principal for the recovery of the same.

Legislation § 2671. Enacted by Stats. 1883, p. 12; an amendment (except the proviso) of original code § 2681. See ante, Legislation Chapter II, Legislation, Article V.