STREET RAILROADS. MAIL CARRIERS TO RIDE FREE. An Act requiring city, city and county, or town authorities to exact and require from persons or corporations seeking permission and authority to lay railroad tracks through streets or public highways of any incorporated city, city and county, or town, a satisfactory promise and undertaking to permit and allow mail carriers in the employ of the United States Government at all times, while engaged in the actual discharge of duty, to ride on the cars of such railroad without paying fare; and to make such promise and undertaking a condition precedent to the granting of such permission and authority by such governing board. [Approved February 27, 1893.] The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. In all cases hereafter, where application is made to the city, city and county, or town authorities, or to the trustees, council or other body to whom is intrusted the government of the city, city and county, or town, for permission and authority to lay railroad tracks through streets or public highways of any incorporated city, city and county, or town, such authorities, before granting such permission and authority, in addition to the terms and restrictions which they are now, by law, authorized to impose, must exact and require from the persons or corporation asking or seeking such permission and authority, a satisfactory promise and undertaking to permit and allow mail carriers in the employ of the United States Government, at all times, while engaged in the actual discharge of duty, to ride on the cars, of such railroad without paying any sum of money whatever for fare or otherwise. And such governing body of city, city and county, or town authorities must make such promise and undertaking on the part of such persons or corporations a condition precedent to the granting of such permission and authority to lay railroad tracks through streets or public highways of such city, city and county, or town; provided, that all such permissions and franchises shall be subject to all other provisions of the laws of this State applicable to street railroads in general, and subject to regulations from city, city and county, and town authorities. SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect and be in full force from and after its passage. FIXING RATES. OF FARE. An Act to limit and fix the rates of fares on street railroads in cities and towns of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants. [Approved January 1, 1878.] The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. No street railroad in any city or town of this State, with more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, shall be allowed to charge or collect a higher rate of fare than five cents for each passenger per trip of any distance in one direction, either going or coming, along any part of the whole length of the road or its connections. SEC. 2. Every violation of the provisions of section one of this Act shall subject the owner or owners of the street railroad violating the same to a forfeiture to the person so unlawfully charged, or paying more than is therein allowed to be charged, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars for each and every instance when such unlawful charge is made or collected, to be recovered by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction; such causes of action shall be assignable, and the action may be maintained by the assignee in his own name, and several causes of action arising out of unlawful charges or collections from different persons may be vested in the assignee and united in the same action. SEC. 3. This Act shall be in force from its passage. SALE OF STREET RAILROAD AND OTHER FRANCHISES. An Act providing for the sale of street railroad and other franchises in counties and municipalities, and providing conditions for the granting of such franchises by legislative or other governing bodies, and repealing conflicting Acts. [Approved March 22, 1905.] The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Every franchise or privilege to erect or lay telegraph or telephone wires, to construct or operate street or interurban railroads upon any public street or highway, to lay gas pipes for the purpose of carrying gas for heat and power, to erect poles or wires for transmitting electric heat and power along or upon any public street or highway, or to exercise any other privilege whatever hereafter proposed to be granted by Boards of Supervisors, Boards of Trustees, or Common Councils, or other governing or legislative bodies of any county, city and county, city or town within this State, except steam railroads and except telegraph or telephone lines doing an interstate business, and renewals of franchises for piers, chutes, or wharves, shall be granted upon the conditions in this Act provided, and not otherwise. SEC. 2. An applicant for any franchise or privilege above mentioned shall file with the governing or legislative body of the county or municipality an application, and thereupon said governing body shall, in its discretion, advertise the fact of said application, together with a statement that it is proposed to grant the same, in one or more newspapers of the county, city and county, city or town wherein the said franchise or privilege is to be exercised. Said advertisement must state that bids will be received for such franchise, and that it will be awarded to the highest bidder, and the same must be published in such newspaper once a day for ten successive days, if it be a daily newspaper, and if there be no daily newspaper published in such county, city and county, city or town, then it shall be pub lished in a weekly newspaper once a week for four successive weeks, and in either case the full publication must be completed not less than twenty nor more than thirty days before any further action can be taken thereon. SEC. 3. The publication must state the character of the franchise or privilege proposed to be granted, the term for which it is granted, and, if it be a street railroad, the route to be traversed; that sealed bids therefor will be received up to a certain hour and day named therein, and that the successful bidder and his assigns must, during the life of said franchise, pay to the county or municipality two per cent (2%) of the gross annual receipts of the person, partnership or corporation to whom the franchise is awarded, arising from its use, operation or possession. No percentage shall be paid for the first five (5) years succeeding the date or the franchise, but thereafter such percentage shall be payable annually; and in the event said payment is not made, said franchise shall be forfeited; provided further, that if the franchise be a renewal of a right already in existence, the payment of said percentage of gross receipts snall begin at once. SEC. 4. In case the franchise granted shall be an extension of an existing system of street railroad, then the gross receipts shall be estimated to be one half of the proportion of the total gross receipts of said system which the mileage of such extension bears to the total mileage of the whole system, and said estimate shall be conclusive as to the amount of the gross receipts of said extension. SEC. 5. Said advertisement shall also contain a statement that the said franchise will be struck off, sold and awarded to the person, firm or corporation who shall make the highest cash bid therefor; provided, only, that at the time of the opening of said bids any responsible person, firm or corporation present or represented may bid for said franchise or privilege a sum not less than ten per cent above the highest sealed bid therefor, and said bid so made may be raised not less than ten per cent by any other responsible bidder, and said bidding may so continue until finally said franchise shall be struck off, sold, and awarded by said governing body to the highest bidder therefor in gold coin of the United States. Each sealed bid shall be accompanied with cash or a certified check, payable to the treasurer of such county or municipality, for the full amount of said bid, and no sealed bid shall be considered unless said cash or check is enclosed therewith and the successful bidder shall deposit at least ten per cent of the amount of his bid with the clerk of such county or municipality before the franchise shall be struck off to him. And if he shall fail to make such deposit immediately, then and in that case, his bid shall not be received, and shall be considered as void, and the said franchise shall then and there be again offered for sale to the bidder who shall make the highest cash bid therefor, subject to the same conditions as to deposit, as above mentioned. Said procedure shall be had until said franchise is struck off, sold, and awarded to a bidder who shall make the necessary deposit of at least ten per cent of the amount of his bid therefor, as herein provided. Said successful bidder shall deposit with the clerk of such county or municipality, within twenty-four hours of the acceptance of his bid, the remaining ninety per cent of the amount thereof, and in case he or it shall fail to do so, then the said deposit theretofore made, shall be forfeited, and the said award of said franchise shall be void, and the said franchise shall then and there, by said governing body, be again offered for sale to the highest bidder therefor, in the same manner, and under the same restriction as hereinbefore provided, and in case said bidder shall fail to deposit with the "clerk of such county or municipality, the remaining ninety per cent of his bid, within twenty-four hours after its acceptance, the award to him of said franchise shall be set aside, and the deposit theretofore made by him shall be forfeited, and no further proceedings for a sale of said franchise shall be had unless the same shall be readvertised and again offered for sale, in the manner hereinbefore provided. SEC. 6. Work to erect or lay telegraph or telephone wires, to construct street railroads, to lay gas pipes for the purpose of carrying gas for heat and power, to erect poles or wires for transmitting electric heat or power, along or upon any public street or highway, or to exercise any privilege whatever, a franchise for which shall have been granted in accordance with the terms of this Act, shall be commenced in good faith within not more than four months from the granting of any such franchise, and if not so commenced within said time said franchise so granted shall be declared forfeited, and shall be completed within not more than three years thereafter, and if not |