Art. III, § 1

Legislative Power Generally

14 N. E. 820, 1 A. S. R. 893, affirmed 145 U. S. 175, 12 S. Ct. 880, 36 U. S. (L. ed.) 666; Cronin v. People, (1880) 82 N. Y. 318, 87 Am. Rep. 564; Buffalo v. Hill, (1903) 79 App. Div. 402, 79 N. Y. S. 449; Koch v. Fox, (1902) 71 App. Div. 288, 75 N. Y. S. 913; People v. Mattimore, (1887) 45 Hun 448, 10 N. Y. St. Rep. 133; People v. Justices, etc., (1876) 7 Hun 214. See also Brooklyn v. Breslin, (1874) 57 N. Y. 591; People v. Sing Sing, (1900) 54 App. Div. 555, 66 N. Y. S. 1094. An ordinance adopted by such a corporation pursuant to authority delegated by the legislature has the same force within the corporate limits as a statute passed by the legislature itself. Buffalo v. New York, etc., R. Co., (1897) 152 N. Y. 276, 46 N. E. 496, affirming 6 Misc. 630, 27 N. Y. S. 297; Rochester v. Simpson, (1892) 134 N. Y. 414, 31 N. E. 871, reversing 57 Hun 36, 10 N. Y. S. 499; Carthage v. Frederick, (1890) 122 N. Y. 268, 25 N. E. 480, 19 A. S. R. 490, 10 L. R. A. 178; People v. Miller, (1914) 161 App. Div. 138, 146 N. Y. S. 403; People v. New York Edison Co., (1913) 159 App. Div. 786, 144 N. Y. S. 707; People v. Reicherter, (1908) 128 App. Div. 675, 112 N. Y. S. 936. See also People v. Sing Sing, (1900) 54 App. Div. 555, 66 N. Y. S. 1094.

Boards and officers generally.- Authority to determine what ought to be done to protect the public welfare in particular cases as necessity requires may properly be reposed in public boards and officers. People v. Kayne, (1914) 212 N. Y. 407, 106 N. E. 122, affirming 160 App. Div. 644, 146 N. Y. S. 398; Bellows v. Raynor, (1913) 207 N. Y. 389, 101 N. E. 181, affirming 145 App. Div. 899, 129 N. Y. S. 1113; People v. Vandecarr, (1903) 175 N. Y. 440, 67 N. E. 913, 108 A. S. R. 781, affirming 81 App. Div. 128, 80 N. Y. S. 1108, affirmed, 199 U. S. 552, 26 S. Ct. 144, 50 U. S. (L. ed.) 305; Polinsky v. People, (1878) 73 N. Y. 65; Health Department v. Knoll, (1877) 70 N. Y. 530; Heister v. Metroplitan Board of Health, (1868) 37 N. Y. 661; Peace v. McAdoo, (1905) 110 App. Div. 13, 96 N. Y. S. 1039; People v. Justices, etc., (1876) 7 Hun 214. The Greater New York charter, in section 775, added thereto by chapter 899 of the Laws of 1911, provides that the fire commissioner may “require, in writing, the installation, as prescribed by any law or ordinance, in any building, structure or inclosure of automatic or other fire alarm system or fire extinguishing equipment and the maintenance and repair thereof." Under such provision, read together with sections 762 and 773 of the charter (Laws of 1897, ch. 378; Laws of 1901, ch. 466, § 1620. subd. 3), the fire commissioner has the authority to order the owner of premises, used for manufacturing purposes, to install therein a separate and distinct system of automatic sprinklers, and if such owner refuses to obey such order he may be convicted of a misdemeanor. People v. Kaye, (1914) 212 N. Y. 407, 106 N. E. 122, affirming 160 App. Div. 644, 146 N. Y. S. 398. Boards of health.—“That the legislature in the exercise of its constitutional authority may lawfully confer on boards of health the power to enact sanitary ordinances, having the force of law within the districts over which their jurisdiction extends, is not an open question. This power has been repeatedly recognized and affirmed." Polinsky v. People, (1878) 73 N. Y. 65. To the same effect, Bellows v. Raynor, (1913) 207 N. Y. 389, 101 N. E. 181; Tenement House Dept. v. Moeschen, (1904) 179 N. Y. 325, 72 N. E. 231, 103 A. S. R. 910, 1 Ann. Cas. 439, 70 L. R. A. 704, affirming 89 App. Div. 526, 85 N. Y. S. 704, 90 App. Div. 603, 85 N. Y. S. 1148; People v. Vandecarr, (1903) 175 N. Y. 440, 67 N. E. 913, 108 A. S. R. 781, affirming 81 App. Div. 128, 80 N. Y. S. 1108, affirmed 199 U. S. 552, 26 S. Ct. 144, 50 U. S. (L. ed.) 305; Health Department v. Knoll, (1877) 70 N. Y. 530; Heister v. Metropolitan Board of Health, (1868) 37 N. Y. 661; People v. Timmerman, (1903) 79 App. Div. 565, 80 N. Y. S. 285; People v. Justices, etc., (1876) 7 Hun 214. See also In re Smith, (1895) 146 N. Y. 68, 40 N. E. 497, 48 A. S. R. 769, 28 L. R. A. 820.

Rate fixing by commission.- The fixing of maximum rates of carriers and public service corporations, provided that such rates are not confiscatory

Legislative Power Generally

Art. III, § 1

and in violation of property rights, is a proper exercise of the police power of the state vested in the legislature, but this power is not so inherently or exclusively legislative that the legislature may not, in the exercise of the plenary powers and in the absence of any express limitation by the state or federal constitutions, delegate to and confer upon other branches of the state government, by general laws, the duty not only of executing a law enacted for the purpose of regulating rates but of determining its application to particular cases and the formulating of rules for its exercise. People v. Willcox, (1909) 194 N. Y. 383, 87 N. E. 517, affirming 129 App. Div. 267, 908, 113 N. Y. S. 861; Saratoga Springs v. Saratoga Gas, etc., Power Co., (1908) 191 N. Y. 123, 83 N. E. 693, 14 Ann. Cas. 606, 18 L. R. A. (N. S.) 713, reversing 122 App. Div. 203, 107 N. Y. S. 341. Thus, the statute (Laws of 1905, ch. 737) providing for the appointment by the governor of a commission authorized to determine, upon the complaint of municipal authorities or consumers, the maximum price to be charged for service by gas and electric light companies, is not such a delegation of legislative powers that it is violative of any express or implied provision of the state Constitution relating to the subject. The legislature, not the commission, enacts that there shall be maximum rates for the charges of the gas and electric light companies; that light shall be furnished to consumers at those rates, and has provided the penalty for extorting greater charges for service. What is intrusted to the commission is the duty of investigating the facts, and, after a public hearing, of ascertaining and determining, "within the limits prescribed by law," what is a reasonable maximum rate. Saratoga Springs v. Saratoga Gas, etc., Power Co., (1908) 191 N. Y. 123, 83 N. E. 693, 14 Ann. Cas. 606, 18 L. R. A. (N. S.) 713, reversing 122 App. Div. 203, 107 N. Y. S. 341.

Taxation. The legislature may delegate the power to levy a local tax for a local purpose. Townsend v. New York, (1878) 16 Hun 362, affirmed (1879) 77 N. Y. 542. Thus, the legislature may delegate to a municipal corporation the power to tax for the expenses of the local government. In re Zborowski, (1877) 68 N. Y. 88. And it may so confer the power to assess for the expenses of local improvements. Boards of assessors and boards of revision do not tax, but merely determine what amount thereof shall be paid by each person benefited. Spencer v. Merchant, (1885) 100 N. Y. 585, 3 N. E. 682, affirmed, 125 U. S. 345, 8 S. Ct. 921, 31 U. S. (L. ed.) 763; In re Roberts, (1880) 81 N. Y. 62, affirming 17 Hun 559; In re Zborowski, (1877) 68 N. Y. 68; People v. Brooklyn, (1851) 4 N. Y. 419, 55 Am. Dec. 266, reversing 9 Barb. 535. See also In re Lester, (1880) 21 Hun 130. And see infra, this note, III, 2, Apportionment. It is within the legislative authority to confer upon a board of assessors the power to readjust and reapportion taxes, where the law has not been strictly pursued in their imposition, upon equitable and just principles. This is not a delegation of the taxing power, but simply of the power to adjust the amounts of taxes already denied or attempted to be levied. Thus, the Act of 1883 (ch. 114, Laws of 1883), which provides for the settlement and collection of arrearages of unpaid taxes in the city of Brooklyn, does not provide for any apportionment violative of any constitutional right, as its object was not to make original assessments, but to provide for the adjustment of those previously made or attempted to be made, and under it the board of assessors could levy no new taxes, but simply adjust, upon a fair basis, those already made. Terrel v. Wheeler, (1890) 123 N. Y. 76, 25 N. E. 329, affirming 49 Hun 262, 2 N. Y. S. 86; Lamb v. Connolly, (1890) 122 N. Y. 531, 25 N. E. 1042.

Collection of taxes." While it would be incompetent for the legislature to leave to a state officer or department the power to determine whether a tax should be levied, or at what rate, or upon what property, it may lawfully delegate to a ministerial officer or any department, or its appointee or other authority, the power of using the machinery, as and in the method

The

created by it, for the collection of the taxes it has levied. application of the procedure or remedy through which the tax is collected is no part of the power of taxation within the meaning of the principle that 'taxation is the most delicate and highest attribute of sovereignty and cannot be delegated.'" Gautier v. Ditmar, (1912) 204 N. Y. 20, 97 N. E. 464, Ann. Cas. 1913C 960, affirming 144 App. Div. 721, 129 N. Y. S. 834.

II. POLICE POWER.

1. In General.

Police power as attribute of sovereignty.—The constitution presupposes the existence of the police power, and is to be construed with reference to that fact. People v. Adirondack R. Co., (1899) 160 N. Y. 225, 54 N. E. 689, affirmed in 176 U. S. 335, 20 S. Ct. 460, 44 U. S. (L. ed.) 492, and reversing 39 App. Div. 34, 56 N. Y. S. 869; People v. Havnor, (1896) 149 N. Y. 195, 43 N. E. 541, 52 A. S. R. 707, 31 L. R. A. 689, affirming 1 App. Div. 459, 37 N. Y. S. 314; Carthage v. Frederich, (1890) 122 N. Y. 268, 25 N. E. 480, 19 A. S. R. 490, 10 L. R. A. 178; People v. Budd, (1889) 117 N. Y. 1, 22 N. E. 670, 682, 15 A. S. R. 460, 5 L. R. A. 559; Bertholf v. O'Reilly, (1878) 74 N. Y. 509, 30 Am. Rep. 323, affirming 8 Hun 16; Wynehamer v. People, (1856) 13 N. Y. 378, affirming 20 Barb. 567 and reversing 20 Barb. 168. In People v. Adirondack R. Co., supra, the court said: "The power of taxation, the police power and the power of eminent domain, underlie the constitution and rest upon necessity, because there can be no effective government without them. They are not conferred by the constitution, but exist because the state exists, and they are essential to its existence. They are not rights reserved, but rights inherent in the state as sovereign. While they may be limited and regulated by the constitution, they exist independently of it as a necessary attribute of sovereignty. They belong to the state because it is sovereign, and they are a necessity of government. The state cannot surrender them, because it cannot surrender a sovereign power. It cannot be a state without them. They are as enduring and indestructible as the state itself." Contractual alienation of police power.- The authority of the legislature in the exercise of its police power cannot be limited or controlled by the action of a previous legislature. Buffalo E. S. R. Co. v. Buffalo St. R. Co., (1888) 111 N. Y. 132, 19 N. E. 63, 2 L. R. A. 384; People v. Squire, (1888) 107 N. Y. 593, 14 N. E. 820, 1 A. S. R. 893, affirmed 145 U. S. 175, 12 S. Ct. 880, 36 U. S. (L. ed.) 666; People v. Public Service Commission, (1911) 143 App. Div. 769, 128 N. Y. S. 384; Bronk v. Barckley, (1897) 13 App. Div. 72, 43 N. Y. S. 400. The right to exercise the police power cannot be alienated, surrendered or abridged by the legislature by any grant or contract whatsoever, because it constitutes the exercise of a governmental function, without which it would become powerless to protect those rights which it was especially designed to protect. Buffalo E. S. R. Co. v. Buffalo St. R. Co., (1888) 111 N. Y. 132, 19 N. E. 63, 2 L. R. A. 384; People v. Squire, (1888) 107 N. Y. 593, 14 N. E. 820, 1 A. S. R. 893, affirmed 145 U. S. 175, 12 S. Ct. 880, 36 U. S. (L. ed.) 666; Metropolitan Board of Excise v. Barrie, (1866) 34 N. Y. 657; People v. Public Service Commission, (1911) 143 App. Div. 769, 128 N. Y. S. 384; Brooklyn v. Nassau Electric R. Co., (1897) 20 App. Div. 31, 46 N. Y. S. 651. "In matters, however, not directly affecting the public health, morals, comfort or safety, a State may make or authorize a valid contract which cannot be impaired by a subsequent constitutional amendment or statute. A retrospective law which impairs a contract must, in order to be valid, be an exercise of the police power within a narrow definition of that phrase." Thus, as it cannot be said that article 3, section 29, of the constitution, regulating the manner of employing state prisoners confined in its penal institutions,

affects the public health, morals, comfort or safety, that section should not be given a retrospective operation so as to nullify a contract authorized by the state and adopted by it prior to the enactment thereof. Bronk v. Barckley, (1897) 13 App. Div. 72, 43 N. Y. S. 400.

Definition of police power. It has frequently been said that it is difficult to give a definition which properly describes and limits the police power residing in the legislature. Jensen v. Southern Pac. Co. (1915) 215 N. Y. 514, 109 N. E. 600, affirming 167 App. Div. 945, 152 N. Y. S. 1120; People v. Jenkins, (1911) 202 N. Y. 53, 94 N. E. 1065, 35 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1079, reversing 140 App. Div. 786, 125 N. Y. S. 817; Ives v. South Buffalo R. Co., (1914) 201 N. Y. 271, 94 N. E. 431, Ann. Cas. 1912B 156, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 162, reversing 140 App. Div. 921, 125 N. Y. S. 1125; People v. Murphy, (1909) 195 N. Y. 126, 88 N. E. 17, 21 L. R. A. (N. S.) 735, affirming 129 App. Div. 260, 113 N. Y. S. 855; Boswell v. Security Mut. Life Ins. Co., (1908) 193 N. Y. 465, 86 N. E. 532, 19 L. R. A. (N. S.) 946, modifying 119 App. Div. 723, 104 N. Y. S. 130; People v. Orange County Road Const. Co., (1903) 175 N. Y. 84, 67 N. E. 129, 65 L. R. A. 33, reversing 73 App. Div. 580, 77 N. Y. S. 16; People v. Biesecker, (1901) 169 N. Y. 53, 61 N. E. 990, 88 A. S. R. 534, 57 L. R. A. 178, affirming 58 App. Div. 391, 68 N. Y. S. 1067; People v. City Prison, (1898) 157 N. Y. 116, 51 N. E. 1006, 68 A. S. R. 763, 43 L. R. A. 264, reversing 26 App. Div. 228, 50 N. Y. S. 56; New York Health Department v. Trinity Church, (1895) 145 N. Y. 32, 39 N. E. 833, 45 A. S. R. 579, 27 L. R. A. 710; People v. Ewer, (1894) 141 N. Y. 129, 36 N. E. 4, 38 A. S. R. 788, 25 L. R. A. 794, affirming 70 Hun 239, 24 N. Y. S. 500; People v. Gillson, (1888) 109 N. Y. 389, 17 N. E. 343, 4 A. S. R. 465; People v. Cipperly, 101 N. Y. 634, 4 N. E. 107, adopting dissenting opinion, 37 Hun 319; In re Jacobs, (1885) 98 N. Y. 98, 50 Am. Rep. 636; In re Cheesebrough, (1879) 78 N. Y. 232, affirming 17 Hun 561; People v. Beattie, (1904) 96 App. Div. 383, 89 N. Y. S. 193; Brooklyn v. Nassau Electric R. Co., (1899) 44 App. Div. 462, 61 N. Y. S. 33; Board of Fire Underwriters v. Whipple, (1896) 2 App. Div. 361, 37 N. Y. S. 712.

In its most comprehensive sense, however, police power embraces the whole system by which the state seeks to preserve the public order, to prevent offenses against the law, to insure to citizens in their intercourse with each other the enjoyment of their own so far as is reasonably consistent with a like enjoyment of rights by others. Under it persons and property are subjected to all kinds of restraints and burdens in order to secure the general comfort, health and prosperity of the state. Ives v. South Buffalo R. Co., (1911) 201 N. Y. 271, 94 N. E. 431, Ann. Cas. 1912B 156, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 162, reversing 140 App. Div. 921, 125 N. Y. S. 1125; People v. Murphy, (1909) 195 N. Y. 126, 88 N. E. 17, 21 L. R. A. (N. S.) 735, affirming 129 App. Div. 260, 113 N. Y. S. 855; Hathorn v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., (1909) 194 N. Y. 326, 87 N. E. 504, 128 A. S. R. 555, 16 Ann. Cas. 989, 23 L. R. A. (N. S.) 436, affirming 128 App. Div. 33, 112 N. Y. S. 374; Boswell v. Security Mut. Life Ins. Co., (1908) 193 N. Y. 465, 86 N. E. 532, 19 L. R. A. (N. S.) 946, modifying 119 App. Div. 723, 104 N. Y. S. 130; People v. City Prison, (1905) 183 N. Y. 223, 76 N. E. 11, 5 Ann. Cas. 325, 2 L. R. A. (N. S.) 859, affirming 107 App. Div. 617, 95 N. Y. S. 1152; Tenement House Dept. v. Moeschen, (1904) 179 N. Y. 325, 72 N. E. 231, 103 A. S. R. 910, 1 Ann. Cas. 439, 70 L. R. A. 704, affirming 89 App. Div. 526, 85 N. Y. S. 704, 90 App. Div. 603, 85 N. Y. S. 1148; People v. Orange County Road Const. Co., (1903) 175 N. Y. 84, 67 N. E. 129, 65 L. R. A. 33, reversing 73 App. Div. 580, 77 N. Y. S. 16; People v. Hawkins, (1898) 157 N. Y. 1, 51 N. E. 257, 68 A. S. R. 736, 42 L. R. A. 490, affirming 20 App. Div. 494, 47 N. Y. S. 56; Health Department v. Trinity Church, (1895) 145 N. Y. 32, 39 N. E. 833, 45 A. S. R. 579, 27 L. R. A. 710; People v. City Prison, (1895) 144 N. Y. 529, 39 N. E. 686, 27 L. R. A. 718; People v. Grant, (1891) 126 N. Y. 473, 27 N. E. 964; People v. Budd, (1889) 117 N. Y. 1, 22 N. E. 670, 682, 15 A. S. R. 460, 5

L. R. A. 559; People v. Gillson, (1888) 109 N. Y. 389, 17 N. E. 343, 4 A. S. R. 465; People v. Squire, (1888) 107 N. Y. 593, 14 N. E. 820, 1 A. S. R. 893, affirmed 145 U. Š. 175, 12 S. Ct. 880, 36 U. S. (L. ed.) 666; In re Jacobs. (1885) 98 N. Y. 98, 50 Am. Rep. 636; In re Cheesebrough, (1879) 78 N. Y. 232, affirming 17 Hun 561; Bertholf v. O'Reilly, (1878) 74 N. Y. 509, 30 Am. Rep. 323, affirming 8 Hun 16; People v. City Prison, (1915) 154 App. Div. 413, 139 N. Y. S. 277; Brooklyn v. Nassau Electric R. Co., (1899) 44 App. Div. 462, 61 N. Y. S. 33; Bronk v. Barckley, (1897) 13 App. Div. 72, 43 N. Y. S. 400; Board of Fire Underwriters v. Whipple, (1896) 2 App. Div. 361, 37 N. Y. S. 712; Kelley v. New York, (1895) 89 Hun 246, 35 N. Y. S. 1109; People v. McGann, (1884) 34 Hun 358. In People v. City Prison, (1905) 183 N. Y. 223, 76 N. E. 11, 5 Ann. Cas. 325, 2 L. R. A. (N. S.) 859, 'affirming 107 App. Div. 617, 95 N. Y. S. 1152, the court said: “A statute to promote the public health, the public safety or to secure public order or for the prevention or suppression of fraud is a valid law, although it may, in some respects, interfere with individual freedom. All business and occupations are conducted subject to the exercise of the police power. Individual freedom must yield to regulations for the public good. It may be laid down as a general principle that legislation is valid which has for its object the promotion of the public health, safety, morals, convenience and general welfare or the prevention of fraud or immorality."

Limitations on police power generally. The police power is subject to constitutional limitations, "for in a constitutional government limitation is the abiding principle, exhibited in its highest form in the constitution as the deliberative judgment of the people, which moderates every claim of right and controls every use of power." People v. City Prison, (1895) 144 N. Y. 529, 39 N. E. 686, 27 L. R. A. 718. To the same effect, Hauser v. North British, etc., Ins. Co., (1912) 206 N. Y. 455, 100 N. E. 52, 42 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1139, affirming 152 App. Div. 91, 136 N. Y. S. 1015; Ives v. South Buffalo R. Co., (1911) 201 N. Y. 271, 94 N. E. 431, Ann. Cas. 1912B 156, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 162, reversing 140 App. Div. 921, 125 N. Y. S. 1125; People v. Ringe, (1910) 197 N. Y. 143, 90 N. E. 451, 18 Ann. Cas. 474, 27 L. R. A. (N. S.) 528, affirming 125 App. Div. 592, 110 N. Y. S. 74; People v. Luhrs, (1909) 195 N. Y. 377, 89 N. E. 171, 25 L. R. A. (N. S.) 473, affirming 127 App. Div. 634, 111 N. Y. S. 749; Frank L. Fisher Co. v. Woods, (1907) 187 N. Y. 90, 79 N. E. 836, 12 L. R. A. (N. S.) 707, reversing 110 App. Div. 890, 96 N. Y. S. 1125; People v. Hawkins, (1898) 157 N. Y. 1, 51 N. E. 257, 68 A. S. R. 736, 42 L. R. A. 490, affirming 20 App. Div. 494, 47 N. Y. S. 56; People v. City Prison, (1898) 157 N. Y. 116, 51 N. E. 1006, 68 A. S. R. 763, 43 L. R. A. 264, reversing 26 App. Div. 228, 50 N. Y. S. 56; Colon v. Lisk, (1897) 153 N. Y. 188, 47 N. E. 302, 60 A. S. R. 609; Health Department v. Trinity Church, (1895) 145 N. Y. 32, 39 N. E. 833, 45 A. S. R. 579, 27 L. R. A. 710; Carthage v. Frederick, (1890) 122 N. Y. 268, 25 N. E. 480, 19 A. S. R. 490, 10 L. R. A. 178; People v. Budd, (1889) 117 N. Y. 1, 22 N. E. 670, 682, 15 A. S. R. 460, 5 L. R. A. 559; Buffalo E. S. R. Co. v. Buffalo St. R. Co., (1888) 111 N. Y. 132, 19 N. E. 63, 2 L. R. A. 384; People v. Gillson, (1888) 109 N. Y. 389, 17 N. E. 343, 4 A. S. R. 465; In re Jacobs, (1885) 98 N. Y. 98, 50 Am. Rep. 636; Wynehamer v. People, (1856) 13 N. Y. 378, affirming 20 Barb. 567 and reversing 20 Barb. 168; Whiteley v. Terry, (1903) 83 App. Div. 197, 82 N. Y. S. 89; Buffalo v. Hill, (1903) 79 App. Div. 402, 79 N. Y. S. 449; Bronk v. Barckley, (1897) 13 App. Div. 72, 43 N. Y. S. 400; People v. McGann, (1884) 34 Hun 358.

In addition to being subject to constitutional limitations, any exercise by the legislature of the police power must tend in a degree that is perceptible and clear toward the preservation of the lives, the health, the morals or the welfare of the community. Ives v. Southern Buffalo R. Co., (1911) 201 N. Y. 271, 94 N. E. 431, Ann. Cas. 1912B 156, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 162, reversing 140 App. Div. 921, 125 N. Y. S. 1125; People v. Ringe, (1910)