Authority of Provincial Boards To Establish a Locust Extermination Tax

March 6, 1924

ACT NO. 3146

AN ACT AUTHORIZING PROVINCIAL BOARDS TO ESTABLISH A LOCUST EXTERMINATION TAX, UPON RECOMMENDATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE, AND PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF THE SAME; ESTABLISHING PENALTIES FOR DELINQUENCY IN THE PAYMENT OF SAID TAX, AND AUTHORIZING JUSTICES OF THE PEACE TO IMPOSE THE PROPER PENALTY UPON DELINQUENTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Upon recommendation of the Director of Agriculture, the provincial board of each province is hereby authorized to create a tax which shall be set aside for the extermination of the locusts in said province, which tax shall not be less than twenty nor more than sixty centavos per individual and shall be payable by every male from sixteen to sixty years of age: Provided, That in provinces where this tax is established, the provisions of section fourteen of Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and seventy-two shall not apply; but said section shall remain in force in all other provinces.

SECTION 2. The tax provided for in the preceding section shall be collected by the municipal treasurers of the municipalities, under the direction of the provincial treasurer, once each year; but provincial boards are authorized to suspend or refrain from enforcing the collection of the tax for one or more years when, in their judgment, sufficient funds are on hand for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. The money collected for the tax herein established shall be in the custody and charge of the provincial treasurer, who shall make disbursements in accordance with the orders given by the Locust Board created by Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and seventy-two, in the exercise of the powers hereby conferred upon said board.

SECTION 4. The Locust Board is hereby authorized to dispose of the funds collected under this Act: (a) for the payment of wages for each day of labor to the persons engaged in locust extermination work; (b) for payment for locusts killed or caught, in such form and manner as said board may determine; (c) for the acquisition of instruments or apparatus required for catching or exterminating locusts.

SECTION 5. The provincial board, upon resolving to create the tax established by this Act, shall fix the time within which such tax shall be paid.

SECTION 6. Any person liable to the payment of the tax established by the provincial board of a province who becomes delinquent, shall pay double the amount of the tax if delinquent for not more than one week.

SECTION 7. Any person delinquent for one week or more shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to work one day in the extermination of locusts at a locust-infested place. However, the delinquent may pay the tax and one-half of the costs before the trial of the proceedings against him, in which case said proceedings shall be dismissed.

SECTION 8. The justices of the peace of the municipalities where violators of the provisions of the foregoing sections reside are hereby authorized to try and decide cases against such violators, and their decisions in such cases shall be final, and the sentences imposed shall be executed when the province concerned or any part thereof is locust-infested.

SECTION 9. The words "locust" and "locust-infested" as used in this Act shall have the meaning defined in Act Numbered Twenty-four hundred and seventy-two.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on its approval.

Approved: March 6, 1924