 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Director of the Office of State Lands & Investments v. Merbanco6/6/2003
Laramie County, 5 P.3d 774, 779 (Wyo. 2000) (quoting Kirbens v. Wyoming State Board of Medicine, 992 P.2d 1056, 1060 (Wyo. 1999) (citations omitted)). We construe together all parts of the statutes in pari materia, and, in ascertaining the meaning of a given law, we consider and construe in harmony all statutes relating to the same subject or having the same general purpose. Id. "When the language is not clear or is ambiguous, the court must look to the mischief the statute was intended to cure, the historical setting surrounding its enactment, the public policy of the state, the conclusions of law, and other prior and contemporaneous facts and circumstances, making use of the accepted rules of construction to ascertain a legislative intent that is reasonable and consistent." State ex rel. Motor Vehicle Division v. Holtz, 674 P.2d 732, 736 (Wyo. 1983).
Fosler v. Collins, 13 P.3d 686, 688 (Wyo. 2000).
DISCUSSION
As we apply these rules of construction to the constitutional provisions in question to determine whether the statutes and regulations authorizing exchanges of school lands without public auction are constitutional, we look first to the historical context of the two provisions and the "mischief" they were intended to cure. In doing so, we note Article 18, Section 1 was contained in the original constitution adopted in 1890, while Article 18, Section 3, in its current form, resulted from a 1921 amendment by a different group of "framers" which combined the original Section 3 with Article 7, Section 13.
Looking first to the original language, we have as guidance the records of the constitutional convention and the historical experience of other states as they were admitted into the Union. The federal government's policy of granting lands to states for the support of schools is traceable to the country's infancy and the adoption of the General Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance adopted two years later, both of which required certain lands to be granted for schools to new states joining the Union. Sally K. Fairfax et al., School Trust Lands: A Fresh Look at Conventional Wisdom, 22 Envtl. L. 797, 805-06 (1992). The general motivation for the grants was the concern that states in their infancy would not provide sufficient financial support of schools without federal assistance. Id. at 806 n.24. However, exactly how the states were to use the lands to support the schools was not well defined. From the beginning, debate occurred over whether such lands should be sold or retained for future use. Many of the early states' constitutions actually provided for quick sales in order to spur economic development as well as provide immediate funds for the support of schools. Id. at 807. While much has been made about those early states having improperly managed the lands granted, some authorities suggest their actions derived from a desire to achieve immediate benefit for the citizens rather than preserving the lands for the use of future generations. According to these authorities, suggestions by historians of incompetence or corruption have been overstated. Id.
In any event, limitations on states' rights regarding the management and sale of school lands evolved over time. States imposed such limitations on themselves in their own constitutions, and, in some cases, the federal government imposed limitations in the respective enabling statutes. Subtle, but significant, variations in language exist between states as well as within the key documents enacted in a single state. Id. at 819. For example, Section 4 of Wyoming's Act of Admission granted lands "for the support of common schools" whereas Article 18, Section 1 of our constitution accepted
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Wyoming DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|