An Act to amend Sections 12, 56, 77, 119 and 120 of an act entitled "An Act to incorporate the city of Dallas, and to grant it a new charter," approved May 9, 1899.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: That Section 12 of a special act of the Twenty-sixth Legislature, Regular Session, approved May 9, 1899, entitled "An Act to incorporate the city of Dallas and to grant it a new charter, be and the same is hereby amended so as to hereafter read as follows:

"Section 12. Said election shall be ordered by the mayor or the city council. For the purpose of holding such election and others ordered, the city council shall have power to divide any ward of the city into any number of voting precincts or blocks, not to exceed one such voting place for each 500 qualified voters, according to the returns of the last general city election, and shall have power to appoint some suitable person to act as presiding officer of all elections held in each of said voting precincts. The boundaries of such voting precincts or blocks shall be distinctly and clearly defined in the ordinances creating the same, as well as the places of voting therein, and such voting precincts shall be created and established biennially preceding each general city election; provided, that no person shall vote outside of the voting precinct or block in which he resides at the time the election is held; and provided further, that at the first general city election under this act the number of voting precincts in each ward shall not exceed three, and the division into voting precincts shall be made so as to secure, as nearly as practicable, an equal voting strength in the several voting precincts of each ward."

SEC. 2. That Section 56 of said special act named in the foregoing section be and the same is hereby amended so as to hereafter read as follows:

"Section 56. To prevent the encumbering of streets, alleys, sidewalks, and public grounds with carriages, wagons, carts, hacks, buggies or other vehicles, or with boxes, timber, firewood, posts, awnings, signs or anything whatever, in any manner whatever; to compel all persons to keep all weeds, filth, rubbish, trash of every kind from their premises and from the sidewalks, streets and gutters in front of the premises occupied by them, and to pass all ordinances necessary to enforce such things; to provide for, establish and maintain a free public library within said city, and to co-operate with any person, firm or corporation under such terms

as the council may prescribe for the establishment and maintenance of such free public library, and to that end the city council shall have power to annually appropriate out of the general revenues of the city a fund not to exceed four thousand dollars per annum."

SEC. 3. That Section 77 of said special act, approved May 9, 1899, be and the same is hereby amended so as to hereafter read as follows:

"Section 77. All receipts and revenues from the waterworks shall constitute a separate and sacred fund, which shall never be diverted or drawn. upon for any other purpose than the extension, improvement, operation, maintenance, repair and betterment of the waterworks and water supply, and sewer system of the city; but the city council, subject to the approval of the board of commissioners, as is elsewhere provided in this charter, may appropriate or pledge said receipts and revenues for the purpose of extending, improving, operating, maintaining and bettering the waterworks plant and mains and supply, and for constructing and extending lateral sewers, and also for the purpose of discharging or retiring the indebtedness of the city incurred or accrued for waterworks purposes; provided, that if at any time the receipts of the waterworks shall be in excess of the necessities and expenses for the extension, improvement, operation, maintenance and bettering of the same and of the water supply and the sewer system of the city, it shall be the duty of the city council to at once reduce the water and sewer rates to consumers in proportion to such excess."

SEC. 4. That Section 119 of said special act named in first section of this act be and the same is hereby amended so as to hereafter read as follows:

"Section 119. The city council shall have power to provide by ordinance for funding the whole or any part of the existing debts of the city or any future debt, by canceling the evidences thereof, and assuring the holders or creditors notes or bonds in lieu thereof, with coupons attached, bearing interest not to exceed the rates of the original bonds or evidences of indebtedness."

SEC. 5. That said Section 120 of said special act of May 9, 1899, be and the same is hereby amended as to hereafter read as follows:

"Section 120. The council shall have power to appropriate so much of the general revenue of the city for the purpose of retiring and discharging the accrued indebtedness of the city, and for the purpose of improving the streets, constructing sewers, erecting and maintaining public buildings of every kind, waterworks, and for the purpose of erecting, maintaining and operating an electric light plant, etc., as the council may from time to time deem expedient; and in furtherance of any or all of these objects the city council shall have the right and power to borrow money upon the credit of the city, and to issue coupon bonds therefor, in such sum or sums as may be deemed expedient, to bear interest not to exceed six per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually, at such place or places as may be designated by the city ordinance; provided, that the aggregate amount of said bonds shall at no time exceed the sum of two million dollars; provided further, that nothing in this section shall prohibit the issuance of bonds necessary to construct a crematory not to exceed $15,000, and to improve streets not to exceed $35,000, and to construct an electric light plant not to exceed $50,000; and provided further, that