ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

The question of the extension of the prison system of the State so as to secure improved discipline both with respect to occupation and reformatory measures in the case of those confined in county penitentiaries under conviction for felonies or misdemeanors, deserves careful study, and such means of control as may be found practicable should be secured.

[ocr errors]

Board of Fiscal Control - Salaries, Purchases. It is not advisable that particular salaries of subordinate employees in State institutions should be fixed directly by the Legislature. These matters of detail, within the limits fixed by the legislative appropriations, should be dealt with through administrative agencies. But there should be uniformity with respect to positions of a similar sort, and one branch of the State service should not be found competing with another or suffering in comparison with another. There should be both flexibility and a reasonable degree of harmony. This can be effected by establishing a board of control in which will be represented the different classes of State institutions and their supervising authorities, through whose final action the salary classifications may from time to time be determined.

The financial operations of the institutions should be harmonious wherever practicable, and the same board may be used to effect this purpose. Such a board might act with regard to purchases of supplies required in the various institutions in order to secure whatever advantages are possible from bringing these purchases under one system. The action of the board, both with regard to salaries and purchases, may be made subject to the approval of the Governor and the Comptroller.

QUARANTINE COMMISSIONERS AND PORT WARDENS

The necessary increase in governmental agencies should make us the more solicitous to simplify organization wherever possible. I again recommend that the offices of Quarantine Commissioners should be abolished and that their duties should be devolved upon the Health Officer of the Port. The general supervision by the Health Officer of quarantine estab

lishments makes it appropriate that he should have the care of the buildings and improvements on the islands where persons subject to quarantine are detained. The board of Quarantine Commissioners is unnecessary. The law should also be amended so that the expenses of the Health Officer should be provided for by appropriation and his fees covered into the State treasury.

I also renew my recommendation that the board of Port Wardens be reduced to five members in lieu of the present board of nine. The additional places are not needed.

I have not filled the vacancies occurring in these boards as they make easier the appropriate action of the Legislature. And in order that there may be no unnecessary delay in organizing the work upon an improved basis I suggest that if these recommendations meet with the approval of your honorable body, they be acted on early in the session.

At the last session of the Legislature there was a notable reduction of the volume of legislation, particularly with respect to special acts. Special legislation is not only objectionable because of its partiality but also because of the extent to which it withdraws attention from the consideration of general bills. It is gratifying to note the growing recognition of the importance of this matter and I trust that your honorable body will continue the policy of limiting special acts, so far as possible, and of securing legislation that is general and impartial.

CHARLES E. HUGHES

Recommending Legislation Giving to the Superintend= ent of Insurance Authority to Conduct the Liquida= tion of Insolvent Insurance Companies

STATE OF NEW YORK EXECUTIVE CHAMBER

TO THE LEGISLATURE:

Albany, March 8, 1909

In my annual message I recommended that authority should be given to the Superintendent of Insurance to conduct the

liquidation of insolvent insurance companies in a manner similar to that which has been authorized in the case of banking institutions. The serious delays and enormous waste connected with receiverships, both of banking and of insurance corporations, has directed attention to the advisability of providing suitable means for economical and speedy liquidation through the agency of the respective State departments. Last year the Banking law was amended so as to provide for liquidation of banking corporations by a businesslike method, and the wisdom of the provision has already been demonstrated by experience. Similar exigencies arise in connection wtih insurance corporations and should be dealt with in a similar way.

Not only is it desirable to provide for the economical and speedy liquidation of insolvent institutions of either class, but also to make proper provision that the superintendent of the appropriate department, where the corporation is delinquent or the interests of depositors or policyholders are in jeopardy, may at once take possession of the property of the corporation and assume charge of its affairs so that he may be in a position to conserve its assets and take such steps as will prevent unnecessary waste or spoliation. The legislation of the last session with regard to banks provided for this and gave broad powers to the Superintendent of Banks to take possession of the property and business of banking corporations whenever there was good reason to conclude that they were in an unsafe condition, or that it was unsafe or inexpedient for them to continue in business. It remains to provide a similarly effective remedy in the case of insurance corporations.

Circumstances may make the exercise of such a power of the greatest importance to all parties in interest, even though the institution may be solvent, and the exercise of such authority may frequently save a corporation from ruin and make easy the resumption of business under proper safeguards. The protection which is sought to be given to our citizens by the supervisory powers of the State department is not complete unless the Superintendent is in a position, in times of

emergency, at once to take custody for purposes of conservation, and ample authority for this purpose should be afforded. Certain recent transactions relating to a long-established and solvent life insurance corporation have emphasized the need of such legislation. All the assets of the New York corporation appear to be claimed, under a reinsurance contract, by an insurance corporation of another State. Legal proceedings have been instituted attacking the transaction in question, and a receivership has been asked for. In such a case it ought to be a simple matter to secure proper custodial care through the State department and to take summary steps to protect the interests of the policyholders, without recourse to a receivership.

Fortunately, in the case stated, the Superintendent of Insurance, with the co-operation of the Attorney-General, has been able to procure an agreement whereby the assets of the New York corporation have been, or will be, returned to this State and placed within the control of the Superintendent of Insurance. The matter is too important, however, to be left in this shape, and the acts of the Superintendent for the purpose of protecting the policyholders from loss, should be ratified and appropriate powers should be given him to take charge of the concerns of insurance corporations so situated. Provision should also be made by which all arrangements for the transfer of assets from one insurance company to another, with the design to bring about a practical merger or, in effect, to turn over the business of the one corporation to the other, should require the approval of the Superintendent of Insurance, under appropriate restrictions.

I therefore recommend that such legislation be enacted as will give to the Superintendent of Insurance powers with respect to taking possession of the property and affairs of insurance corporations and their liquidation, analogous to the powers conferred last year upon the Superintendent of Banks. While these powers should be broad in order that complete protection may be given to policyholders through the machinery of the Department, without making it necessary to have receivers appointed, there should also be proper provi

sion for recourse to the courts as a safeguard against unjust or arbitrary action. The existence of such powers will be found, it is believed, to make their exercise rarely necessary, as the provision of an effective remedy will make less likely the development of situations to which it may be applicable. In view of the importance of the matter I respectfully urge that it receive as early attention as may be possible.

(Signed) CHARLES E. HUGHES

Recommending Legislation to Expedite Legal Proceedings for the Collection of Special Franchise Taxes

STATE OF NEW YORK - EXECUTIVE CHAMBER

TO THE LEGISLATURE:

Albany, March 10, 1909

Present conditions with respect to legal proceedings for the collection of special franchise taxes are deplorable. Thousands of cases are pending involving assessments amounting to millions of dollars, but the methods employed have been dilatory and wasteful.

The practice has been to procure, generally by stipulation, the appointment of referees to take testimony as to matters in dispute. This in itself has been a serious cause of delay and it appears that in most of the pending cases, many of them of long standing, no progress has been made and they are in the same position as when the referees were appointed. In addition, the practice of procuring the appointment of the same referees in numerous cases has brought about a situation which makes it impossible in any event to have the cases prosecuted with reasonable dispatch.

The result is that the State with regard to these important rights is found to be enmeshed in a web of proceedings, and if we are to bring the litigation to an end and have the rights of the litigants determined with proper promptitude, measures of relief must be provided without delay. The AttorneyGeneral has made a careful examination of the state of

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »