Section 2, act of May 81, as amended by act of May 28, 1915 (P. L. 583), cited for amendment. tenance, and repair of township or county roads, and prescribing the contents of township, county, borough, or incorporated town petitions; providing for percentage of cost of improvement or repairs to be paid by State, county, township, borough, or incorporated town, and requiring contracts by counties, townships, boroughs, and incorporated towns with Commonwealth governing same; providing for the minimum width of State Highways and State-aid highways, and kind of materials to be used in the improvement; providing for payment of cost of improvement and repairs; providing penalty for injur ing or destroying State Highways; making appropri ations to carry out the provisions of the act; and providing for the repeal of certain acts relating to Highway Department and improvement of roads, and of all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith; and providing that existing contracts are not affected by provisions of this act," reads as follows: "Section 2. The Governor shall appoint a chief 1911 (P. L. 468), engineer of the department, who shall be a capable and competent civil engineer, and experienced in the building and maintenance of improved roads, who shall be paid a salary at the rate of seven thousand dollars per annum. The State Highway Commissioner shall appoint, as an assistant to the chief engineer, an engineer of bridges, who shall be a capable and competent civil engineer, experienced in the designing and construction of bridges, who shall be paid a salary at the rate of thirty-six hundred dollars per annum. He may also appoint not to exceed fifty superintend ents, experienced in the construction and maintenance of improved roads, who shall be known as superintend ents of highways, each of whom shall be paid a salary at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per annum. He may also appoint, as the work of the department requires, fifteen competent civil engineers, experienced in improved road building, to act as assistants to the chief engineer, and who shall each be paid a salary at the rate of twenty-four hundred dollars per annum. He may also appoint a chief draughtsman, who shall also be an experienced civil engineer, and who shall be paid a salary at the rate of twenty-four hundred dollars per annum. He may also appoint an engineer of maintenance, an engineer of construction, additional civil engineers and engineers' assistants, superintendents, inspectors, a statistician, paymasters, draughtsmen, bookkeepers, and a chief clerk, additional clerks, stenographers, and such other employes as, in his opinion, are sufficient to carry on the work of the State Highway Department, and shall fix the salaries to be paid the aforementioned employes. "The State Highway Commissioner, his deputies and other officers, shall be paid, in addition to their stip ulated salary or compensation, traveling expenses necessarily and actually incurred by each of them in the performance of the duties required by this act, or performed by direction of the State Highway Commissioner. The State Highway Commissioner shall assign the superintendents of highways to such sections or parts of the State as, in the judgment of said commissioner, will enable said superintendents to render most efficient service in the improvement of the highways. It shall be the duty of each superintendent of highways, subject to the authority of the commissioner, and in accord with the rules and regulations of the department, to superintend, supervise, and take charge and control of all work of rebuilding, maintenance, and repair of the State-aid and State Highways, or any portions thereof, in his said district, or placed in his charge; and it shall be the further duty of each superintendent of highways to instruct the authorities having charge of the highways in the counties or townships in his district, which receive aid from the State in the maintenance of highways, as to the method to be employed at all times in the construction, maintenance, and repair of county or township roads, culverts, and bridges in said counties or townships," be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: engineer. Assistants to chief engineer. Section 2. The Governor shall appoint a chief engi engineer. neer of the department, who shall be a capable and competent civil engineer, and experienced in the building and maintenance of improved roads, who shall be paid a salary at the rate of seven thousand five hundred dollars per annum. The State Highway Commis. Salary. sioner shall appoint an experienced maintenance engi- Maintenance neer. He shall also appoint a controller, who shall be Controller. an expert accountant, and who shall keep record of the finances of the department, audit all accounts, and countersign all warrants. The State Highway Commissioner shall appoint, as assistants to the chief en gineer, a principal assistant engineer, construction engineers, an office engineer, and an engineer of plans and surveys, who shall be capable and competent civil engineers, experienced in the designing and construction of highways. He may also appoint an engineer of bridges, who shall be a capable and competent civil Engineer of engineer, experienced in the designing and construction of bridges. He may also appoint, as the work of the department requires, district engineers and addi District and tional civil engineers, experienced in improved road additional building. He may also appoint superintendents of highways, experienced in the construction and main- Superintendents. tenance of improved roads. He may also appoint a township engineer, engineers' assistants, an engineer Other of tests, a registrar of motor vehicles, an executive engineers manager, statistician, secretary, inspectors, purchas 2 Laws. bridges. engineers. and employes. Salaries. Traveling expenses. Assignment of superintendents. Duties of superintendents. When effective. ing agent, paymasters, cost accountant, bookkeepers, cashier, mechanician, draughtsmen, stenographers, additional clerks, and such other employes as, in his opinion, are sufficient to carry on the work of the State Highway Department, and shall fix the salaries of the aforementioned employes. The State Highway Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and other officers, shall be paid, in addition to their stipulated salary or compensation, traveling expenses necessarily and actually incurred by each of them in the performance of the duties required by this act, or performed by direction of the State Highway Commissioner. The State Highway Commissioner shall assign the superintendents of highways to such sections or parts of the State as, in the judgment of said Commissioner, will enable said superintendents to render most efficient service in the improvement of the highways. It shall be the duty of each superin tendent of highways, subject to the authority of the Commissioner, and in accord with the rules and regulations of the department, to superintend, supervise, and take charge and control of all work of rebuilding, maintenance, and repair of the State-aid and State Highways, or any portions thereof, in his said district. or placed in his charge. The provisions of this act shall become effective im mediately upon its approval by the Governor. APPROVED-The 11th day of March, A. D. 1919. WM. C. SPROUL. Judge Notarial powers. Attestations receivable in evidence and for recordation. No. 9. AN ACT Conferring upon judge advocates of the United States Army the powers of notaries public, declaring the effect thereof; validating notarial acts heretofore performed by judge advocates, and declaring the effect thereof. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the general powers of a notary public in the administration of oaths, the execution and acknowledgment of legal instruments, the attestation of documents, and in the performance of other notarial acts, are hereby conferred upon judge advocates of the United States Army. The attestation of any judge advocate, under the authority of this act, shall be valid and legal, and shall be received in evidence in the courts of the Commonwealth and for entry of record, in like manner, and with the same force and effect, as attestations by notaries public are received and entered. acts. Section 2. All notarial acts heretofore performed Validation APPROVED-The 14th day of March, A. D. 1919. No. 10. AN ACT To amend section five of an act, approved the twenty-fourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and thirteen (Pamphlet Laws, 1018), entitled "An act making it unlawful for the commissioners of any county in this Commonwealth to contract to repair, build, or rebuild any county bridges without due advertisement for sealed proposals, excepting contracts not amounting to two hundred and fifty dollars," by excepting contracts for the repair, building, or rebuilding of any bridge or bridges that will cost less than five hundred dollars. pro to repair, Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section five of County an act, approved the twenty-fourth day of July, one commissioners. thousand nine hundred and thirteen (Pamphlet Laws, 1018), entitled "An act making it unlawful for the commissioners of any county in this Commonwealth to contract to repair, build, or rebuild any county Contracts bridges without due advertisement for sealed posals, excepting contracts not amounting to two hun- rebuild county dred and fifty dollars," which reads as follows:"Section 5. This act shall not apply to any contract for the repair, building, or rebuilding of any bridge or bridges that will cost less than two hundred and fifty dollars," is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 5. This act shall not apply to any contract for the repair, building, or rebuilding of any bridge or bridges that will cost less than five hundred dollars. APPROVED-The 14th day of March, A. D. 1919. bridges. Section 5, 1913. L. 1018). cited for act of July 24, amendment. Not to apply to contracts Cities, boroughs, and incorporated towns. Act of July 1917 (P. L. 682), cited for amendment. ments. Paving, curbing, etc. No. 11. AN ACT To amend section one of an act, approved the fifth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and seventeen, entitled "An act authorizing cities to refund moneys paid by property owners into their treasuries, when a court of competent jurisdiction shall have determined that there was no liability for such payment when made," extending the provisions thereof to boroughs and incorporated towns. Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section one of an act, approved the fifth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and seventeen, entitled "An act authorizing cities to refund moneys paid by property owners into their treasuries, when a court of competent jurisdiction shall have determined that there was no liability for such payment when made," which reads as follows: "Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That whenever any city within this Commonwealth shall have, under existing laws, paved, curbed, and guttered, or otherwise improved, its highways, or any of them, or has opened or graded or acquired or condemned property in or along its highways, or any of them, at the expense in whole or in part of the owners of property bounding and abutting thereon, and such owners or any number of them shall have paid the assessments levied against them by such city or by viewers for such improvement, into the respective treasury, the said cities are hereby authorized and empowered to refund to the said owners of property, or to their heirs or assigns, the amount of the assessment thus paid by them, if it shall have been determined in any proceeding at law or in equity by a court of competent jurisdiction that the owners of property bounding or abutting on said highway or highways were not liable for the payment of such improvement at the time such improvement was ordered by the council of said cities to be made," is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That whenever any Refund of assess city, borough, or incorporated town, within this Commonwealth, shall have, under existing laws, paved, curbed, and guttered, or otherwise improved, its highways, or any of them, or has opened or graded or acquired or condemned property in or along its highways, or any of them, at the expense in whole or in Owners of abutting part of the owners of property bounding and abutting thereon, and such owners or any number of them shall have paid the assessments, levied against them by such city, borough, or incorporated town, or by viewers, for such improvement, into the respective treasury,-the said cities, boroughs, or incorporated towns are hereby property. |