BOND ELECTION, ESTABLISHMENT OF VOTING PLACES, USE OF PROCEEDS OF LIBRARY BOOKS. Letter, December 20, 1966, to Mr. John J. Gardner, Attorney at Law, P.O. Box 88, Olathe, Kansas.
You have inquired of this office concerning certain questions which have arisen in connection with a proposed library bond election for the Johnson County Library. You state that the library is created under provisions of K.S.A. 12-1220 et seq.
You first inquire as to whether the Board of County Commissioners can establish voting places in proportion to the number of voters they expect. The bond election under the statute in question must be called and held in accordance with the provisions of the general bond law. (K.S.A. 12-1221) Section 10-120 of the general bond law provides that elections shall be held at the usual place of holding elections and shall be conducted by the officers or persons provided by law for holding elections in such municipality. Even though the territory to vote on the bond question at hand does not include the city of Olathe, the election to be conducted is in fact a county election. (K.S.A. 12-1221)
Johnson county comes within the provisions of the election commissioner statutes. (K.S.A. 1968 Supp. 19-3419 et seq.) K.S.A. 1968 Supp. 19-3422 transfers to such election commissioner all the jurisdiction, powers and duties previously vested in certain other officers. Said section also provides that all laws of the state relating to the registration, qualification, challenging and voting of electors at any election in any such county are make applicable to such count election commissioners. We interpret this to include the provisions contained in K.S.A. 1968 Supp. 25-2702 which provides that a voter shall not be eligible to vote in any precinct of the township or district other than the one in which he resides. Section 19-3426 provides as follows:
"The election commissioner shall proclaim the boundaries of all wards and election precincts in the county by one publication in the official paper of the county. Such publication shall be make at least thirty days prior to any election."
We are therefore of the opinion that the requirement of section 10-120 requiring bond elections to be held at the usual place of holding elections in the municipality would require that polling places be established to coincide with the polling place of the general election in the county, exclusive of the city of Olathe.
Lastly, you have inquired as to whether the bond proceeds can be used to purchase books for the library. K.S.A. 12-1221 provides in part as follows:
"Any county or township which is maintaining, or has voted to establish a library may erect and equip a library building and procure a site therefor, and may issue the bonds of such county or township for the purpose of paying the cost of such building, equipment and site. . . ."
It therefore becomes necessary to determine what is included in the term "equipment" as such term is used in the statute.
In the case of Edkins v. Board of Education (N.Y.), 41 N.E. 2d 75, the court called upon to construe a statute which provided as follows:
"Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the board of education in a city shall have the power and it shall be its duty . . .
"4. To purchase and furnish such apparatus, maps, globes, books, furniture and other equipment and supplies as may be necessary for the proper and efficient management of the schools and other educational . . . activities and interests under its management and control."
The court said:
"We think that the word 'equipment' in the statute includes not only books and pencils but protective clothing for child students similar to that necessarily furnished by employers to men performing the same machine shop operation in industry."
It would be the opinion of this office that the term "equipment" as used in section 12-1221 includes books to be placed in a library and that the proceeds of the bond issue may lawfully be used to purchase such books. This being the case, we see no objection to stating in the ballot that the money will also be used for the purchase of books, although we feel that such recital is required if the proposition otherwise informs the voters that the proceeds will be used to equip the library.
- Quoted from Kansas Public Library Laws, Attorney General’s Opinions and Rules and Regulations, State Library of Kansas, March 1979.
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