Chap. 76.—An ACT to provide for State money aid, in addition to convict
labor, for the improvement of public roads.

Approved February 25, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia as follows:
That whenever the local road authorities of any county propose to im-
prove permanently any main traveled public road therein, or any part
thereof, they may make application to the State highway commissioner
for State aid.

2. After the receipt by such commissioner of such application, the
same proceedings shall be had, in respect to the approval, or disapproval,
of such application by such commissioner, the decision as to the materials
to be used, the making of plans, specifications and estimate of cost, and
in respect to a second application by the local road authorities for State
aid, as are now provided by law with respect to applications by local
road authorities for State aid for the improvement of roads under the
act of the general assembly of Virginia which established a State high-
way commission, approved March sixth, nineteen hundred and six, as
same was enacted, or as it may be amended, so far as applicable; except
that the local road authorities in such second application under this
act shall agree that the county shall bear as a county charge in the first
instance, as hereinafter provided, fifty per centum of the expense of
such road improvement: provided, that such plans and specifications
may be made, and the material to be furnished for such road improve-
ment may be for telford, macadam, gravel, or sand-clay roadway, or
other suitable construction, taking into consideration climate, soil and
materials to be had in the vicinity thereof, and the extent and nature
of the traffic likely to be upon such road; the said commissioner specify-
ing what kind of road in his judgment a wise economy demands: and,
provided, further, that said commissioner shall indicate how such road,
or any part thereof, may be improved by deviation from the existing
location, whenever it may be deemed of advantage to obtain a shorter or
more direct road without lessening its usefulness, or wherever such de-
viation is of advantage by reason of lessening the gradients.

3. When the local road authorities have once made such second appli-
cation for State aid under the provisions of this act, no resolution tiere-
after adopted, or subsequent action whatsoever taken by the locat road
authorities, shall have the effect of rescinding or annulling such prior
action.

4. After the receipt of the second application herein provided for, the
State highway commissioner shall advertise (at the expense of the
county), for at least two consecutive weeks in a newspaper having a
general circulation in the county, and in such other publication as he
may deem proper, if any, for bids containing proposals for the fur-
nishing of the material and for the construction of the road according
to the plans and specifications of said commissioner; and the local road
authorities, subject to the approval of the said commissioner, may award
such contract to the lowest responsible bidder. If no satisfactory bid be
received, the local road authorities may furnish such material and con-
struct such road in accordance with such plans and specifications, but
the expenses thereof, of which the State is to bear its proportion as
hereinafter provided, shall not in such case exceed the amount of the
estimate of the cost made by such commissioner. The local road
authorities may reject any and all bids, and before entering into any
contract with any bidder they shall require a bond in the penalty of
at least thirty per centum of the contract price, with sufficient surety,
conditioned that if the proposal shall be accepted the contractor will
furnish the material and perform the work upon the terms proposed,
within the time prescribed and in accordance with the plans and speci-
fications. Such work shall be done under the actual supervision of the
State highway commissioner, or some assistant of his. Partial pay-
ments may be provided for in the contract and paid in the manner herein
provided when certified to by such commissioner to an amount not
exceeding ninety per centum of the contract price, and ten per centum of
the contract price shall be retained until ninety days after the entire
work has been accepted and opened to the public.

5. The expense of such road improvement shall be borne, fifty per
centum by the State, and fifty per centum by the county and smaller
road divisions thereof that may be established according to law, as the
local road authorities of the county, in which the road proposed to be
improved lies, may determine, as hereinafter provided: provided, how-
ever, that out of the State money aid, which may be approporiated from
time to time to carry the provisions of this act into effect, a sum equal
to five per centum of the total amount which such money, and the amount
to be raised locally in accordance with provisions hereof, will make
available for road and bridge improvement, may, upon the requisition of
the State highway commissioner, be set aside for the purpose of en-
abling the State highway commissioner to employ such assistants from
time to time as may be necessary for the discharge of the additional
duties imposed by this act upon such commissioner and his assistants ;
the warrants for the salaries and expenses of such assistants shall he
issued by the auditor of public accounts in favor of such assistants upon
certificates of said commissioner that they are entitled thereto and shall
be paid by the State treasurer out of the fund set aside for that purpose
as above provided; and the residue of such State money aid shall each
year be apportioned among all the counties of the State, except those
counties excluded from such apportionment by the provisions herein-
after contained in paragraph nine of this act, according to the respec-
tive total amounts of State taxes paid into the treasury from such coun-
ties on real estate, personal property, income and capitation tax the next
preceding fiscal year: provided, further, that the share of each county
of such apportionment shall remain in the State treasury until applied
for and such county shall become entitled to receive it according to law:
and provided, further, that if such apportionment for each year shall
not be applied for by the local road authorities of any county and such
county become entitled to receive it according to law, before the first
day of March, in the year nineteen hundred and nine, and thereafter
before the first day of March in each year, the amount so apportioned
and set aside for that county, or the amount thereof not so applied
for and not so entitled to be received shall thereupon be apportioned as
herein provided, among the counties entitled to share in said apportion-
ment as aforesaid, whose local road authorities have theretofore and after
the passage of this act ‘made application according to law requiring
State money aid to the extent of a sum greater than the amount of their
said apportionments, respectively.

Any county wherein, after the passage of this act, more than fifty per
centum of the expense of permanent road improvement shall be ex-
pended, in accordance with the provisions of this act, shall be entitled
to receive its said annual apportionment of State aid, until its receipts
from the State on such account shall equal fifty per centum of such
expense.

Any county whose share in any year of said apportionment of State
aid for permanent road improvement shall not exceed the sum of twenty-
five hundred dollars, shall be entitled to receive the same for use in pay-
ment of fifty per centum of the expense of permanent bridge building in
such county according to plans and specifications made, or approved,
by the State highway commissioner upon condition that the other fifty
per centum of such expense be borne by such county.

The local road authorities of each county may determine what part,
if any, of the fifty per centum of said expense for said road improve-
ment to be borne locally, the county, shall bear, and what part, if any,
the smaller road divisions thereof shall bear; and such local road au-
thorities may accept private contributions paid into the hands of the
treasurer of the county to be used on account of said expenses for said
road improvement to be borne locally.

6. The share of each county of said apportionment of State money
aid shall be paid by the State treasurer out of the funds in his hands
which may been appropriated and may be available therefor, to the
treasurer of the county entitled to receive the same, upon the warrants
of the auditor of public accounts. issued upon the certificates of the State
highway commissioner that such county is entitled to receive such
share.

%. The said proportion of said expense to be borne locally shall be a
county charge in the first instance, and the fund raised locally therefor
and that received from the State, as herein provided, shall be paid out
by the treasurer of the county upon the warrants of the local road
authorities thereof issued upon the certificates of the State highway com-
missioner, and such warrants shall be attached to, or made out on the
back of such certificates, and shall not be paid by the county treasurer,
nor shall he be entitled to receive credit for the payment thereof, unless
such warrants be so accompanied by such certificate when presented to
such treasurer for payment and when sought to be used by him as
vouchers.

The county treasurer and his sureties shall be liable for all moneys
coming into his hands under this act; but an additional bond maybe
required of said treasurer, and such treasurer shall receive as compensa-
tion for his services hereunder a commission of one-fourth of one per
centum of the amount thus coming into his hands from the State treas-
ury and from private contribution.

8. The improvement of roads under the provisions of this act shall be
taken up and carried forward in the respective counties of the State, as
the money therefor may become available, as far as practicable in the
order in which the second applications provided for in this act are filed
with the State highway commissioner; but no county shall be entitled
to receive State money aid hereunder unless and until it be first made to
appear to the State highway commissioner that the money with which
to meet the proportion of said expenses to be borne by the locality will
be in the hands of the county treasurer and available as needed to meet
the same, or has already been expended by the locality as herein pro-
vided.

9. Where a State convict road force is furnished to any county in any
year under the provisions of the act of the general assembly of Virginia,
creating the State convict road force, approved March sixth, nineteen.
hundred and six, as same was enacted, or as it may be amended, such
county shall not be entitled to receive for such year State money aid
under this act.

10. The sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars annually is
hereby appropriated, out of any money in the State treasury not other-
wise appropriated, beginning with the fiscal year commencing March
first, nineteen hundred and nine, to carry the provisions of this act into
effect.