CHAP. 214.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved March 16,
1910, entitled “an act to amend and re-enact an act approved March
17, 1906, entitled ‘an act to amend and re-enact section 27 of an act
entitled an act to raise revenue for the support of the government
and public free schools and to pay the interest on the public debt, and
to provide a special tax for pensions, as authorized by section 189 of
the constitution, approved April 16, 1903, as amended and re-enacted.’ ”’

Approved March 138, 1912.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
section twenty-seven of an act entitled an act to raise revenue
for the support of the government and public free schools and to
pay the interest on the public debt, and to provide a special tax
for pensions, as authorized by section one hundred and eighty-
nine of the constitution, approved April sixteenth, nineteen hun-
dred and three, as amended by an act approved March sixteenth,
nineteen hundred and ten, be amended so as to read as follows:

§27. Every railway and canal corporation of this State not
exempt from taxation by virtue of its charter, and every rail-
way and canal corporation incorporated under the laws of any
other State dcing business in this State, shall report annually
on or before the fifteenth day of August to the State corporation
commission all of its real and personal property of every de-
scription, as of the thirtieth day of June preceding, showing
particularly in what county or corporation the principal office
or agency of such corporation is located in this State, and in
what county or corporation the principal office or agency of such
corporation is located, and also showing what part of such prop-
erty is located in each school district of such county, and classi-
fying the same under the following heads:

First. Roadway and track or canal bed.

Second. Depots, depot grounds and lots, station buildings and
fixtures and machine shops.

Third. Real estate not included in other classes.

Fourth. Rolling stock, including passenger, freight, cattle
or stock, baggage, mail, express, sleeping, palace, and all other
cars owned by or belonging to the corporation, boats, machinery,
depot and office furniture and equipment, houses and appurte-
nances occupied by lock-gate keepers and other employees; pro-
vided, that foreign railway and canal corporations doing busi-
ness in this State shall report and be assessed on the average
amount of rolling stock habitually used by them in this State.

Fifth. Stores.

Sixth. Telegraph lines.

Seventh. Stock, bonds and other evidences of debt of other
corporations and individuals and firms held by such company.

Eighth. Stocks, bonds and other evidences of debt of any
person or corporation belonging to any such company chartered
in this State, in excess of its indebtedness, whether the same be
held in trust or otherwise by some other person, firm or corpo-
ration, within or without this State, which, for the purpose of
this act, shall be considered to be located at the principal office
of such company in this State.

Ninth. All other personal property of such company not enu-
merated in either of the foregoing heads, which would be taxable
under this act if the same belonged to an individual.

Every such corporation shall also report, on or before the
fifteenth day of August of each year the gross transportation
receipts of the railway or canal for the twelve months preced-
ing the thirtieth day of June of each year, and in all cases the
report shall be so made as to give the data on which the same
is made. If such railway or canal is only in part within the
commonwealth, the report shall show what part is within the
commonwealth, and what proportion the same bears to the en-
tire length of the road or canal, and shall apportion the said
receipts aceordingly. ‘The report herein required shall be veri-
fied by the oath of the president or other proper officer. The
State corporation commission shall, after thirty days’ notice
previously given by it to the president, treasurer, or other proper
officer of such corporation, proceed to ascertain the value of
property and the gross transportation receipts so reported, upon
the best and most reliable information that can be procured,
and to this end shall be authorized and empowered to send for
persons and papers. The State corporation commission shal!
assess upon said property and gross transportation receipts the
taxes imposed thereon by law.

A certified copy of this assessment, when made, shall be im-
mediately forwarded by the clerk of the State corporation com-
mission, not later than the fifteenth day of October, to the audi-
tor of public accounts and to the president or other proper ofh-
cer of each railway and canal corporation so assessed, whose
duty it shall be to pay into the treasury of the State, on or be-
fore the first day of November following, the taxes upon its
property and the franchise tax upon the gross transportation re-
ceipts as shown by said copy of the assessment.

The State corporation commission shall, at such time as it
may elect, on or before the fifteenth day of October of each
vear, proceed to ascertain and assess the gross transportation
receipts of any railway or canal corporation which has failed to
make the report herein required, and shall also assess the value
of the property of any such corporation, except its franchise und
non-taxable shares of stock issued by other corporations and
owned by it, at a fair cash valuation. upon the best and most re-
liable information that can be precured, and to this end shall be
authorized and empowered to send for persons and papers, and
said commission shall assess upon such gross transportation re-
ceipts and property the taxes imposed thereon by law. A certi-
fied copy of the assessment when made shall be immediately
forwarded by the clerk of the State corporation commission to
the auditor of public accounts and to the president or other
proper officer of such railway or canal corporation so assessed,
whose duty it shall be to pay into’ the treasury of the State
within thirty days after receiving said certified copy of the as-
sessment, the taxes upon its property, and the franchise tax
upon its gross transportation receipts as shown by said copy of
the assessment.

Such taxes so assessed, and a penalty in addition thereto of
five per centum thereon, if the said taxes be not paid at the
time provided herein, shall be collected by the treasurer of any
county or city in which such corporation owns property, to
whom the auditor may deliver a copy of the assessment. The
treasurer may distrain and sell any personal property of such
corporation, and shall pay the amount of said tax and penalty
into the treasury within one month from the time of delivery to
him of the copy as aforesaid. The roadbed, depot grounds,
rolling stock, tools, oil and other articles used in operating rail-
roads, owned by mining, lumber, and like companies which trans-
port passengers or freight for other than such owners, shall
be assessed by the State corporation commission in the mode
prescribed by this act. All other property of such mining, lum-
ber, and like companies, shall be assessed by the commissioner
of the revenue upon the land and personal property books of
the counties and cities where located. Mining, lumber, and Jike
companies operating railroads to transport passengers or freight
for others, shall be construed as in the provision of this section
as to all of their property, except their real estate, not used as a
part of their roadbed or for depot purposes, which shall be as-
sessed by the commissioner of the revenue in the district or city
wherein situated.

It shall be the duty of the State corporation commission to
prepare and furnish to the several corporations required to
make reports under this section forms for such reports, which
said corporations shall use in making the reports required of
them, and any such corporation which shall fail to make the
report hereinbefore required, within the time herein prescribed,
shall be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than two hundred and fifty dollars for each day such cor-
poration may be in default in making such report. The said
fine to be imposed and judgment entered therefor by the State
corporation commission after thirty days’ notice to any such
defaulting corporation to appear before the said commission
and show cause, if any, against the imposition of such fine, sub-
ject to appeal to the supreme court ot appeals. It shall be
the duty of the clerk of the State corporation commission to
furnish to the council of every city and town and to the board
of supervisors of every county, and to the treasurer of every
county and city, wherein any property belonging to such cor-
poration is situated, a certified copy of the assessment made by
the State corporation commission of such corporation’s prop-
erty, which shall definitely show the character of the property,
its value and location for purposes of taxation in each county,
city, town, and school district, so that county, city, town, and
school district levies may be laid upon the same; provided, how-
ever, that it shall be the duty of the county superintendent of
schools in each county in which a railway or canal is located and
operated to furnish on or before the first day of July in each
year to such railway or canal corporation or corporations, the
boundaries of each school district of said county in which any
part of such railway or canal, and its property is situated, and
a copy of such boundaries to the clerk of the State corporation
commission. Wherever any county superintendent of schools
shall fail to furnish to such railway or canal corporation or
corporations and the clerk of the State corporation commission,
the boundaries of each school district of said county in which
any part of such railway or canal and its property is situated,
it shall be the duty of the clerk of the State corporation com-
mission to notify the judge of the circuit court of the county
wherein such superintendent of schools resides, who shall in-
struct the grand jury at the next term of the circuit court to
ascertain whether such boundaries have been furnished as re-
quired in this act, and should said grand jury ascertain that
such boundaries have not been furnished, they shall find an in-
dictment against each such county superintendent of schools,
who shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convic-
tion thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor
more than one hundred dollars for each school district so omitted.