ROAD MILEAGE, CENTRAL AND WESTEEN STATES. 11 



The board of supervisors may establish a general road fund and order apportioned 

 thereto an amount not exceeding 35 per cent of the aggregate road taxes collected 

 from all soin-ces. The general road fund is applied in the following manner: First, 

 in the payment of the cost of general county road improvements; second, in assisting 

 weak and impoverished districts; and third, in payment of such demands as are 

 payable by law out of the general road fund. 



Boards of supervisors may levy an annual property road tax of not to exceed 40 

 cents on each $100 of assessed valuation of the county, and also a road poll tax of $3 

 on every male over 21 and under 55 years of age not exempt by law. Thirty-five per 

 cent of the proceeds of each levy goes into the general road fund. Boards of super- 

 visors may levy a special road fund tax of not to exceed 2 mills on each dollar of assessed 

 valuation of the county, outside of incorporated towns or cities, which shall be 

 expended in the several districts in proportion to the amounts collected in each dis- 

 trict. In addition, on petition of a majority of the property owners of any road dis- 

 trict, a special road tax of not to exceed 2 mills on each dollar of assessed valuation 

 in the district may be levied by the board. One-half of the net receipts from the 

 registration and licensing of motor vehicles is paid to the counties from which collected, 

 to be used for road and bridge purposes, and the other half is used by the department 

 of engineering for the maintenance and improvement of State highways. 



Bonds may be issued for road piu-poses by boards of supervisors, after having sub- 

 mitted the question to a vote of the people and having received a favorable vote of two- 

 thirds of those voting. The bonded indebtedness of a coiinty at no time shall exceed 

 5 per cent of its taxable property valuation. Whenever any county highway is im- 

 proved under a county bond issue, which issue covers all property of the county, the 

 board of supervisors shall provide a continuous system for the maintenance of such 

 highways and may levy annually for that purpose a tax of not to exceed 7 cents on 

 each $100 valuation of the county for each 100 miles of such improved highways 

 therein. 



No person not a native-bom or naturalized citizen of the United States can be 

 employed in any department of the State, county, or city governments. 



Provision is made for utilizing the labor of both State and county convicts in 

 highway work. 



ROAD MILEAGE. 



According to the reports received, California had at the close of 1914 a total of 

 61,039 miles of public roads, of which 10,279.73 miles, or 16.84 per cent, were surfaced. 

 Of the surfaced roads 929.19 miles were concrete, 837.4 macadam, 877.9 bituminous 

 macadam, 3,563.59 gravel, 582.25, sand -clay, and 3,489.4 oiled earth. There was also 

 reported 18,389 miles of graded and drained earth roads. In 1909 California reported 

 48,069 miles of public roads, of which 8,587 miles, or 17.87 per cent, were smfaced, 

 thus indicating a gain in surfaced roads for the five-year period of 1,691.98 miles in 

 spite of the fact that several counties reported a larger mileage of siufaced roads in 

 1909 than was reported for 1914. This is shown in Table 8. 



REVENUES APPLIED TO ROADS AND BRIDGES. 



The total revenue applied to roads and bridges in the fiscal year ended June 30, 

 1915, amounted to $19,171,984.66, exclusive of San Francisco County, which is coex- 

 tensive with the city of San Francisco. It was impossible to secure this infornation 

 for the calendar year 1914. Of this amount, the counties expended from revenues 

 derived from taxation and bond issues, $9,790,238.42 for highways and $2,531,148.63 

 for bridges, and the State expended $6,850,597.61, of which $6,488,217.13 was for the 

 construction of State highways and $362,380.38 was for the construction and mainte- 

 nance of State roads. The funds used in the construction of State highways was 

 derived from the $18,000,000 State bond issue. Of the funds used in the construction 



