City of Los Angeles v. Post War Public Works Review Board

The city of Los Angeles, the county of Los *103 Angeles and the city of Oakland filed separate petitions for the writ of mandate to compel the respondent Post War Public Works Review Board to perforin its duties pursuant to chapter 47, Statutes of 1944, Fourth Extraordinary Session, approved June 20, 1944. They are deemed to be companion proceedings and are submitted on the petitions, the demurrers thereto, and the briefs of the parties.

The petitions present the question of the constitutionality of said act which is entitled: “An act making an appropriation FOR ALLOCATION TO CITIES, COUNTIES, AND CITIES AND COUNTIES TO DEVELOP A POSTWAR PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM COMPRISING THE PREPARATION OF SURVEYS AND PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR PROPOSED PUBLIC WORKS AND THE ACQUISITION OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND SITES FOR MAJOR STREETS, ROADS, BRIDGES, SEWERAGE AND OTHER PUBLIC FACILITIES, AND PROVIDING THE PROCEDURE FOR MAKING SUCH ALLOCATIONS. ’ ’

The legislative purpose and declaration contained in section 1 reads as follows: “The termination of the present war will inevitably create serious economic problems for the people of this State.

“The change from a war economy to a peacetime economy and…