Article IV
Sec. 49: The Legislature may provide for the laying out, construction, improvement and maintenance of
county and township roads, and may provide that any road heretofore laid out shall be a county or township roadhighways, bridges and culverts by counties and townships, and may authorize counties to take charge and control of any highways within their limits for such purposes; and may modify, change or abolish the powers and duties of township commissioners and overseers of highways.County roads may be maintained at the expense of the county, and township roads at the expense of the township. County roads shall be under the control of a board of commissioners not to exceed five in number who shall be elected by the people, the number of said commissioners to be fixed by the board of supervisors of the county. For the construction and maintenance of county roads the commissioners may provide for an annual tax not exceedingBut the tax raised in any one year shall not exceed two dollars upon each one thousand dollarsofvaluation, according to the assessment roll of the county for the preceding year. The Legislature may also prescribe the powers and duties of boards of supervisors in relation to highways, bridges and culverts, and may provide for one or more county road commissioners, to be elected by the people, or appointed, with such powers and duties as may be prescribed by law.
No county shall incur any indebtednessor issue any bonds for the construction or maintenance of county roads, except upon a vote of two-thirds of all the supervisors elected, and then to be approved by a majority vote at any general or special election; nor shall any such indebtedness at any time exceedfor any purposes in excess of three per cent of the valuationof the county upon, according to the lastprecedingassessment roll, and no such indebtedness beyond one-half of one per cent of such valuation shall be incurred, unless authorized by a majority of the electors of said county voting thereon: Provided, That any county road system provided by law shall not go into operation in any county until the electors of said county, by a majority vote, have declared in favor of adopting the county road system.The Legislature may modify, change or repeal the powers and duties of the township commissioner of highways and overseer of highways. The Legislature may pass all necessary laws to carry this amendment into effect: Provided, That any act or acts passed by the Legislature to carry this amendment into effect shall provide for a county and township system, and the county system shall become operative only in such counties as shall adopt it by a majority vote of the electors of said county, after the said question has been submitted to them by a two-thirds vote of all the members elect of the board of supervisors of such county, at a general or special election called for that purpose.
