State ex rel. Cist v. City of Cincinnati
State ex rel. Cist v. City of Cincinnati
Opinion of the Court
This is an original action in this court and the relator, Edgar W. Cist, seeks a
The issue presented is made by a demurrer to the amended petition. It is disclosed that an ordinance of the city of Cincinnati was duly passed, wherein it was provided that there should be submitted to the qualified electors of the city of Cincinnati at a primary election held April 27, 1920, the question of establishing in the city of Cincinnati from 2 o’clock, A. M., of the last Sunday in April, to 2 o’clock, A. M., of the last Sunday in September, a standard of time which should be that of the seventy-fifth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, and from the last Sunday of September to the last Sunday in April a standard of time one hour later than that of the seventy-fifth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich.
It was therein further provided that if a majority of the electors voting upon the question at said primary voted in favor thereof all municipal offices and legal proceedings of the city of Cincinnati should be regulated by such standard of time, and that when by ordinance or resolution of council or action of any municipal officer or board an act must be performed at or within a prescribed time it shall be so performed according to said standard of time.
The question submitted is not' one of policy but of power; not one of relative convenience or inconvenience to those affected thereby, but only of authority of the municipality to enact and put in operation the ordinance in question.
The ordinance is.in conflict with the provisions of Sections 5979 and 5980, General Code, but the question presented is whether or not the municipality is authorized and empowered to enact and enforce the same by virtue of Section 3, Article XVIII, commonly known as the home-rule amendment to the constitution.
It is to be observed that by the provisions of the ordinance enacted it is attempted only to require that the purely municipal affairs of the city shall be regulated by the standard of time thus adopted. The mere, statement of the purpose and effect of the ordinance shows that it has to do only with the details of local government and purports only to prescribe a standard of time which shall apply to required acts of any board or officer of the municipality.
This is clearly ■ authorized by the provisions of Section 3, Article XVIII of the Constitution. The ordinance has and can have application only to mat
Thus limited in its operation and effect we deem the provisions of the ordinance valid, and refuse the prayer for a writ of mandamus.
Demurrer sustained.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.