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Delegate Bard has asked me to call your
attention to the fact that he has a young
niece and nephew, Kitty and Cain Bard in
the gallery observing his actions today.
(Applause.)
Are there any motions or resolutions?
The Chair recognizes Delegate Powers.
DELEGATE POWERS: Mr. President,
I move the Convention resolve itself into a
Committee of the Whole to resume consid-
eration of the orders of the day.
THE PRESIDENT: Is there a second?
(The motion was seconded.)
THE PRESIDENT: All in favor sig-
nify by saying Aye; contrary, No. The
Ayes have it. It is so ordered.
(Whereupon, at 10:20 A.M. the Conven-
tion resolved itself into the Committee of
the Whole.)
(The mace was removed by the Sergeant-
at-Arms.)
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
NOVEMBER 28, 1967—10:20 A.M.
PRESIDENT H. VERNON ENEY,
PRESIDING
THE CHAIRMAN: The Committee will
please come to order. We will resume de-
bate on EB-1.
We now have under consideration Rec-
ommendation No. 2. There is a motion be-
fore us to amend Recommendation No. 2
to strike the word "not" in line 18. There
is twenty minutes of controlled debate, con-
trolled by Delegate Sybert, twenty minutes
controlled by Delegate Morgan and twenty
minutes of uncontrolled but limited debate.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Sybert.
DELEGATE SYBERT: Mr. Chairman,
I yield three minutes to Delegate Buzzell.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Buzzell.
DELEGATE BUZZELL: Mr. Chairman,
fellow delegates: I believe that the issue
before us has been already adequately pre-
sented by the distinguished and able Vice-
Chairman of the Committee on the Execu-
tive Branch and the other speakers in
support of the report of the majority of the
Committee, and also the position of the
minority has been presented with equal
clarity by Delegate Sybert.
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I certainly have no desire to extend this
debate. I know only that as a member of
the Committee on the Executive Branch",
I listened to the same testimony, partici-
pated in the same discussion of the Com-
mittee and yet reached exactly the oppo-
site conclusion as did nine other members
of that Committee. Finally eight other
members of the Committee, and I reached
the conclusion that the general manage-
ment of the fiscal affairs of the State can
best be performed by this constitutionally
elected comptroller directly responsible to
the electorate. I shall, therefore, vote in
support of the motion of the minority por-
tion of this Committee, but I shall vote for
this amendment also for another possibly
more important reason.
I know that the people whom I was
elected to represent in this Convention are
strongly opposed to the elimination of the
constitutional office of comptroller as an
elective executive.
In recognition of their wishes, I shall
vote in favor of the motion. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Mr. Chairman,
the Vice-Chairman of the Committee is in
control of the time on this matter.
THE CHAIRMAN: Very well, Delegate
Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Mr. Chairman,
I recognize Delegate Boyce for five minutes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyce.
DELEGATE BOYCE: Mr. Chairman
and fellow delegates: No matter what de-
cision we make in regard to the majority
report as far as the comptroller not being
in the constitution or the minority report
keeping him in, we are all taking one step
in the direction of strengthening the gov-
ernor of this state.
Face it, because the minority report
brings o'ut a new idea, a five-man board,
two of which are appointed by the gov-
ernor, who sits on the board, and two
others. In normal times the governor would
have a three to two vote any time he
needed it and this is strengthening the
hand of the governor.
The question comes as to how far we
wish to strengthen the hand of the gov-
ernor. Those who are scared to go too far
use three arguments against him. The first
they say and rather ridiculously, is that
this is going to create a dictatorship in
Maryland.
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