604 /Executive Commissions

REDISTRICTING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Benjamin L. Brown, Chairperson

Appointed by Governor (who named chair): Donna M
Felling; Norman M Glasgow, Sr.; Thomas V. Mike
Miller, Jr., Senate President; R. Clayton Mitchell, Jr.,
House Speaker.

c/o Office of Planning
301 West Preston St., Room 1101
Baltimore, MD 21201—2365 (410) 225-4500

In May 1991, the Governor formed the Redistrict-
ing Advisory Committee. The Committee made
recommendations to the Governor and General
Assembly on boundary changes for legislative and
Congressional election districts. The changes re-
flected shifts in Maryland's population as recorded
in the federal census of 1990. The Office of Plan-
ning provided staff for the Committee, and the
Office of the Attorney General provided legal ad-
vice and assistance.

Congressional Redistricting. The Redistricting Advi-
sory Committee held 15 public hearings across the
State and received numerous recommended plans
before announcing a proposal in August. Those hear-
ings showed a public consensus for: 1) creating a
minority district in the Washington suburbs; and 2)
keeping intact three regions—Western Maryland,
Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

The plan proposed by the Committee on August
20,1991, contained certain features common to all
plans that were to pass either house of the General
Assembly. Those features were a minority district in
the Washington suburbs that did not have an in-
cumbent; a district that included all three Southern
Maryland counties; a district that included Garrett,
Allegany and Washington counties, and at least part
of Frederick County; and a Baltimore City district
with a minority population of over 70 percent.

After a public hearing on September 3, 1991, the
Committee approved a second plan that month.
Introduced as House Bill 7, the plan passed the
House of Delegates on September 25, 1991, the
first day of the Special Session. On the same day, the
Senate passed Senate Bill 13 which was based on
the Committee's August proposal. On the next day,
the Senate amended House Bill 7 to be identical to
Senate Bill 13 and passed it. The House took no
action on Senate Bill 13, but recessed until October
21, 1991—three days before the Special Session
would have been required by law to end.

On September 30, 1991, while the House of Dele-
gates was still in recess, the Senate passed Senate Bill
14. On October 3, 1991, the House returned and
passed House Bill 10. A week later, a conference
committee was appointed on House Bill 10. The
conference committee, consisting of Senators Pica,
Blount, and Miller, and Delegates Kopp, Arnick, and

Mitchell, reached an agreement on October 21,
1991. The Senate adopted the conference commit-
tee report. On October 22, 1991, the House
adopted the conference committee report.

House Bill 10 satisfied the Legislature's goals of
creating a viable minority district in the Washington
suburbs and keeping intact the three major regions
that surround the center of the State. The bill was
signed by the Governor on October 23, 1991
(Chapter 4, Acts of Special Session of 1991).

Legislative Redistricting. The Redistricting Advisory
Committee developed a legislative districting plan
for the Governor. In June 1991, the Committee
adopted the publicly announced legal guidelines
setting forth the criteria that were to guide its work.
The Committee also scheduled a series of public
hearings in the summer of 1991, and one in Decem-
ber 1991. Approximately 300 persons testified at
the summer public hearings and another one hun-
dred in December.

The Committee invited the public to make written
submissions and proposed plans. The Committee
considered over 42 proposed plans and extensive
other submissions. The Committee incorporated
many of these suggestions in its plan considered at
the December 10 public hearing and in its final
recommendation to the Governor on December
17,1991. On January 8, 1992, the Governor sub-
mitted to the General Assembly the Legislative
Districting Plan of 1992. That plan became law as
Joint Resolution nos. 9 and 10 on February 21,
1992, when the General Assembly failed to enact a
plan of its own.

GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE ON
SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION

Sidney Kramer, Chairperson

Appointed by Governor (who named chair): Ronald L.
Bowers; Edward B. Burger; Winifred W. Carpenter;
Charles I. Ecker, Ph.D.; Noel T. Farmer, Jr., Ed.D.;
Robert A. Gorsuch, Ed.D.; Vincent O. Leggett; Kevin
G. Quinn, Esq.; Eileen M. Rehrmann; Dianne C.
Smith, R.N.; Robert L. Swann; Edward B. L. Todd.

Nominated by Senate President: Clarence W. Blount;
Arthur Dorman.

Nominated by House Speaker: Gene W. Counihan;
Howard P. Rawlings.

Ex officio: Lucille Maurer, State Treasurer; Martin
W. Walsh, Jr., Secretary of General Services; Nancy
S. Grasmick, Ph.D., State Superintendent of
Schools; Ronald M. Kreitner, Director of Planning.

c/o Executive Director
Public School Construction Program
200 West Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 333-2505