52/Constitutional Commission and Convention

At the request of the Constitutional Convention Commission, chairmen of con-
vention committees introduced various parts of the commission's draft constitution
in the form of delegate proposals, which were then formally referred on the presi-
dent's order to the appropriate committee for consideration. Other delegate pro-
posals were, of course, also introduced and referred to committees. The president
also assigned the subject matter of the 1867 Constitution, article by article and sec-
tion by section, among the several substantive committees for consideration and
study.

All recommendations by any committee of the convention were referred to the
Committee of the Whole and kept in a file called general orders of the day. When
the convention reached consideration, it sat as the Committee of the Whole to con-
sider orders of the day, usually in the order in which recommendations were referred
from the committees that originated them. Once the rules of the convention were
established, the president, assisted by the chairman of the committee on calendar
and agenda, was responsible for moving business through the convention.

The leadership had hoped that the convention might finish its work by Decem-
ber 12, 1967, but debate became extended on certain issues. It was therefore neces-
sary for the convention to avail itself of its authority to extend its life to January 12,
1968. Through diligent effort the work was completed by January 8. On January 10,
1968, the formal signing ceremony took place and on that date the 1967 Constitu-
tional Convention of Maryland adjourned.

On May 14, 1968, a special election was held on the ratification of the Constitu-
tion of 1968. A majority of the electorate, believing that the constitution centralized
too much power at the state level and would result in higher taxes, voted against
ratification.