10,135

1

of that, the Welfare Department makes the payments, and

2

then this is considered against their particular amount of

3

money they owe to their familiy, and they have to pay the

4

Welfare Department back.

5

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Scanlan.

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DELEGATE SCANLAN: Their obligation to the Welfare

7

Department is a debt for which they couldn't be imprisoned

8

now, and certainly regarded as highly unlikely that the

9

General Assembly would ever pass legislation which would

10

imprison a man for failure to pay back to the Welfare Depart-

11

ment what he owes it.

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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Storm.

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DELEGATE STORM: Mr. Chairman, I would certainly

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hate to see the Constitutional protection against imprison-

15

ment for debt removed.

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There are many many practitioners who love to

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see debtors put in jail, and many debtors think

18

they are going to jail if they don't pay. The legislature

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would be under terrific pressure to enact a bill allowing

20

imprisonment for debt. I think that we should not allow

21

such a Constitutional prohibition to be removed when we have