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DELEGATE DELLA: Mr. President, I would like

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to speak against the amendment. I am certainly not against

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any minority group or anything like that.

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Just about a year ago, the clerk in one of the

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counties in Southern Maryland was short some $250,000, and

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only because of his "bond I think they recovered $100,000.

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In our old constitution, it is spelled out

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that the sheriff, the clerks, and everyone else shall give

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bond before he takes office.

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Now, when you are permitting a person to accept

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state money, no matter in that level of government, then I

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think he ought to be responsible to that particular sub-

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division by having a fidelity bond accounting for the money

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that he has taken in.

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It hasn't been too many years ago when I was

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an auditor for one of the bonding companies, and through

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that bonding company we paid out over a million and a half

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dollars due to the malfeasance of clerks of courts, not

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only in the state of Maryland but in Virginia and New York.

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Mr. President, if this is deleted because it says

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it may be required by law to furnish an appropriate bond only