|
we thought no later than July 1st was im-
portant. First of all, if the present Con-
stitution does not, or is not changed pur-
suant to law, they will be meeting the third
Wednesday of January. Ninety days only
takes you through to February, March,
April. To go another thirty, you are into
May. If you go the second thirty, you are
in June and it is true, but considering the
fact that the fiscal year does begin on the
first day of July, we felt that this was a
more appropriate day to have laws, gener-
ally go into effect. We felt further that the
legislature would recognize some of the
difficulties that you have just put forward
as it got closer to July 1 and therefore
could provide a different day from July 1
and that is why we said that it shall be
July 1 following passage, unless otherwise
expressly declared therein.
We could not, within the constitution,
take care of the possible inequitable situa-
tions and that is why we gave the power
to the General Assembly.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Willoner.
DELEGATE WILLONER: The fiscal
year date, is that rather important to
have?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: It has be-
come more and more important and po-
litical subdivisions have changed their own
fiscal year to correspond with the State.
It is not sacrosanct, but it is significant
enough to combine into an effective date.
After all, the budget bill takes effect at
that time.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hickman.
DELEGATE HICKMAN: Chairman
Gallagher, referring to section 3.02, in 1970,
the population figures will be gotten from
the Planning Commission?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: That is
correct.
THE CHAIRMAN: And every twenty
years thereafter?
Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: No, earlier
than that. First of all, you will also have
the federal census completing its work by
December of 1970. If they go to the five-
year census that they are considering now,
you may be having a census in 1975 and
1980, so that you will have a possibility of
|
two or -three federal censuses within a
three-year period, or within a ten or eleven
year period.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hickman.
DELEGATE HICKMAN: But every
twenty years, if the census conies out in
1970 couldn't they use that for the election
of 1970 or 1990?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: That is
correct. We have provided that there must
be redistricting prior to the election of
1970. That means, of course, that the Gen-
eral Assembly and the commission cannot
wait until December of 1970, because the
general election and the primary will have
passed. They must go someplace else for
their population data, other than awaiting
the final results of 1970 federal census.
However, the way this goes, 1970, 1982,
1990, 2002, you see the date 1982 is also in
that section and it averages out to a census,
or a redistricting on an average of every
ten years in that twenty-year period.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hickman.
DELEGATE HICKMAN: Delegate Gal-
lagher, I understand that. My point is that
every twenty years, starting in 1970, you
will have a population figure which is not
a census figure.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Not a fed-
eral census figure arrived at in that very
year, but you may have one which is only
five years old or one which is only two
years old.
You certainly will not in the years that
are 1982 and every twenty years there-
after; you will have a decennial census
figure. That much you are guaranteed.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hickman.
DELEGATE HICKMAN: My question
is this: you seem to have a lot of confidence
in the population figure of the Planning
Commission. Just what is the basis for
this guesstimate?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: First of
all, our conversations with the Planning
Commission, and secondly, from looking at
the alternatives.
Suppose that we use 1960 federal census
figures for redistricting in 1970, or we just
do not do anything in 1970. The census fig-
ures from the federal government will be
|
