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is when there is a committee hearing and
in the committee hearing, as we all agree,
there are irresponsible attacks sometimes
made on outstanding citizens.
We are speaking here of the vote, and
that is what this refers to, a vote on a bill,
a vote on a resolution, a vote on an elec-
tion of an officer, a vote on a confirmation.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: Delegate
Sherbow, do you yield to a question?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: Your in-
tent is to avoid character assassination in
committee, but if a delegate wants to as-
sassinate a delegate, you want that public?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I think he
will be sufficiently responsible that he will
not injure another delegate. I am talking
where a man is appointed to the United
States Supreme Court, or as Solicitor Gen-
eral, or a state officer, where somebody
who has had a bad time, or thinks he has,
writes in a letter that is so bad that the
newspaper says, when they get it, unless
we were protected against libel we would
not handle it.
These are the kinds of things I am talk-
ing about. I do not think the members of
the Senate and the House are going to be
guilty of character assassination.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Della.
DELEGATE DELLA: When the nomi-
nees are confirmed the Senate is meeting as
a Committee of the Whole. The House has
nothing to do with those appointments. It
is up to the Senate.
There are times when a person is hurt,
his character is hurt by such statements,
that sometimes cannot even be proven, and
if you are going to have that in open ses-
sion, then I am afraid a lot of innocent
people are going to get hurt, and you are
going to deny to the State a number of
qualified and decently respectable people
who will refuse to have their names sub-
mitted to the Senate to be confirmed if it
is going to be in the open.
When the Committee of the Whole re-
fuses to go along with a nominee, we then
ask the governor to withdraw the name,
and there is no vote taken in public, and
no one knows what the vote is as a Com-
mittee of the Whole. So, Delegate Sherbow,
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I think you are hurting the individuals
that may be state officers.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I am afraid
we have gotten away from what we really
are talking about. All that this says is
that a vote shall be taken only in public
session.
If the rules of the House and Senate
provide that in the Senate, for example,
in executive session that the debate be in
secret, so be it. But if they vote, and this
is what we are talking about, if they vote
on a bill, on a resolution, on the election of
an officer, or on confirmation, the vote is
all that we are talking about, and it shall
be in public session.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion?
(There was no response.)
Are you ready for the question?
(Call for the question.)
Delegate Gleason.
DELEGATE GLEASON: Mr. Chairman,
I would seriously hope that this amendment
is approved by the Committee of the Whole.
I guess for the first time during the course
of this debate I have heard some references
to greenback sessions, and I suppose we
are in this area of operations. But I would
like to be advised, if I could, by Delegate
Della or someone else, as to whether it is
possible now to have a confirmation of a
state officer and have that vote sealed in
executive session so that it is not available
to the public.
If that is possible, then I think it is a
deplorable situation, and now is the time we
better do something about it, with this
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: As I understand,
Delegate Della said that is not only pos-
sible, but the practice. Is that correct?
Correct me if I am wrong.
DELEGATE DELLA: That is abso-
lutely true, except that there is a journal
kept for the body itself, and the action is
recorded in that journal.
THE CHAIRMAN: When you say a
journal is kept for the body itself, you
mean not available to the public?
DELEGATE DELLA: That is true.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gleason.
DELEGATE GLEASON: I assume what
you are saying in that connection is when
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