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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: I do not want to
pursue the debate of the philosophy, I
merely want to say that the concern here is
that the State of Maryland has a segment
of responsibility that lies outside and sup-
plements or compliments that responsibility
of the federal government.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Armor.
DELEGATE ARMOR: Thank you very
much, Delegate Bard, and Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: The reason for my
saying that is because I realize that there
are merchants who are involved in good
practices under the Better Business Bureau
who are car dealers, who call back, in good
faith, automobiles that are defective.
I do not think these are the people we
are trying to reach in our legislation. I
think we are more interested in trying to
stop the unscrupulous used-car salesmen
who induce poor people, who are offering
faulty goods for which the person has no
real liability. I think we are talking about
the corner storekeeper who comes to the
door and sells good to people under con-
tracts that do not say what the contract
really is, and I think these are the people
that we are trying to reach, more so than
those reputable businessmen, although ev-
eryone can become disreputable.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koger.
DELEGATE KOGER: I would like to
ask this question. For four or five years, I
have appeared before the legislative com-
mittee trying to do something about the ex-
orbitant interest charges charged motorists
in the general exploiters insurance army.
With the passage or adoption of this
proposal, would it do something about the
exorbitant interest charges that are made?
For instance, some people are paying as
much as $700 in interest charges. Would
that be covered?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: As I said, this ar-
ticle would be for any and all legislative
acts covering the consumer and certainly
whoever that is would be a consumer.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koger.
DELEGATE KOGER: Would it do
something about that? In some instances
we have been able to establish the fact that
furniture that is used, that is covered and
used over and over again is sold as new.
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Would this proposal do something about
that condition?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: These are the kind
of things we hope to give the legislature
courage to act upon.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koger.
DELEGATE KOGER: We have a situa-
tion where a man had $1200 worth of awn-
ings put up, and, as a result, he had a bill
for $11,000 some-odd. In other words, he
lost him home. Would conditions of that
kind be covered?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key
DELEGATE KEY: The legislature
would have the mandate to take care of it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions of Delegate Key?
Delegate Cardin.
DELEGATE CARDIN: Is there any-
thing in this constitutional provision which
will enforce these particular areas you
want covered that do not exist in the con-
sumer protection forum right now under
the attorney general?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: As I said before, the
present law is a beginning, but I think if
this is constituted, the legislature will look
further into those practices which are not
fair to consumers and have laws to take
care of them first of all.
Secondly, it will give some strength and
teeth to those agencies that are supposed
to be doing their job.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Cardin.
DELEGATE CARDIN: Would you not
feel it is the voice of the public that would
give the strength and force to the legisla-
ture rather than the written word? They
already have the right to do this.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: I do not think so,
Delegate Cardin. I think we have been liv-
ing for more than 100 years with protec-
tion for the business and merchants and
the producer and I think the interest of the
consumer is too diversified and too scat-
tered to become an organized voice to speak
up against this kind of think as a unit loud
enough to be heard without written man-
dates.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Cardin.
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