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in the constitution to act, there is always
the problem of the legislature perhaps not
being free to do as much as it feels it
should do and therefore passing a watered-
down version.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Della.
DELEGATE DELLA: Does your pro-
posal say that they will not have a watered-
down proposal or law?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Key.
DELEGATE KEY: The article we would
like to see included simply states that they
will pass a law to take care of the situa-
tion.
THE CHAIRMAN: I do not think you
understood the question. I think what he
was asking was where in your proposal,
Committee Recommendation GP-4, is there
anything that would say the legislature
could not pass what you referred to as a
watered-down version? Is that your ques-
tion, Delegate Della?
DELEGATE DELLA: Yes.
DELEGATE KEY: This is still possible,
certainly, but hopefully, with this mandate,
they will be bolder and more courageous
and do the complete job.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Harry
Taylor.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Mr. Chair-
man, I would like to ask Delegate Key a
question.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Taylor.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: Delegate
Key, does this proposal go to preventing
abuses in the credit field, where merchants
sell goods and charge on a credit basis
much more than the value of the goods that
are sold because people cannot pay cash?
DELEGATE KEY: The laws that would
result from this article would cover such
unfair practices, yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: Delegate Key, do
you anticipate that the General Assembly
would use this as a basis for criminal stat-
utes as well as civil statutes?
DELEGATE KEY: If they usually do
so in the present constitutional articles, I
would expect them to do whatever is the
general procedure, yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: Could you then
tell me whether the word "harmful" and
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the word "unfair" have ever received any
court interpretation or are they words just
chosen by the Committee?
DELEGATE KEY: I do not know about
court interpretation. However, we chose
these words specifically after looking them
up in the dictionary to mean exactly what
we have stated here, that is health, safety,
et cetera.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: Would you an-
ticipate that if the court were to interpret
these words that they should be guided by
your Committee Memorandum GP-4?
DELEGATE KEY: I think so.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions?
Delegate Marvin Smith.
DELEGATE M. SMITH: I have a ques-
tion I would like to propound to the Chair-
man, who I think is best able to answer
this question. I would like to know, Mr.
Chairman, just what specific power this
would give to the General Assembly that
it does not already have under the general
police power.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyer?
DELEGATE BOYER: Probably no spe-
cific power that it does not already in-
herently have, Delegate Smith.
It was merely intended to be a broad
policy statement that this Convention go
on record that there should boldly and
courageously be some action on the part
of the General Assembly by constitutional
mandate. There is no additional grant of
power.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions? Delegate Borom?
DELEGATE BOROM: Mr. Chairman,
I would be interested in knowing whether
in the course of your deliberations in the
formation of this particular section, did
you have any legislators come and testify
before your Committee? Was the basis of
their presence before your Committee the
basis on which you drew their particular
section? What qualifying information do
you have through them?
DELEGATE BOYER: None, sir. This
arose out of several proposals introduced
by interested delegates at this Convention
and referred to the General Provisions
Committee.
In the process of the courtesy and at-
tention that each of these delegate pro-
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