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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 1277   View pdf image (33K)
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[Nov. 27] DEBATES 1277

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.

DELEGATE HENDERSON: Is it not
true that the comptroller generally exer-
cises the auditing function performed by
the comptroller?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: Not as far as I
know, sir. The comptroller generally ex-
ercises a post-audit function.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.

DELEGATE HENDERSON: That
would come under the legislature as to
what we approved a few days ago, would
it not?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: Yes, that would
be months or maybe years after the fact.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.

DELEGATE HENDERSON: The Bu-
reau of Internal Revenue has never been
an elected official, has he, in the federal
setup?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: Not as far as
I know.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.

DELEGATE BYRNES: Dealing with the
question of the separation of powers in the
present Constitution, in the text that has
been submitted to us by the Committee, we
say that the executive powers should be
vested in the governor and that he shall
faithfully execute the laws. I might ask
this, first of all, sir, do you think that
the administration of fiscal affairs is part
of the executive power or not?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: I did not catch
the last two or three words that you said.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.

DELEGATE BYRNES: Would you say
that the administration of the fiscal affairs
of the State, are or are not within the ex-
ecutive power that we have vested or that
it has been recommended that we vest in
the governor?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: I think we have
had virtually the same situation in the
present Constitution, but the present Con-
stitution has established a state comptroller

115 or 116 years ago, and the minority
says that that arrangement has worked
out very well; and because of it, perhaps,
we have not had any fiscal scandals in the
State. We think that system should be
continued because it proved its worth.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.

DELEGATE BYRNES: I have this
problem. Since the constitution is be-
ginning afresh, we are beginning afresh in
structuring this government in the State
with a new constitution, do we not run
into a possible problem in the future if we
do not define specifically what the powers
of this comptroller should be? We run into
the problem that possibly the legislature
could establish elective powers in someone
not responsible to the governor. We would
have some constitutional difficulty in the
future. This could be challenged or con-
tested.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: By whom or
what?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: By a citizen.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: If the new con-
stitution provided for a governor with ex-
ecutive powers but were that modified by
another amendment, I see no difficulty.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.

DELEGATE BYRNES: We would have
to be very specific about what powers we
are going to delegate to the official we would
call the comptroller.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sybert.

DELEGATE SYBERT: You understand
if the word "not" is stricken out of the
Committee Report, the second paragraph
of it, that at the proper time when the
Committee Recommendations themselves on
the blue paper come before the Committee
of the Whole, proper amendments will be
offered delineating the powers and duties of
the comptroller?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.

DELEGATE BYRNES: I appreciate
that remark, and I also wanted to clarify
in my own remarks whether or not these
matters were within the executive power
that we are vesting in the governor. An-
other problem I had, Judge Sybert, is
really trying to define in my own mind
precisely what the functions of the comp-

 

 

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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 1277   View pdf image (33K)
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