|
2. Amendment No. 2 is to amend the com-
mittee recommendation so as to strike the
word "not," and thus amended, the com-
mittee recommendation would read that the
Committee recommends that the office of
comptroller be provided for in the consti-
tution, or in the words of Delegate Case, a
vote in favor of keeping the comptroller in
the Constitution.
If the amendment passes, the recommen-,
dation as thus amended will be submitted
to you, and if it is adopted, you would then
have adopted a recommendation that the
comptroller be provided for in the consti-
tution. You would not have provided the
method by which the comptroller would be
selected, and that would arise on amend-
ments to Committee Recommendation EB-1.
If the motion to amend fails, the Chair
will then submit to you Recommendation
No. 2 in the form submitted by the Com-
mittee, which would be that the office of
comptroller not be provided for in the con-
stitution. In other words, to take the comp-
troller out of the constitution.
If that recommendation is then approved,
it would be binding, and it would make it
impossible to consider an amendment later
to provide for a comptroller, either as an
elected or appointed officer in the consti-
tution.
Let me point out to you again at the risk
of repetition that if we reach the point of
ultimately voting on Recommendation No.
2, either in its original form or as amended,
there are three possible results:
That the recommendation is approved is
one possible result. Disapproval is another
result. Neither approval or disapproval is
the third result, which would follow if there
were a tie vote.
If the recommendation as submitted is
not amended, that there be no comptroller
provided for in the constitution, and that
is adopted as indicated we would not be in
a position to consider amendments to pro-
vide for the comptroller when we consider
the committee recommendation. If it fails
adoption and is disapproved, you have a
negative result, it would be possible to con-
sider amendments. If it fails on a tie vote,
you have no result on the recommendation,
and it would be possible to consider the
matter on recommended amendments.
If the recommendation is amended and
as amended is approved, the Committee
would be saying that the office of comp-
troller would be provided for in the con-
stitution. It would therefore be necessary
|
to make such a provision. However, you
would not have approved the language, and
that would arise on a consideration of the
committee recommendation.
If you approve the recommendation that
the comptroller be provided for, you will
also not have provided the means by which
he is selected, and that also would be open.
It is a very complicated matter. I am not
sure that the Chair has cleared it up.
I will state it again when we come to the
question of the vote, what the issue is on
the vote.
Delegate Malkus, do you still have a
question?
DELEGATE MALKUS: Mr. President,
you have, indeed, covered the waterfront.
I believe, possibly, that you have an-
swered my question, but to be sure, my
question to you — and I guess I should di-
rect it to you; you seem to have the sub-
ject matter well in hand — but if the Gleason
motion prevails —
THE CHAIRMAN: The Gleason motion
has already prevailed, Delegate Malkus.
The matter now under consideration is
Delegate Sybert's Amendment No. 2.
DELEGATE MALKUS: All right.
If we eliminate the office of comptroller
in the constitution, in your opinion, can
this same office then be created by law, as
the committee recommendation is before us?
THE CHAIRMAN: I am at a loss to
understand what you mean when you say
"this same office." If you mean exactly the
same office, selected in the same manner,
and having the same status as under the
present Constitution and law, and if you
mean that the committee recommendation,
which has not yet been considered, is ap-
proved, the Chair would answer your ques-
tion in the negative.
DELEGATE MALKUS: I do not mean
that, Mr. President. I mean can the General
Assembly come next January provide that
there shall be such an office that will carry
out the same functions as the comptroller's
office, call it whatever you want, and by
legislative enactment provide the means
whereby the office is selected?
THE CHAIRMAN: As the Chair indi-
cated, if the committee recommendation in
its form submitted, not yet acted upon, is
approved, it would contain a section which
provides that the governor will appoint the
|
