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THE CHAIRMAN: Is the amendment
seconded?
(Whereupon, the amendment was duly
seconded. )
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment is
seconded.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Chabot to
speak to the amendment.
DELEGATE CHABOT: Mr. Chairman,
other delegates can express better than I
why it is humorous or sad that this amend-
ment comes up after the material that we
have been through and I am quite sure
that some of the delegates will make such
comments, so I will just speak to the merits
of this proposal.
The duty to sign or veto bills is one that
is both extraordinary and commonplace.
It is extraordinary because it is a clear
exercise of the legislative power by the
Chief Executive, and we recognize that it
is extraordinary when we hedge about the
many details. In less than half the states,
we permit the people to exercise a similar
power by referendum, but there, too, in al-
most every case, it is hedged about with
many restrictions, because it involves over-
ruling the work of the elected representa-
tives of the people.
I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that this is
not a power to be lightly tossed about.
At the same time, it is commonplace be-
cause in 49 states the chief executive has
this duty, and, since the adoption of our
Federal Constitution, the United States
Chief Executive has had this duty.
Yet, the Chairman of the Executive
Branch stated yesterday that no other state,
so far as he knew, permitted the delega-
tion of this particular duty, and we know
that the United States does not permit
the delegation of this particular duty.
I suggest, Mr. Chairman, that the duty
of making a bill into law or vetoing a bill
is not the trivial sort of thing that should
be lightly given to a private secretary or
even a right-hand man, or right-hand
woman.
I suggest that any emergency so serious
that this duty cannot be performed by the
governor himself, or herself, is already
taken care of in other provisions of this
article, with regard to the assumption of
all the powers of the governor.
No urgent reason has been suggested why
Maryland ought to pioneer on this par-
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ticular matter, and indeed, if I understand
correctly the comments of the Chairman of
the Executive Branch Committee, the Ex-
ecutive Branch Committee itself did not
really focus on this particular matter. Con-
sequently, I respectfully urge not only the
adoption of this amendment but even its
support by my esteemed colleagues in the
back row.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Mr. Chairman,
I would have to oppose this amendment.
The governor has a lot of other impor-
tant powers that it seems to me are equally
as important as a veto power. He has the
power of life and death over the life of an
individual. He has the power to give up
an individual to another state where he
may be tried for murder. All these powers
could be delegated to the lieutenant gov-
ernor. You could get around this prohibi-
tion easily by having the governor just
write a little letter to the lieutenant gov-
ernor saying, I will be temporarily unable
to perform my duties as governor and all
the powers are yours, and the lieutenant
governor could then exercise the veto power.
It, therefore, seems to me this amendment
is really ineffective to accomplish what evi-
dently it is intended to accomplish because
it could be gotten around so easily and I
see no reason for putting limits on the
discretionary power of the governor to vest
some of his powers in the lieutenant gov-
ernor in his discretion.
Actually, I think as a matter of prac-
tice, the governor will in only very rare
instances, if ever, vest the lieutenant gov-
ernor with the veto power, but I certainly
am not in favor of putting something spe-
cial in one section of the constitution say-
ing he cannot do it under this section, when
he could get around it very easily and do
it under another section.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion?
Does any delegate desire to speak in
favor of the amendment?
Delegate Gleason.
DELEGATE GLEASON: Mr. Chairman
and fellow delegates, I am not sure, I guess
I have to go on the interpretation of the
Chairman of the Committee with respect
to this part that is capable of being dele-
gated. I guess he said that in his explana-
tion of this section yesterday, because
when I read section 4. 16, page 6, this does
say, if the General Assembly is in session,
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