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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 1452   View pdf image (33K)
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1452 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF MARYLAND [Nov. 30]

that you think satisfies your conscience. It
seems to me if we go that way, we start
to legislate, because there are other duties
and if you start to delineate these duties,
there are others perhaps the governor
should not be able to give to the lieutenant
governor as a matter of principle. In
theory, you either leave it entirely up to
the governor or go through the whole exer-
cise of determining what authority should
be delegated. I am going to ask the Chair-
man of the Committee if he will yield for
a question, too, because I hope maybe we
might be able to work this out. I wonder
if you would agree that a possible substi-
tute for your amendment, and I have not
drawn it, would be, in effect, to authorize
the legislature to delineate those specific
powers which cannot be delegated by the
governor to the lieutenant governor, and
that could be done by using the expression
at the appropriate place, unless prohibited
by law.

Would you have any objection to that
approach, if the Chairman of the Commit-
tee did not object?

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.

DELEGATE CHABOT: Well, I have
some uncertainties about how it would fit
into 4. 03, and the reason is that we use
the word, "duties", in line 4, and again
in line 5.

Now, if the veto or the signing of bills
constitutes a duty in line 5, I am not sure
that it does not also constitute a duty in
line 4, and I would not want the legislature
to be able to give the lieutenant governor
the opportunity to make a decision as to
whether a bill were to be signed or vetoed.

This is why in my amendment I said
that the authority to sign or veto a bill may
not be prescribed or delegated under this
section, because apparently, if something
is accomplished in one word used in one
place in the sentence, I assume it is ac-
complished with the same word used in the
other part of the sentence, so I do not know
how your proposal would fit into the rest
of that one sentence. If there were some
way to make sure that the legislature could
make the lieutenant governor in effect a
super governor, I would tend to agree with
you.

THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sickles, be-
fore you reply to that, may the Chair make
a comment, because the two previous an-
swers of the Committee Chairman and your
reference to the Committee memorandum
seem to me to create serious doubts in the

record as to how far-reaching the section
4. 03 is.

I am concerned that the discussion indi-
cates that the legislature under 4. 03, as
drafted, and even under the amendment,
with the minor exception there noted, would
be able to pass a law delegating all powers
of the governor to a lieutenant governor.
The Committee memorandum does not indi-
cate that this is the intent, but the Com-
mittee Chairman's answers do. Your ques-
tions have been directed to delegations by
the governor, but the section says, "Shall
perform such duties as may be prescribed
by law. "

I wonder if this is part of your problem,
or perhaps not related to it.

DELEGATE SICKLES: Mr. Chairman,
I am not sure that that is part of my prob-
lem. I was just concerned that the second
part of that sentence, where it says, "and
such other duties as may be delegated to
him by the governor", would leave the gov-
ernor the unrestricted authority to dele-
gate any duty, even if the legislature had
not already provided for it, and that they
might as a negative action, by including
just before the words, "such other duties",
the expression "unless prohibited by law,
such other duties as may be delegated to
him by the Governor. " That was the only
point to which I was speaking.

THE CHAIRMAN: May I then direct
the inquiry I made to the Chairman of the
Committee, and ask him whether it is the
intent of section 4. 03 that the effect of the
first sentence would be to authorize the
legislature to take away from the governor
and delegate to the lieutenant governor any
powers or duties of the office of governor.

Delegate Morgan.

DELEGATE MORGAN: Mr. Chairman,
that was not the intention of the Commit-
tee.

THE CHAIRMAN: It seems to the Chair
that the language may be susceptible of
that interpretation.

Delegate Chabot, do you wish to com-
ment further with respect to Delegate
Sickles' suggestion to you as to your amend-
ment? He has pointed out where he would
make the change.

DELEGATE CHABOT: I do not think
that that would solve the other problem
that I had suggested, that you expanded
upon, and I also do not feel that the other
matters are of the same constitutional sig-



 

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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 1452   View pdf image (33K)
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