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On page 1 section 3.02, Legislative Dis-
tricts, in line 20 after the period add the
following new sentence: "No district shall
cross the center of the Chesapeake Bay."
THE CHAIRMAN : Do all delegates have
a copy of Amendment No. 10, or amend-
ment Y?
For what purpose does Delegate Child
rise?
DELEGATE CHILD: Mr. Chairman, I
would like to inquire, sir, whether or not
this takes the place of Delegate Adkins'
Amendment No. 1 which was marked L?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Adkins, is
this intended as a substitute for the earlier
amendment which was not offered?
DELEGATE ADKINS: Yes, it is, Mr.
Chairman. Amendment L had some inher-
ent problems raised by Delegate Sickles,
and one or two others.
This language has been worked out in
essence by the Committee staff, with which
I am in agreement. While the language does
look strange it is offered to solve a serious
problem.
THE CHAIRMAN: Destroy amendment
L. It has never been offered.
This is Amendment No. 10, amendment
Y, offered by Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE SICKLES: I second the
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Adkins to speak to the
amendment.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Mr. Chairman,
I can be very brief here. The sole problem
that I am preventing here is one which
the Committee Chairman has said was not
intended by the Committee but which none-
theless has been suggested in many of the
proposed reapportionment plans from time
to time offered by various sources, and that
is to prevent the lower counties on the
Eastern Shore, that is the eastern and
southern-most counties from being com-
bined for senatorial and legislative districts
with the southern-most counties on the
western shore of the State. We love our
brothers dearly and I am sure they do us.
However, we do not think our elected offi-
cials should have a district split by prob-
ably 30 miles of water and 150 miles of
land. This is no major problem in terms
of any basic philosophical problem, but I do
ask you to protect us to at least let us keep
our districts contiguous.
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I should like to express my thanks to
Delegate Sickles which I am sure the resi-
dents of Smith's Island join, for seeing the
potential problem that they might be left
floating at sea.
I do urge that you support this amend-
ment and I do hope that the Chairman will
accept it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the sponsor?
Delegate Bard.
DELEGATE BARD: I would like to ask
the sponsor of the amendment if he could
give us the latitude and longitude of the
center of the Chesapeake Bay?
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair would be
disposed to rule that it is too late at night
to give you figures that you could absorb.
(Laughter.)
DELEGATE BARD: I wish to indicate
to the Chairman that I am better at night
than I am in the daytime.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair better
rule you out of order.
(Laughter.)
Are there any further questions of the
sponsor of the amendment?
Delegate Carson.
DELEGATE CARSON: I wonder if you
would consider clarification to your amend-
ment by adding the words "and the Susque-
hanna River", because this amendment will
have the practical effect of keeping the
legislature from ever putting Harford and
Cecil together.
We are in the same position of the lower
shore counties, even though half of our
territory is combined by the Susquehanna
River and the other hand is by the Chesa-
peake Bay. We like both Cecil County and
Baltimore County, but we would rather be
alone.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: I am perfectly
willing to accept any amendment that is
realistic. I am perfectly willing if it is
possible to do so, to refer the matter to
the Committee on Style, Drafting and Ar-
rangement. The language, I think every-
body —
(Laughter.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Adkins has
the floor.
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