|
in this entire field, would either go to the
library here or find a way of getting a copy
of the Goodnow Report of January 28, 1916
which was addressed — is Delegate Malkus
here — he would be interested to know it
was addressed to his neighbor, then Gov-
ernor of Maryland, Governor Harrington.
This is the report of this committee, and
it deals with the philosophy. The philosophy
is this, as I understand it: there shall be
the responsibility vested in the governor.
The governor, in assuming that responsi-
bility must state what the budget shall
contain. The legislature has the coextensive
responsibility of providing for programs
along with the governor.
The governor, having the responsibility,
being the executive head of the State, shall
likewise be responsible for the totality of
the budget, and the taxes that follow
from it.
The legislature may make its changes,
but must assume its share of the responsi-
bility by providing for the taxes for any-
thing that they increase. The legislature;
shall have the right to decrease or strike
out. The end result shall be a budget which
must be in balance.
This about capsules what, if 1 had the
opportunity, I am sure ought to be a lec-
ture of not less than an hour, but this is
what is the Maryland philosophy: you bal-
ance it, you pinpoint the responsibility on
the executive, you give the legislature its
coextensive responsibility to do what I men-
tioned.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: Did not the
Goodnow Report as it was submitted to the
General Assembly subject to its appoint-
ment by the democratic convention, recom-
mend at that time these particular ele-
ments, and recommend that its central
points, or one of those was that the legisla-
ture should not change the budget so as to
incur a deficit, but the recommendation as
submitted by the Goodnow Commission
would have given the General Assembly
power to increase the budget by, I believe,
a three-fifths vote, provided it provided the
revenue?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Judge Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I am not sure
there was such provision in it. In any
event, it was not put into the constitution.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Hanson.
|
DELEGATE HANSON: That is my
point.
Judge Sherbow, to go farther with the
problem of coextensive power of the legis-
lature in budgeting, as you have put it,
and given the optimum system which you
expressed, and which I share, that the legis-
lature will soon have the staff and the
organization to adequately consider the
budget, why should the legislature be per-
mitted within the estimate of revenues only
to decrease the budget, but not to, as Dele-
gate Bennett suggests, move funds from
one program to another if in its coexten-
sive judgment it believes that to be in the
public interest?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Sherbow.
DELEGATE SHERBOW: I think this is
completely contrary to everything we stand
for in this constitution, and I would say to
you, let us go back to our section on the
executive branch. We sure have pulled a
booboo if we have given this power to the
executive and then when he submits his
budget the legislature may take out big
chunks of his program. The governor has
no way of having that program reinstated.
The legislature may then put in its place
programs which he did not initiate. They
put it in there on the basis of a surplus
which is created by the action of the
legislature.
It is no longer an executive budget. It is
no longer a budget where the responsibility
is pinpointed on the governor who has been
elected to carry out all of these programs.
It is now a budget which he must carry
out which was not his program.
1 think this is contrary to what has been
the view and the feeling in Maryland for
over 50 years, and which I gather from the
action of this assemblage is the view of
this present Convention.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: Would not the
objections which you raised to the gov-
ernor's power, or to an amendment to the
budget increasing a program within the
estimate of revenues so it would not be
unbalanced, be met by doing what is gen-
erally recommended by fiscal authorities on
state government, permitting the governor
the power to reduce or strike out any such
increase?
DELEGATE SHERBOW: The governor
has the line item veto on the General As-
|
