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May I by an illustration indicate what
this does and what it does not do? Let us
assume the governor submits a budget of
$2 billion of expenditures to the legis-
lature, and this is balanced by an estimated
revenue of $2 billion. Under the present
Constitution the General Assembly may
only reduce those amounts. It is no answer
to this amendment to say with a suggested
bogey man that the General Assembly
would take money away from the Univer-
sity of Maryland and give it to the state
colleges. They may do that now. They may
decrease it; they may take it away from
any agency.
Under this amendment if the General
Assembly should decide to reduce the total
expenditures by, let us say §500,000, that is
within the estimate of revenue, so there
would presumably be a surplus of that
much money at the end of the year.
Now, the legislature cannot add that
money to some other department, some
other agency, some new program which it
thinks this State needs. Under the amend-
ment that is what it could do. It could say
to the Department of Fisheries, we do not
think that you need that much money, and
therefore, we reduce that item by "x" dol-
lars. They could say that in the develop-
ment of education we think you need "xv
dollars, and so they merely transfer those
funds.
Now, contrast that to what they are re-
quired to do now, as I understand the bud-
get making process. They may reduce the
money from the Department of Fisheries,
but only by a supplementary appropriation
bill may they add the money to the De-
partment of Education. It is not a real
answer to say that they can do it by a
supplementary appropriation bill, because
they must also provide a new tax or a
new rate of tax, a new source of revenue
for the supplementary appropriation bill.
THE CHAIRMAN: You have one-half
minute, Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: What I have
never understood is why if the General As-
sembly decides that the appropriation for
a particular department provided in the
governor's budget should be reduced so
there is $200,000 of revenue that the gov-
ernor said would come to the State in the
next year, why should not the General As-
sembly be able to say, "we will then put
that $200,000 into this other department for
this new program"?
The budget remains balanced.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Your time is expired,
Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: May I read
one sentence from the document we all
have, called "Modernizing the Executive
Branch of the Maryland Government"?
We have done much here to free the
governor from internal restraints, particu-
larly with respect to the responsibility of
the comptroller and treasurer.
This volume suggests this: "If the present
system of checks within the executive
branch itself, and specifically within the
fiscal management area of that branch is
not continued by constitutional provision,
it will undoubtedly mean that the powers
of the governor can find an effective check
only in the powers and actions of the legis-
lature."
I suggest that that is part of the purpose
of this amendment, and T urge its passage.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
amendment?
Delegate Adkins — sorry; Delegate Gil-
christ has the floor. You had the floor be-
fore, Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: I want to offer an
amendment at the appropriate time.
THE CHAIRMAN: Very well.
Delegate Gilchrist.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: Mr. Chairman,
I find myself in a rather strange position
when I look at the sponsors of this amend-
ment and hear some of the speeches they
have been making.
We had last week at the moment at
which we are now engaged in this debate
schedule a great debate about strengthen-
ing the executive branch of the government
of Maryland. One of the great arguments
that was used with respect to the fiscal
affairs which were under discussion then
was that the fiscal control and fiscal respon-
sibility for the affairs of the State ought to
be vested in the executive branch in the
governor.
I find it strange that some of the spon-
sors of that same proposal last week would
now reverse their position. Two weeks be-
fore in the discussion of the article on the
legislative branch it was reported to the
floor that this subject had been discussed
at some length in the deliberations of the
Committee.
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