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the phrase "in the same manner" in line
8 of Committee Recommendation EB-2 is
intended to refer to the election of an at-
torney general by the same classes of quali-
fied voters voting in the same manner as
for governor but is not intended to include
the requirement that the attorney general
run jointly with the governor and lieu-
tenant governor. Is that the understanding,
Delegate Morgan?
DELEGATE MORGAN: It is, Mr.
Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does Delegate Pen-
niman's secretary have a note of that?
Delegate Burdette.
DELEGATE BURDETTE: I have a sec-
ond question which has no real relation to
style. But it is a question which concerns
whether the Committee intended to elimi-
nate the arrangement of the present Con-
stitution that the state's attorneys may ask
opinions. I may be mistaken but on a hasty
reading it seems as if the state's attorneys
have no right now to ask the attorney gen-
eral for an opinion while in the present
Constitution they do.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: The Committee
Recommendation provides that the attorney
general shall upon request give his opinion
on any legal matter to either house of the
General Assembly or the presiding officer
thereof, to the governor, and to any other
officer, agency or department of the State,
which would include the state's attorneys.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Burdette.
DELEGATE BURDETTE: Are we mak-
ing them constitutional state officers?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Yes, they are
constitutional state officers under our ex-
ecutive branch article which was adopted
last week.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: Chairman Mor-
gan, did your Committee give consideration
to simply expressing in this section that
the attorney general shall be the head of a
principal department charged with the legal
affairs of the State?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: No, we did not.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: Is is not a fact
that he is to become the head of a principal
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department, the law department, which he
is not?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Well, I think
principal department under our executive
article has another meaning. It is a depart-
ment which carries out the state programs
and it is under the direction and control
of the governor. The governor selects and
controls the head of the principal depart-
ments. I do not believe the attorney gen-
eral's office would constitute a principal
department under the concept of principal
departments which we have provided for
in our executive article.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: So he would be
the head of a department. Although it
simply would not be one of the twenty?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: Well, he is the
attorney general of the State. I do not
know whether —
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan
has not finished his answer.
DELEGATE MORGAN: You can call it
department if you want to, but I do not
think that gives any indication of what his
functions are.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes, so
the record will not be confused, H-- not the
section to which you refer the one that
refers to principal departments of the ex-
ecutive branch?
DELEGATE BYRNES: Yes, sir.
I notice, Chairman Morgan, when you
came to the state's attorneys, you did not
define his responsibilities although I under-
stand they are defined somewhat in the
present Constitution, yet you did define the
responsibilities of the attorney general.
Why did yen feel compelled to be very
specific about his responsibilities, particu-
larly in the area of appeals and opinions
and so forth.
Why did not the Committee decide to
leave that to the discretion of the General
Assembly as you did with virtually every
other major executive officer of the State,
quasi-executive officer of the State?
THE CHAIRMAN: Chairman Morgan.
CHAIRMAN MORGAN: Because his
duties were spelled out in the existing Con-
stitution, I think the Committee concluded
that there was really no chance that his
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