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The Chair is not advised of any other
amendments to 'Committee Recommendation
EB-2. Correction, there is one,
The pages will please distribute Amend-
ment M.
This will be Amendment No. 10.
The Clerk will read the Amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 10
to Committee Recommendation EB-2 by
Delegate Chabot:
On page 2 Section , Powers and du-
ties of the Attorney General, in line 12
after the period add the following new sen-
tence: "The Attorney General shall appoint
such number of deputies or assistants as
the General Assembly may prescribe by
law."
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment is
submitted by Delegate Chabot. Is there a
second ?
(The motion was duly seconded.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment is
seconded by Delegate Child. The Chair rec-
ognizes Delegate Chabot to speak to the
amendment.
DELEGATE GHABOT: Mr. Chairman,
although I think .that the Committee com-
promises by giving too much power to the
attorney general, I am afraid this is one
power which the attorney general has in
the present Constitution which the Com-
mittee left out and which may turn out to
be a vital one. As I read the section before
us, the General Assembly could, if it wished
to, remove from the attorney general the
power to appoint his own deputies and
assistants. I do not believe that was the
Committee's intention.
It could cripple the operation of the
attorney general's office if the attorney
general and the General Assembly were at
odds and I have spoken, I have shown this
amendment to the Chairman of the Com-
mittee who has indicated to me that he
does not see any objection to it and I
commend it to the Committee of the Whole.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions ?
The Chair would like to inquire.
Delegate Chabot, your sentence in line 5
says, "The Attorney General shall appoint"
— there have been occasions in the past
and I dare say will be in the future when
for one reason or another the attorney
general may have a vacancy in assistance.
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Do you mean that the attorney general
would have to appoint a certain number j
whether he needed .them or not?
DELEGATE CHABOT: No, I intended
that it shall be "may appoint."
THE CHAIRMAN: Would you modify
line 5 to read "The Attorney General may
appoint."
THE CHAIRMAN: If there is no objec-
tion, then the amendment will read, "The
Attorney General may appoint such num-
ber of deputies or assistants as the General
Assembly may prescribe by law."
DELEGATE MORGAN: Let me ask Dele-
Chabot a question, if I may.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.
DELEGATE CHABOT: Yes, sir.
.DELEGATE MORGAN: Is there any-
thing in this amendment which would pre-
clude the General Assembly if it felt de-
sirable sometime in the future from putting
the attorney general assistants under a
merit system?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.
DELEGATE CHABOT: The only matter
along that line in which I would concede
that this might create some interference
with the power of the General Assembly to
create a merit system plan for people who
are appointed, concerns those already ap-
pointed.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Morgan.
DELEGATE MORGAN: That is all I
want.
I have no objection to the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair has a
further question.
Is it intended that the amendment in any
way limits .the power of the Attorney Gen-
eral to remove an assistant appointed by
him or to in any other way fix the term
of the deputies or assistants.
DELEGATE CHABOT: It is not intended
and I do not see that this could limit such
power. This does not go to that power at all.
THE CHAIRMAN: My question is not
directed to a provision of law if there is
any, but if there is no (provision in the
law except a budgetary provision for as-
sistants, would you intend that this provi-
sion would in any way affect the power of
the Attorney General to remove an assistant
appointed by him?
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