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(The amendment was duly seconded.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The Clerk will read
the amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 10
to Committee Recommendation R&P-2 by
Delegate Kiefer: On page 3, section 7,
Right to Sue State and Local Governments
strike out all of lines 4 through 9, in-
clusive, and insert in lieu thereof the
following :
"The State, its instrumentalities and
political subdivisions may be sued in the
courts of the State to the exent and in the
manner as may be provided by the General
Assembly."
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bennett,
for what purpose did you rise a few mo-
ments ago?
DELEGATE BENNETT: I rise to speak
to the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN : I think we better let
the sponsor speak to it and then you will
be recognized.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Mr. Chairman
and ladies and gentlemen of this Commit-
tee: I will be very brief because I think
enough has been said on the whole ques-
tion and it has been well said. I want to
call to your attention that when families
fight among themselves and this committee
had its moments, that is one thing. But
when we get attacked from the outside,
we stand together.
The Committee went a little too far in
section 7. It opens the door completely and
requires the legislature to close it. In the
twenty-six states that have done this, all
of the states as far as I know, and I have
not checked each individual constitution,
but in our check on this, all of the states
do about what my amendment would do and
do not open the floodgates as proposed in
section 7.
Therefore I urge the adoption of this
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Will the Chairman
yield to a question?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Chairman Kiefer,
what confuses me about the subject, is that
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I understand your amendment to be declara-
tory of the laws that now exist. Is this not
true?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: I suppose it does
except that it states, as I pointed out be-
fore, the concept of sovereign immunity
will be diminished by legislative action.
This has not been stated in our Consti-
tution prior to this time. It has been im-
portant enough to have been included in
some twenty-six other state constitutions.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: There are a lot of
things that are the law of the land that
are not stated in the Constitution. I ask
you this. What earthly good could these
three or four lines serve since all they do
in my judgment, and I now take it in yours,
is to declare what the law is today?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Delegate Case,
in the preface to my remarks originally,
this Committee considered many matters
that were sent to it on proposals.
This was one that came to us by two or
three different proposals. It was obvious
to us that many of the concepts sent to
this Committee on Personal Rights and
the Preamble dealt with governmental
policies rather than just personal rights
and that is why this Recommendation No.
2 contains this concept of governmental
policy.
A sufficient number of people in this
Convention had sent us this concept and
had appeared before us, and since our re-
search indicated that it was important
enough to be in other constitutions that we
include this concept as a statement of
policy in this constitution.
This is why I urge the adoption of this
amendment.
(First Vice-President James Clark as-
siimcd the Chair.)
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate Hanson, do you desire to speak
against the amendment?
DELEGATE HANSON: At the proper
time, but I would like to ask Delegate
Kiefer a question.
DELEGATE CLARK: Delegate Kiefer,
do you yield to a question?
DELEGATE KIEFER: Yes.
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