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10, Reserved Rights, and in place insert
section 14 added by Amendment No. 21 so
that it reads, on page 4 following section 14,
added by Amendment No. 21, add the follow-
ing new section.
Make a similar change on F, which will
be Amendment No. 25 to Committee Recom-
mendation R&P-2. It will read, on lines 1
and 2 on page 4, following section 14 added
by Amendment No. 21, add this new section.
The amendment is offered by Delegate
Kiefer, is there a second?
(Whereupon, the motion was duly sec-
onded.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment is
seconded by Delegates Bennett and Beach-
ley.
The Chair recognizes — was it Delegate
Beachley? I'm sorry, Delegate Cardin.
The Clerk will read the amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 24
to Committee Recommendation R&P-2 by
Delegate Kiefer:
On page 4 following section 14 added by
amendment 21.
"Section , Right to Know.
The people shall have the right to know
how their government operates and all
records of executive and administrative
bodies shall be available for inspection by
any person to the extent and in the manner
provided by the General Assembly."
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair was in
error in indicating how the amendment
should be marked. This is an amendment
offered in substitution for Amendment No.
24, I take it, Delegate Kiefer?
DELEGATE KIEFER: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Therefore it should
be marked 24A as a substitute for Amend-
ment No. 24.
DELEGATE JAMES: Mr. Chairman —
THE CHAIRMAN: Just a second.
DELEGATE JAMES: For point of in-
quiry or clarification directed to the Chair-
man of the Committee.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer, do
you yield to a question?
DELEGATE KIEFER: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: My understanding
of the public law is that records are public
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unless otherwise provided by the General
Assembly.
THE CHAIRMAN: I am sorry. I did not
understand you were asking that kind of
question. Delegate Kiefer has not had an
opportunity to speak to his amendment. Will
you hold your question?
DELEGATE JAMES: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Kiefer, you
have ten minutes within which to present
your amendment, including the time for
answering questions.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: Parliamentary
inquiry, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate B. Miller.
DELEGATE B. MILLER: Is he present-
ing this as an amendment of the Committee
Report, or as a personal amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: I do not know. If we
will give him an opportunity to speak I
hope he will tell us.
Delegate Kiefer.
DELEGATE KIEFER: Mr. Chairman,
and ladies and gentlemen of the Committee,
to answer that question specifically I find
myself in the same position as the airline
stewardess on my flight from California.
When we left Los Angeles she passed
around chewing gum. She said "This will
keep your ears from popping when we land
in Friendship." A little man got up and
said to the stewardess, "Thank you very
much, it was a big help all right, but how
do I get this chewing gum out of my ear?"
(Laughter.)
My advice, I hope, will be better received
and better acted upon than that poor fellow
on the airline.
What I want to say to you is this: we
are in favor of the freedom to know, but
not as Delegate Sherbow has said, just
opening the floodgates. I think the matter
can properly be handled by the legislature,
and I think that it can be handled intelli-
gently by the legislature, but if we leave
to the legislature to close all the floodgates
we are opening, we are in trouble.
The exceptions raised by the various ex-
perts who came over to speak on the right
to know law disenchanted me on it.
Delegate Willoner has advised you as a
matter of common law right you would
have a right to the record. If you do not
know it, the Maryland Code provides that
all meetings, regular and special, by the
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