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constitution to the people, that it is now
all the more important that you support
the proposition that the people by petition
should have the right to call together a
constitutional convention.
I submit that the General Assembly in
its self-interest, as in the past apparently,
may not want to call a constitutional con-
vention. Why then should not the governor
have the right to do so? By the same token,
why should the governor have the veto
power to reject the calling of a constitu-
tional convention if we otherwise state the
General Assembly may call one by law?
THE CHAIRMAN: You have three min-
utes including time for questions, Delegate
Needle.
DELEGATE NEEDLE: As Delegate
Boyer has pointed out, GP-8 varies from
the commission draft in that it increases
the time, the duration in which the ques-
tion shall be placed on the ballot from
twenty to twenty-five years. I would prefer
to see that duration even shortened. Mary-
land is now one of the few states that has
such a long period of time but I would
like at least to return it to the .twenty-
year provision as recommended by the Con-
stitutional Convention Commission.
It may be desirable to impose an outside
date at which a constitutional convention
must convene if none of the provisions
provided for the calling of one prior to
that are utilized. Such a date would nec-
essarily be arbitrary but I submit fifty
years is reasonable under the circum-
stances.
I also suggest that it is advisable to
convene a convention two years after call
by whatever means in order to give a com-
mission an adequate chance to do its work.
Our commission did a marvelous job. I do
not think anybody would disagree with
that. But it was short on time, having
two years in which to do it.
I will direct more detailed comments to
each amendment as it is voted on.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the sponsor of the amendments?
The Chair hears none. If you will return
to your chair, we will take up considera-
tion of each amendment.
The first amendment to be considered
will be Amendment B. It will be Amend-
ment No. 1. The Clerk will read the
amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 1
to Committee Recommendation GP-8, by
Delegates Needle, Hardwicke and Sollins:
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On page 1 in line 5 after the word "As-
sembly" add the following words: "or the
governor".
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment hav-
ing been submitted by Delegate Needle
and seconded by Delegates Hardwicke and
Sollins, the Chair recognizes Delegate
Needle.
DELEGATE NEEDLE: Mr. Chairman,
as I just mentioned, I think there is good
reason for permitting either policy-making
branch of our government to call a con-
stitutional convention. Apparently the Gen-
eral Provisions Committee has recognized
this insofar as the General Assembly is
concerned. I can see reasons why the Gen-
eral Assembly might not desire to call a
constitutional convention and therefore I
feel that the governor should likewise have
the right to call a constitutional convention
when he thinks one might be advisable or
necessary.
Note that the right to call a constitu-
tional convention would not be delegable
to a lieutenant governor as this is specifi-
cally prescribed to the governor in this
constitution.
The recommendations accepted in the
Executive Committee's report would not
permit this to be one of the delegable re-
sponsibilities to the lieutenant governor.
I did not specify in my amendment nor
did the General Provisions Committee, the
manner in which a constitutional conven-
tion could be called by the General Assem-
bly. I would suggest that it be by a con-
stitutional majority of both houses but I
do not think that has to be stated.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Boyer.
DELEGATE BOYER: Mr. Chairman,
these amendments are coming too fast. I
cannot keep up with them.
May I suggest in answering just the one
on Amendment B it would be my humble
opinion this should be rejected. First of all,
I think that probably it would make for
bad language in the Style Committee if
we merely adopted Amendment B without
considering also Amendment C. It is in-
conceivable that the intention was that the
General Assembly or the governor may by
law call a convention because obviously the
governor cannot make law in this field.
I would suggest that in Delegate Needle's
statement that this should be left to either
branch of the policy-making departments of
the government, this might be an erroneous
assumption.
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