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The first item on the calendar for con-
sideration by the Committee of the Whole
is Committee Recommendation LB-3.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Gallagher,
Chairman of the Committee on the Legis-
lative Branch, to report the recommenda-
tion of the Committee.
Delegate Harry Taylor.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: While Dele-
gate Gallagher is on the way to the ros-
trum, I would like to exert a personal
privilege, if I may.
THE CHAIRMAN: State your privilege.
DELEGATE H. TAYLOR: They say
that behind every man there is a beautiful
woman, and behind our President in the
gallery this morning is my daughter, Joan,
who is here from the University of Arizona
observing the convention proceedings. I
trust that the Convention will give her its
usual warm welcome.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Borom.
DELEGATE BOROM: Personal privi-
lege.
THE CHAIRMAN: State the privilege.
DELEGATE BOROM: I would like to
announce that in the balcony above the
President are sixty-eight students from
Forest Park High School, Baltimore City,
with their teachers, Mr. Dettner, and Mr.
Chalker, and at some point during the day
— I hope soon — the Principal of Forest
Park High School, Mr. Norris Weis will
also be in the balcony. He happens to be
the brother-in-law of Delegate Frank
Robey.
THE CHAIRMAN: We are delighted to
have you.
(Applause.)
Delegate Ritter.
DELEGATE RITTER: Mr. President,
I think we would be remiss if we did not
notice in the gallery this morning Cadet
Webb, son of Waverly Webb, Delegate from
Prince George's County, who is here visit-
ing and observing the Convention today,
and who is a member of the Augusta Mili-
tary Academy. He is in the balcony over
the speaker's rostrum.
THE CHAIRMAN: We are delighted to
have him.
(Applause.)
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Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Mr. Chair-
man, and ladies and gentlemen of the Con-
vention, I have the honor to present on
behalf of the Committee on the Legislative
Branch the third, and hopefully the final
report of that particular Committee. It
covers three aspects of legislative branch
activity, they being the question of con-
gressional redistricting, the question of the
continuity of government in case of dis-
asters, either natural or man-made, and
the question of corporate charters of the
State of Maryland which enjoy certain tax
exemptions by virtue of the fact that they
were enacted prior to 1851.
Taking first the question of congressional
redistricting, you will remember that when
we were presenting LB-2, an amendment
was presented calling for congressional
redistricting, and this was sent back to the
Committee for consideration as a part of
LB-3, which was adopted and which you
have before you together with the Com-
mittee Recommendation comments.
Even though it was not the intention of
the Committee on the Legislative Branch
originally to include a section on congres-
sional redistricting, the events which took
place in the Congress the day before we
considered the amendment which was pro-
posed here, plus a further study of the
history of Maryland and of congressional
attempts generally to set up standards, has
prompted the Committee on the Legislative
Branch to reconsider its earlier opinion and
to come forth with the suggestion which
you have before you.
I think Maryland's history with respect
to congressional redistricting can be best
summarized in a capsule sentence which
appears in a pamphlet called "Representa-
tion and Apportionment" published by the
CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY SERVICE in Au-
gust of 1966. Maryland was unique enough
to prompt a separate article in this par-
ticular publication entitled "Redistricting
in Maryland", and the lead sentence I
think is what would interest us: "Con-
gressional redistricting never easily ac-
complished proved more difficult in Mary-
land than in any other state in the country
in the 1960's."
With this in mind, considering the fact
that three attempted congressional redis-
tricting laws, of 1961, 1963, and 1965,
never saw the light of day, and that Mary-
land turned out to be one of the four states
of the union which had ultimately to resort
to the courts in order to accomplish con-
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