|
For what purpose does Delegate Roger
rise?
DELEGATE ROGER: For a special
privilege.
I would like to ask the convention to
welcome my baby daughter, Miss Mary Ro-
ger, who is a student at Ohio University.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The amendment which
is before you is Amendment No. 2. It has
not been distributed. It is an amendment by
Delegate Weidemeyer to strike all except
the first sentence of section 3.03(b).
The Chair recognizes Delegate Weide-
meyer to speak to the amendment.
DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: Mr. Chair-
man and members of the Committee. I
would like to amend my amendment so as
to strike everything after the word "-senta-
tives" on line 13 down to and including the
word "subdivisions" in line 21, and then
strike from the last sentence in line 23,
"-according to these standards-".
THE CHAIRMAN: Is this in a printed
form of amendment?
DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: It is not,
but on second thought I would like to a-
mend my amendment to that extent.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any objec-
tion to considering amendment No. 2 modi-
fied so that it will provide for striking in
line 13, after the fraction of the word,
"-sentatives", all of lines 14 through 20 in-
clusive, the first three words of line 21, and
to strike from line 23 the words "according
to these standards"?
(There was no response.)
The Chair hears no objection. The amend-
ment will be considered as so modified.
Mr. Weidemeyer, you may speak to the
amendment.
DELEGATES WEIDEMEYER: By leav-
ing in the first sentence of section 3.03 (b),
we assure the State that there will be con-
gressional districts, and that they will not
require congressmen to run at large, and
also by striking out in line 13 the following:
"The difference between the populations
of the largest and smallest congressional
districts. Each congressional district shall
consist of adjoining territory and be com-
pact in form. Due regard shall be given to
natural boundaries and the boundaries of
political subdivisions."
|
To take out this language from this pro-
vision takes out these freezing provisions
which would make it, if left in there, al-
most prohibitive for the legislature to act
in many areas, and anyone who has had ex-
perience and worked on the congressional
redistricting bill, knows what a tremen-
dous job it is to keep within due bounds
and to try to please everybody.
When you say that they have got to be
compact in form and they have got to be
contiguous, they have got to have adjoining
territory and they cannot exceed ten percent
then sometimes you might get a very good
congressional district with everybody in the
State happy where you had 11 or 12 percent
variance, or you might be able to get them
with as much as 15. And when we were
first working on this, a lot of them thought
.that 15 was a fair basis for variance, be-
tween the norm, either 15 percent under
or 15 percent over, and the Supreme Court,
as has been pointed out, has not acted and
has not said that it has to be a certain per-
centage. I think it would be doing harm and
violence to the freedom and flexibility of
the legislative processes if we froze in a
percentage.
Likewise, it is dangerous to try to say
that in every instance the areas should be
contiguous because, as you know, we now
have southern Maryland, southern Anne
Arundel County with Calvert and St. Mary's
tied across the Chesapeake Bay with the
counties of the Eastern Shore.
If you get into that, and that language
is construed that you cannot have the in-
tervening water area in the congressional
district, then that would mean that we
would have to start at the tip of the south-
ern end of the Eastern Shore, and work
northward there. We would get a com-
plete revision in the next revamping, and
it would upset our State again.
All of these redistrictings for new con-
gressmen and new areas and bringing in
new people creates a lot of trouble, and I
think the more flexibility we can give to the
legislature in this tremendous job, the bet-
ter off we will be, and therefore I think
that the language that I have asked to strike
from line 13, after "-sentatives" on down
including the word "subdivisions" in line
21, will leave this section where the legisla-
ture must set up congressional districts.
Then if we leave in part of the last sen-
tence, to read "the boundaries of congres-
sional districts shall be established immedi-
ately prior to the state-wide congressional
election in 1972, and every tenth year there-
after", we will have a logical mandate to
|
