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presiding officer of the Senate for one year
is a permanent officer?
DELEGATE ADKINS: For the period he
is elected he is the permanent presiding
officer, vis-a-vis the president pro tempore,
who is not a permanent officer.
DELEGATE DELLA: The President Pro
Tempore is not a permanent officer as
the presiding officer?
DELEGATE ADKINS: I certainly do
not want to get into a quarrel with you,
sir, about the rules of the Senate of
Maryland. My understanding has been that
the permanent presiding officer was the
president. The president pro tem is not
the permanent presiding officer.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Della.
DELEGATE DELLA: That is true, Dele-
gate Adkins, but it is a question of termi-
nology now, of a permanent officer. Does it
mean that he is a permanent officer of the
Senate as long as he is there, or is it for
the period of one year when he is elected
as the presiding officer of the Senate?
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Della, I
take it from Delegate Adkins' previous an-
swer that it was his intention, at least, by
suggesting the addition of the word "per-
manent" that "permanent presiding officer'
meant the person elected to the office of
presiding officer. He would be regarded as
the permanent officer for the entire term
for which he was elected, even though at
some particular period during that term he
might be absent and there would be a tem-
porary presiding officer in his absence.
DELEGATE DELLA: It is only a ques-
tion of terminology, what is meant by
"permanent".
I think the president of the Senate
would be a more descriptive term than a
permanent officer.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: I do not know
that anything further needs to be said.
I agree with the term president of the
Senate too. The Committee on Style saw
fit to change it. I want to tie it down so
the president pro tem cannot succeed to
the office of governor or lieutenant gover-
nor in the event of the death of his pred-
ecessors.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Penniman,
the only reason the Committee on Style
changed the language from president of the
Senate to presiding officer of the Senate is
because the similar article on the legislative
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branch used the term "presiding officer of
the Senate."
Is there any reason why the executive
article could not use the term president of
the Senate?
DELEGATE PENNIMAN: Certainly not.
I was trying to call it to the attention of
the Convention and not freeze a word in
that was contrary to the decision of this
body.
THE PRESIDENT: It seems to the Chair
that the obvious intent of all the parties
is to designate an officer, and there is much
greater certainty by the use of the word
"president" than by the use of the words
"presiding officer."
DELEGATE MARION: Would the Speak-
er of the House also have to be mentioned
since the legislative article refers to the
presiding officer of each house? If you use
"President of the Senate" there you have
to use the equivalent term for the pre-
siding officer of the House of Delegates,
it seems to me.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I do not have
the article in front of me right now, but
it seems to the Chair at least that it is
sort of getting the cart before the horse to
struggle with indefiniteness in this article
on an important matter such as guberna-
torial succession in order to avoid using
perhaps two words in an article on the
legislative branch.
Is Delegate Gallagher here?
Delegate Burdette.
DELEGATE BURDETTE: I simply rose
in the absence of Delegate Gallagher, Chair-
man of the Committee on the Legislative
Branch. Since I am a member of the Com-
mittee on the Legislative Branch, I did
want to protect what I thought to be some
intent on the part of the Legislative Branch
Committee that the rules of each house
would determine the character of the pre-
siding officer in that house.
There are other members here who are
better able than I to speak to the impor-
tance of the point.
THE PRESIDENT: Let the Chair make
this suggestion so we can move on. I will
consider an amendment submitted by
Delegate Adkins with respect to section 4.10
to eliminate the words "presiding officer"
and restore the words "president of the
Senate" with the understanding that
when the article on the legislative branch
is considered tomorrow, if it appears de-
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