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DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Grant.
DELEGATE GRANT: I was going to
suggest that since this indicates a number
of exceptions for future constitutional use
they may prefer to say exception number 7
in this article, in the authorization for a
statute, rather than having to repeat the
language itself.
DELEGATE PENNIMAN: We have no
objections to rethinking the problem.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Sollins.
DELEGATE SOLLINS: I have some
questions on other sections, if now is the
appropriate time.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Since
we have been working with the final sec-
tion, let us see if we can complete question-
ing on .that.
Delegate Gilchrist.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: Delegate Pen-
niman, referring to line 45 on page 8 in the
sentence which says "No county shall be
exempt from a public general law," does
the Committee not mean "exempted," to
indicate future, because we have a great
body of laws existing in which there are
exemptions ?
DELEGATE PENNIMAN: We certainly
mean it to apply to the future. I think that
is the meaning of the Committee, but it
came to us as "shall be exempt." Perhaps I
should not even have spoken to this. We did
not change the words that came to us from
the Committee on Local Government.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: I think transi-
tory provisions and a schedule will take
care of the problem which you see here be-
cause after the transitory provisions have
served their time, it is expected that the
shared .powers approach will then permit
the counties to exercise whatever power
may then have only been available to them
by reason of an exemption or having been
exempted.
Or otherwise, in the alternative, the Gen-
eral Assembly may have withdrawn the
power and by general law acted in that
field.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Gilchrist.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: This is what
frightens me.
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DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Does
Delegate Gilchrist have another question,
or he is just musing to himself?
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: I have an-
other question, Mr. Chairman. I have
another question, which begins on line 34.
This says "The General Assembly shall
have the powers to enact laws," and going
over to page 9, beginning on line 8, "or
empowering a county or counties, subject
to any standards that the General Assem-
bly may provide by law, to exercise any
power or perform any function denied to
other counties .....".
Would this be indicative that the stand-
ards had to be established prior to the law
which they enact?
DELEGATE PENNIMAN: I refer that
to Delegate Clagett.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: The answer,
Delegate Gilchrist, is yes. This is the option
procedure, where the power can be shared
concurrently by the General Assembly and
a local subdivision. The General Assembly
can withdraw powers from the counties
generally or enact legislation to permit the
local unit, that is the county by its own en-
abling act, to affirmatively deal with the
particular function or power in that county.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Gilchrist.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: That would
also be after the enactment of standards
by the General Assembly?
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: Yes, because
the county would still have to act within
the limitations of whatever standards were
set up by the General Assembly.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Any
further question on this section?
Delegate Needle.
DELEGATE NEEDLE: Delegate Penni-
man, as a member of the Local Government
Committee T hesitate to ask this question,
because you did not change our language.
However, the first sentence in 3.23 is
stated in the negative. I wonder what Style
and Drafting considered when they failed
to change it to "The General Assembly
shall enact only public general laws," stat-
ing it in the affirmative rather than in the
negative?
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