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thereof the following: "Within sixty days
after such approval by the voters or within
sixty clays after the General Assembly calls
a convention, the governor shall".
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): The
Chair recognizes Delegate Needle.
DELEGATE NEEDLE: This is simply
an amendment to reinsert the original lan-
guage adopted by the Committee of the
Whole on lines 32 through 35, and to strike
the amendment as submitted by the Com-
mittee on Style and Drafting.
What the Committee on Style and Draft-
ing has done is to limit the time in which
the governor shall appoint a constitutional
convention commission, to 60 days after a
convention has been called, and has elimi-
nated the provision with regard to the ap-
proval of the voters.
The two preceding sentences refer to two
different procedures, one being the calling
of a convention by the General Assembly,
and the other being the approval of the
calling of a convention by the voters when
submitted to them at the ballot. The lan-
guage inserted by the Style and Drafting
Committee in those two prior sentences
clearly indicates that there are two distinct
procedures.
I am afraid that by eliminating one of
these procedures in the sentence referred to
on lines 32 through 35 that it is possible to
interpret that the governor shall appoint a
constitutional convention commission only
if the General Assembly has called a con-
vention, and I am sure that that is not the
intention of this Committee or the Conven-
tion, or the Style and Drafting Committee.
I think the original language was per-
fectly clear, and my amendment would re-
insert that original language.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Penniman.
DELEGATE PENNIMAN: I think there
is no doubt that the language was origi-
nally perfectly clear, but it seemed to us it
is still perfectly clear as changed by the
Committee on Style, Drafting, and Ar-
rangement, since there is reference in the
first sentence to the subjection of the call-
ing of the convention to the voters, and
once the voters have approved, then that
is the calling. So the reference in line 33
to "a convention has been called" would
mean by either of the methods.
It seemed to me we saved seven or eight
words and did not in any way change the
meaning.
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DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Is
there any further discussion ?
(There was no response.)
The question arises on the adoption of
Amendment No. 1, designated "E".
The Clerk will record the vote.
A vote in favor of the amendment re-
stores the original language.
(Whereupon, a roll call vote was taken.)
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Has
every delegate recorded his vote ? That
looks like a sparse vote up there.
The Clerk will record the vote.
There being 49 votes in the affirmative
and 48 in the negative, the amendment is
adopted. The original language is restored.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Needle.
DELEGATE NEEDLE: Mr. Chairman,
flushed with victory, I would like to intro-
duce the amendment designated D, as in
"delightful."
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): The
pages will distribute Amendment D.
For what purpose does Delegate Clagett
rise ?
DELEGATE CLAGETT: A point of per-
sonal privilege.
Mr. President, I would like to welcome to
the gallery over the rostrum and to intro-
duce to this assembly a very distinguished
and prominent attorney from Prince
George's County, a member from that
county to the House of Delegates who is
surveying this chamber to see where his
seat will be placed, Mr. Raymond J. Mc-
Donough. (Applause.)
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): The
Chair would like to welcome Delegate Mc-
Donough.
For what purpose does Delegate Weide-
meyer rise?
DELEGATE WEIDEMEYER: A point
of personal privilege, Mr. President.
Mr. President, I hope that you and the
members of the Convention will accord
your usual warm welcome to the wife of
former Delegate to the House of Delegates,
Wilbur Major of Carroll County, and I did
notice former Delegate Major, with whom
I spent many happy years, in the gallery
a few moments ago. (Applause.)
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