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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 3025   View pdf image (33K)
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[Jan. 2] DEBATES 3025

that intended to mean the same thing as
any amendment to the constitution?

DELEGATE BOYER: Yes, it was. It
was a little more encompassing, broader
than any amendment. It would include
amendment, proposal, resolution or any-
thing else that might be included in such a
proposal. It is broader than an amendment,
but it did include the amendment to the
constitution.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Marion.

DELEGATE MARION: In the preceding
section on the amendment of the constitu-
tion when it refers to an amendment being
proposed by the affirmative vote of a ma-
jority of all the members of the constitu-
tional convention, that could encompass
either the concept of a single amendment,
a limited amendment, an amendment to one
or more sections, but not an entire consti-
tution; or it could also encompass an
amendment of the entire constitution by
substituting the new constitution therefor.
Is that correct?

DELEGATE BOYER: Yes. This was the
intent, an interchangeable play of words;
but it was the intent of the Committee to
do just as you suggest, Delegate Marion.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Does
any other delegate wish to be heard ?

Delegate Chabot.

DELEGATE CHABOT: May I also ad-
dress a question to Delegate Boyer?

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Boyer, will you yield for a question?

DELEGATE BOYER: Gladly.

DELEGATE CHABOT: The provisions
of section 10.02 provide for effective dates
of amendments. I think that the product
of the Committee on Style and Drafting
with regard to those last few lines of sec-
tion 10.03 would suggest that the same ef-
fective date provision, the 30 days unless
the Convention provides otherwise, was in-
tended to apply to something that comes
out of section 10.03, that does not consti-
tute an amendment but constitutes a com-
pletely new constitution.

What was the intention of the General
Provisions Committee with regard to co-
ordinating these two provisions regarding
effective dates?

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Boyer.

DELEGATE BOYER: It was our intent,
insofar as possible, to keep some continuity
in the method of effective dates and pro-
posal adoption or things like that. I do
not see any dangerous precedent being set
here.

The Style Committee has probably re-
verted to an unusual rephrasing in the last
line of section 10.03, but to me it is per-
fectly clear what their intent was, and I
found no problem with it.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Chabot.

DELEGATE CHABOT: Then do I under-
stand correctly that the intent of the Gen-
eral Provisions Committee in reporting
these two matters out would be attained
only if we used either the cross reference
of Style and Drafting or if we repeated all
the language at the end of section 10.02, in-
cluding the effective date language

DELEGATE BOYER: Yes, sir, this is
exactly what I interpret it to be. By cross
reference it would adopt exactly the same
wording.

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): Dele-
gate Chabot.

DELEGATE CHABOT: May I speak for
a moment against the amendment?

DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): The
delegate may proceed.

DELEGATE CHABOT: Delegate Needle
and Delegate Penniman both refer to rules
adopted by the Style and Drafting Com-
mittee. These rules were not made in
heaven; and they were designed to serve
our convenience. I suggest that at this time
the work of the Style and Drafting Com-
mittee in this small manner, violating one
of its rules, more accurately reflects the
intention of this body than the amendment
presently before us.

I suggest that the only other way of
preserving the rules and also getting the
intention of this body, as indicated by Dele-
gate Boyer just now, would be to repeat
also the last sentence of section 10.02.

This amendment does not repeat it, and
under the circumstances we would be left
with a situation whereby an amendment
coming out of a constitutional convention
has an effective date provision written into
it by the constitution, while the constitu-
tion coming out of the constitutional con-
vention does not.

I suggest we will have more difficulties,
rather than fewer, if we adopt the amend-
ment.



 

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Proceedings and Debates of the 1967 Constitutional Convention
Volume 104, Volume 1, Debates 3025   View pdf image (33K)
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