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The question now arises on the adoption
of Amendment No. 16-A to Committee
Recommendation LB-1, LB-2, and LB-3 as
amended by Report S&D-16.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Carson.
DELEGATE CARS'ON: Mr. Chairman,
I know it is growing late but this is quite
an important issue. Would a motion to re-
consider be in order at this time?
THE PRESIDENT: It would.
DELEGATE CARSON: I move that we
reconsider the vote by which the motion,
Amendment No. 16-A, was adopted.
THE PRESIDENT: Is there a second?
(Whereupon, the motion was duly sec-
onded.)
THE PRESIDENT: It has been regu-
larly moved and seconded that the vote by
which Amendment No. 16-A was adopted
as a substitute for Amendment No. 16 be
reconsidered.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Carson.
DELEGATE CARSON: Mr. Chairman,
and ladies and gentlemen, let me attempt
to be clearer than before. I think that the
questioning of Delegate Clagett by Dele-
gate Case and by Chairman Eney showed
that his amendment did this and did this
only: he admits that under his amendment
the General Assembly may pass a law and
specify twenty-two counties to which that
law may be applicable. It may specify
twenty-three counties to which it may be
applicable and he says that that is valid
and a good law.
On the other hand, he says that if the
form that legislation takes, that the Gen-
eral Assembly frames the law in, says that
this is a general law to be applicable to all
counties except Montgomery and Prince
George's, then it is a bad law because it
has had an amendment in it. His amend-
ment does nothing to encourage the full
approach. It sets the form in which the
legislation must go.
I think it is pernicious to set the form
in this manner when we intend to permit
the General Assembly in regard to these
laws to act as it will. I think to adopt this
amendment would be harmful. I urge you
to reconsider your vote and reject on con-
sideration Amendment No. 16-A.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: Mr. President, I
think the clearest explanation of what
these two amendments attempt to do was
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given by Delegate Mentzer. She obviously
understands it very clearly, and it does not
take very many words to say it. If you
adopt the Carson amendment, you are
going to continue to allow the situation
where a county can exempt itself from a
law in the eight categories as passed by
the General Assembly and that is what I
think we do not want to do. If you adopt
the Clagett Amendment, 16A, then you
are going to keep the counties from being
able to exempt themselves from the general
laws passed by the General Assembly in
these eight categories and I urge that you
support Amendment No. 16-A.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Marion.
DELEGATE MARION: Mr. President,
I have a question. I do not know to whom
to direct it, whether to you or to somebody
else who has some time.
THE PRESIDENT: Any delegate desir-
ing to debate has the floor in preference to
you. I will have to yield the floor to other
delegates. I will give you an opportunity
to ask your question later.
Delegate Marion, to whom do you direct
your question?
DELEGATE MARION: May I direct it
to Chairman Moser, please, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Moser,
will you take the floor to yield to a ques-
tion?
DELEGATE MOSER: I will yield.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Marion.
DELEGATE MARION: I believe I un-
derstand what the difference in these two
amendments is with respect at least to the
first seven exceptions, but the eighth excep-
tion listed is the one which enables a
county or counties to act not withstanding
the fact that the General Assembly has
acted contrary.
I understand or have understood, I think,
all along that that power was not to be
exercised by public local law. And yet,
when I understood what Delegate Clag-
ett said and what Delegate Hanson said,
public local law would be the only way that
that exception, the eighth exception, could
be implemented if this amendment were
adopted, the one which was just adopted
by a sixty-one to sixty vote. Is that your
understanding of this amendment, and if I
am in error, tell me because I understood
that was by exception from the general
public law that that exemption was to be
made applicable?
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