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code of ethics and conflict of interest could
tackle that problem?
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: I would
think the question of distinction of con-
flicts between pounds of ham could best be
left to somebody, or some commission which
could consider this, and arrive at a just
decision.
I certainly would not want to try to
legislate with particularity on these prob-
lems. I am sure Senator James and the
other members of the General Assembly
can meet the ham problem head on.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate James.
DELEGATE JAMES: I did not have
very many hams this Christmas. I heard
a speech by the Governor of Kentucky
not too long ago, and he said he noticed
he had much more ham in his first year,
than he did in his last.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Pullen.
DELEGATE PULLEN: Mr. President,
some forty years ago my friend, Delegate
Cleveland, gave a commencement address
to the high school of which I was principal.
The topic of his address was common sense
and common decency.
Now, Mr. Chairman, I was reproved some
two years ago by a member of the legal
profession in respect to ethics, and he said
that if we had more education we would
have better ethics. He was indicted three
months later for stealing $100,000.
Mr. Chairman, after nearly five-score
years and ten of living, I have learned one
thing, which is that the most futile thing
one can do is to tell a man that he has
neither good manners nor a sense of pro-
priety. I doubt very much that all of this
belongs very much in the constitution that
we are proposing for the citizens of
Maryland.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: Mr. Chair-
man, I would ask Delegate Gallagher if he
would consider modifying his amendment
so as not to add the word "provide" on line
51. It seems to me that it more nearly ex-
presses the intent of the Committee if it
provides that the General Assembly shall
prescribe by law for the code of ethics, and
for the regulation of the conflicts of in-
terest. Certainly under that they could es-
tablish a board which I understand was
the reason for using the word "provide" in
line 51.
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THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Bamberger,
the word "for" in line 50 has been stricken
by the amendment. Delegate Bamberger,
he said you did not realize the word "or"
was stricken.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: If you
omit —
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: As I un-
derstand it, at the moment we are saying
the General Assembly shall prescribe for
a code of ethics, and provide for the regu-
lation of conflicts in interest. I think that
is the way it reads, exactly.
Mr. Bamberger is suggesting rather than
say "provide for conflict of interest" that
we say "prescribe for the regulation of
conflicts of interest." I think we would
probably have to drop out the "for" on line
51 if we pick up "prescribe". I have no ob-
jection to it.
THE PRESIDENT: Amendment No. 2
as modified reads as follows: On page 2,
section 9.08, Conflict of Interest, in line 50
strike out the word "provide" and insert in
lieu thereof the word "prescribe", and
strike out the word "for" in line 50, and in
line 51 after the word "and" insert the
word "provide".
Now do you wish to further modify it?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Mr. Presi-
dent, I think perhaps if we drop out "pro-
vide" in line 51, so that the sentence would
read "The General Assembly shall prescribe
by law a code of ethics and for the regula-
tion of conflicts of interest," would that not
accomplish what Mr. Bamberger suggested?
THE PRESIDENT: It would, but to me
grammatically it is a very awkward
sentence.
Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: Mr. Presi-
dent, with the modification which I suggest
those lines would read as follows: "The
General Assembly shall prescribe by law
a code of ethics and shall prescribe by law
for the regulation of conflicts."
THE PRESIDENT: Did you respond to
that Delegate Gallagher?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Mr. Presi-
dent, again I think it is awkward. I think
we could accomplish what we would intend
to by sticking with "provide". I do not
want to get into a federal case about it.
THE PRESIDENT: Delegate Hender-
son.
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