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It really should be clarified. Delegate
Hardwicke, do you want to speak to that?
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Delegate
Cardin, in about two weeks Delegate James
will be presiding in the chamber across the
hall that is known as the Maryland Sen-
ate, and this is just a provision of law that
we have picked up from the existing law.
I will admit it has a little problem in the
fact that it contemplates a spouse will be
a woman. I think we ought to come down
to see President James to see if he cannot
amend this law to have it read the spouse
will be of either sex.
DELEGATE CARDIN: I began faceti-
ously. I am quite serious in my next com-
ment. In the present constitution there is
some terminology dealing with offices and
appointment and stating that where the
masculine gender is used it shall be con-
strued to include feminine gender.
Nowhere in this provision have we any
such provision or clause, but we do have
now for the first time in this schedule of
legislation a change of gender. I am won-
dering whether we should not include,
since evidently there is a difference, and
may continue to be a difference for some
time under the Code, such a clause, which
would state that masculine shall be con-
strued to be feminine or either way it is
taken. This is my question.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: I suppose
the answer is yes.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : I
think this question should be given some
further consideration.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: I think
what Delegate Cardin is asking is that if
we say that the neuter shall always mean
the masculine, suppose you use the femi-
nine, does that also mean the masculine?
Should we have rules of interpretation to
that effect?
DELEGATE CARDIN: I would like it
to be broader, if possible. I would like it
simply to state that whether we use the
masculine or the feminine, we mean either.
In other words, when we use "his", we
do mean "hers", and in this particular
case, "unless she remarries", should also
be construed "unless he remarries", as
well.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Dele-
gate Hardwicke.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: As I un-
derstand it, in Article 1 of the Maryland
Code, which is an article dealing with in-
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terpretations, this point is made and just
as you say, that is, the woman shall be
believed to be the masculine where that is
appropriate and neuter shall be determined
to be masculine where appropriate. I think
that is a matter of statutory interpretation.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : That
is correct.
Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Mr. Chairman,
I have one question in connection with
these pensions. As I understand it, the nor-
mal retirement age for judges is set at
seventy. As I read section 22, it provides
that he shall not be paid a pension unless
he has reached his sixtieth birthday. My
question is, if he elects to resign, say, in
midterm, at his sixtieth birthday, can he
then receive the same rate of pension in
terms of the number of years of service
times the per annum from sixty, as he
would receive at seventy?
In other words, a man we will say who
served ten years, resigns at sixty, in the
case of the Court of Appeals. Would he
be entitled to $13,000 a year? Would he
receive the same? Would he be entitled to
receive thirteen thousand dollars a year,
beginning at age sixty, as he would if he
continued until seventy?
In other words, does the annual rate re-
main the same? This is unlike any other
pension plan I have ever heard of.
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: Delegate
Adkins, we picked up in this section 22
practically verbatim the language of the
Legislative Council bill, which, in turn,
includes the language of existing law, and
I think the answer to your question is yes.
DELEGATE ADKINS: In other words,
no difference is made in terms of the per
annum multiple times the years of service,
no matter whether he retires at age sixty
or age seventy?
DELEGATE HARDWICKE: That is
correct. Once he reaches this maximum
amount, that is correct.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Suppose he does
not reach the maximum amount. Let's as-
sume he serves five years, and he elects to
retire at fifty-five. He serves from fifty
to fifty-five. Beginning at age sixty, does
he get the same per annum rate that the
man would get who served until he was
seventy?
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding): I
think it depends on the conditions under
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