THE CHAIRMAN: This is Delegate Gal-
lagher's time we are using.
DELEGATE MALKUS: Oh, heavens.
Like Dick Case said —
THE CHAIRMAN: He has two minutes,
so do not ask him too long a question.
DELEGATE MALKUS: I will try to be
brief.
Like Dick Case says, when you ask an
intelligent man a question he gives you a
speech, and, by golly, it has happened again
this morning.
But the point of my question is this: Is
it too wrong to have five major committees
in the House of Delegates if you have 120
people? Is that too wrong? It has worked
so well in the Senate of Maryland when
we divided it three ways. Now if the House
of Delegates is a little bit larger, is it too
wrong to divide it five ways so that every-
body will serve on a major committee?
They are all major committees, Mr.
Chairman. You will never be able to tell
the people on the Agriculture Committee
that they are on a minority committee in
my area. They know that that is the most
important committee in the General As-
sembly. So my question is this: Is it too
important to divide the subject matter or
the committee members into five com-
mittees?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Senator, it
is not a question of right or wrong.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher,
the question took aminute and a half. You
have 30 seconds to answer it.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: It is not a
moral question. This much is true. Seventy
percent of the work is done by House
Ways and Means and Judiciary. That
leaves 30 percent of the work. With three
additional committees it means each of
them will handle ten percent of the work.
None of those three can be a major com-
mittee, and I object to the member of the
legislature having to serve on a minor, ten
percent business committee.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in opposition to the amend-
ment?
Delegate Malkus, do you desire to speak
in opposition?
DELEGATE MALKUS: No, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE MALKUS: I wanted to say
this to the Chairman, that all committees |
are major committees, and in the Senate of
Maryland, the committee that is headed by
the great senator from Baltimore County,
Jim Pine, is just as big as the ones headed
by Harry Hughes and Joe Curran. We have
no big committees in the Senate, and when
he is trying to lead you to believe that
there are some committees that are bigger
than others, that is no longer true in the
Senate. I think that should also be true in
the House of Delegates, and we could divide
it up accordingly.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment to the amendment?
Delegate Hanson.
DELEGATE HANSON: Mr. Chairman,
I think it is probably fair to say that none
of my friends from the small counties have
ever accused me of having undue solicitude
for their problems. If that were altogether
true, I would be opposed to this amendment
to the amendment and in favor of the
amendment proposed by Delegate Sherbow.
I think if the proponents of the 40-120
formula would do a little bit of back-of-the-
envelope mathematics they would demon-
strate to themselves that they are hurting
rather than helping the very cause they
propose to help.
Under a House of 108 there would be
nine counties which would not be entitled
by their populations to their own repre-
sentative. Under a House of 120 there
would be eight counties not entitled by their
populations. The one different county would
be Dorchester County if the 1970 projec-
tions are correct; and in 1980, if the pro-
jections are even half accurate, it would
lose that particular seat.
In other words, of the 12 seats to be
added, from 108 to 120, 11 of them would
go to the urbanized areas of this State; 11
of them, ladies and gentlemen.
This proposal does not do what it seeks
to do. We may all lament that it is not
done. We may all lament that it cannot be
done. We may wish fervently that it could
be. But 1 plead with this Committee of the
Whole to think before it acts in this mat-
ter. Of any given number of seats that are
added, a minimum of 80 percent of those
added will go to the urbanized areas of the
States, because in 1970 they will have 80
percent of the population. Under a formula
of 108 in the House they will have 86 seats,
with 22 for the rest of the State. Under a
formula of 120 they will have 96 seats,
with 24 for the rest of the State. |
