THE CHAIRMAN: Has it been printed?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Yes. It is
marked LB, Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher,
I would suggest to you that it would sim-
plify our consideration of this matter if it
is agreeable to you and to Delegates Ritter
and Grant that you withdraw your amend-
ment No. 12, and the Chair will recognize
Delegates Ritter and Grant to offer their
amendment.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: I do with-
draw it, Mr. Chairman, and I would pre-
sume, Mr. Gleason would be agreeable.
DELEGATE GLEASON: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher,
with the consent of his seconder, Delegate
Gleason withdraws Amendment No. 12.
There is another amendment now before
you.
The Clerk will read the amendment. It
will be Amendment No. 13.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 13
to Committee Recommendation LB-I by
Delegates Ritter and Grant: On page 2
Section 3.04, Composition of the Legisla-
ture, line 6 after the period insert the
following:
"The General Assembly shall provide
by law for each county which does not
have a delegate residing within it boun-
daries to be represented in the House
of Delegates by a legislative representa-
tive. Such legislative representative shall
be entitled to all the rights and privileges
of a delegate except the right to vote."
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition to the
amendment? Delegate B. Miller?
DELEGATE B. MILLER: Mr. Chair-
man, we discussed this proposal in Com-
mittee and we rejected it because we felt
that it did not arrive at the kind of legis-
lative responsibility that we were looking
for. We previously decided today that each
House member would be representing ap-
proximately 30,000 people.
If there is a legislative agent in part of
the area in which he represents, then he
would feel less responsible to represent
those 30,000 people. He might in fact be
representing 20,000 people, and the 10,000
who also have a legislative agent may find
themselves then with a voice, but again
without a vote, because there will be no
accountability to the man who was elected, |
since he can also turn around and say:
"You people have an agent, let him do
what we wants on the floor."
I think also that the whole idea of a
legislative agent violates the principle which
we were trying to establish in this new
kind of bicameral legislature which we
hoped would come out of this legislative
package, and that was that people would
be represented, that their interests would
be represented, parochially or on the other
hand you might say in terms of represen-
tation, in one house, and that in the other
house they would be represented in terms
of a larger district.
It is for that reason that the Committee
rejected this proposal, and I would urge
that the Committee of the Whole do like-
wise.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor of the amendment?
Does any other delegate desire — Dele-
gate Clagett?
DELEGATE CLAGETT: Mr. Chairman,
I would like to ask Delegate Grant if he
would yield for a question.
DELEGATE GRANT: I will.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant, do
you yield for a question?
DELEGATE GRANT: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: State your question,
Delegate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: In order to
gain one more vote, would you substitute
for the word "shall" the word "may" in
the first sentence?
DELEGATE GRANT: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Grant?
DELEGATE GRANT: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Ritter, do
you accept the modification?
DELEGATE RITTER: We will accept
anything at this point because we are not
even sure we are going to get past the
gallery yet.
THE CHAIRMAN: Amendment No. 13
is modified to change the word "shall" in
line 4, to the word "may." Does any other
delegate desire to speak in favor of the
amendment?
Delegate Chabot? |
