sary at this time. In view of this, I should
like to withdraw my amendment, and at
the conclusion of the introduction of the
amendment by those three delegates, I
should like to offer an amendment at that
time.
THE CHAIRMAN: If there is no objec-
tion, the amendment is withdrawn. Does
Delegate Scanlan wish to present an
amendment?
DELEGATE SCANLAN: I yield to
Delegate Gilchrist, Mr. President.
THE CHAIRMAN: I have been advised
that the amendment is not back from the
print shop at this point. I will be glad to
recognize Delegate Gilchrist.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: Mr. Chair-
man, do I understand the amendment is
not back from the print shop?
THE CHAIRMAN: So I have been in-
formed.
DELEGATE GILCHRIST: The amend-
ment is offering a substitution of the lan-
guage in the Commission draft for the
Committee recommendations and is conse-
quently a rather long amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The only alternative
is to take a moment and wait for the ar-
rival. The Chair recognizes Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Mr. Chairman,
there is another alternative, if I may sug-
gest it, and that is, I have a very brief
amendment to the first sentence of section
2, which has been printed, and I could
offer it at this time.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Case.
The pages will collect the amendments
and distribute them.
DELEGATE CASE: The amendment is
marked "B".
THE CHAIRMAN: Have the amend-
ments been distributed?
DELEGATE CASE: I do not know.
READING CLERK: I have a copy.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Clerk will read
the amendment.
READING CLERK: No. 4?
THE CHAIRMAN: In the absence of
objection, we are going to take Delegate
Case's amendment first, and I will ask the
Clerk to read Delegate Case's amendment. |
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 4
to Committee Recommendation No. S&E-1,
by Delegate Case.
THE CHAIRMAN: Would this not be
Amendment No. 3, if we are going to con-
sider them in order?
I have been advised there is no need to
change the numbering. It will be No. 4.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 4
to Committee Recommendation S&E-I by
Delegate Case: On page I, lines 17 and 18
strike out the words "maintaining the
state government, or for aiding or main-
taining" and insert in lieu thereof the
words "the state government or".
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Mr. Chairman,
ladies and gentlemen of the Committee of
the Whole: This is a technical amendment,
but I believe it is one which is necessary
to bring this section into line with the ac-
knowledged intention which was expressed
by the Chairman of the Committee on Fri-
day. Previously stated, the Chairman then
said that there was no intention to change
the existing procedures which, in effect,
state and hold that state bond issues which
are guaranteed by the full faith and credit
of the State should not be subject to refer-
endum.
In years gone by this result has been ob-
tained by a series of decisions, which have
held that measures which are to affect tax
measures are not subject to referendum
and since the State general obligation bond
issues were supported by a specific tax,
namely, the real estate tax, and the Con-
stitution required that it be so, a provision
in the referendum section that a general
appropriation act would not be subject to
referendum carried with it the exemption
that a bond bill would not be subject to the
referendum.
Now, the Committee on State Finance
and Taxation, as the Committee of the
Whole will see sometime probably next
week, will recommend a change in this pro-
cedure, and no longer will it be necessary
for a specific tax to support a bond issue.
This being true, the words which in the
past exempted bond issues from referen-
dums have to be examined again to deter-
mine whether or not under the new context
the same result will follow. In my judg-
ment, it would not.
The section as proposed says that there
"shall be exempt from the referendum an |
