|
some kind. I submit this is something we
strongly oppose in Committee.
A number of people on this Committee
went along with the county boundary
change arrangement, that no county bound-
ary can be changed without a mandatory
referendum, only because this referendum
is permissive and, not mandatory.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor?
DELEGATE KOSS: I would like at some
point to have the opportunity to ask a
question of Chairman Moser.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Macdonald.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: Do I have
an opportunity to ask the sponsor of the
amendment a question?
THE CHAIRMAN: Will Delegate Cardin
yield to a question?
DELEGATE CARDIN: I do.
DELEGATE MACDONALD: Delegate
Cardin, if we pass this amendment, the
sentence would then read, "The General
Assembly shall provide referenda for any
law establishing this regional government."
How many referenda would that be?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Cardin.
DELEGATE CARDIN: I presume it
would require referenda in those counties
or areas affected by the newly proposed
regional government.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in opposition?
Delegate Koss, you may put your ques-
tion to Delegate Moser now, if he will yield
to a question.
DELEGATE MOSER: I yield.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: I am tempted to
say something else, but being a lady, I
will not.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is this a question?
DELEGATE KOSS: In line 42, where
you provide, "The General Assembly may
provide referenda," I was wondering what
the intention of the Committee was in terms
of the extent of that referendum, because
nowhere does it say "the counties involved,"
or anything like that.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: The answer is
that the General Assembly was intended to
|
be permitted to set up any type of referenda
it wanted, as the situation might require.
It presumably would not set one up, if it
were simply to set up a popularly elected
three-man governing board, for a transit
authority or something like that.
On the other hand, if it were a question
of a broad ranging, regional government
that was multi-functional and took the
water and sewer, transit, and garbage col-
lection and a lot of other things, and were
going to perform these functions in three
counties, presumably there would be either
a county-by-county referendum or a refer-
endum of the entire region, whatever the
General Assembly felt would properly fit
the case.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: Then my under-
standing is that it is in the province of
the General Assembly either to put this to
referendum on a statewide basis or in the
area concerned. That is their option?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: It is not intended
that this affect the statewide basis refer-
endum. As any public general law, pre-
sumably, it would be subject to statewide
referendum automatically. It is not in-
tended to limit that. It is an additional
referendum. In other words, it would be
a regional referendum or county by county
referendum.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: According to my
understanding, it is petitionable. But my
question was whether there would be the
opportunity for duplicate referendum on
the same issues statewide.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Moser.
DELEGATE MOSER: The answer is
there might be a statewide referendum, and
there could also be a regional referendum
if the legislature so desired.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any other
delegates who desire to speak in favor of
the amendment?
Any delegate — Delegate Hutchinson.
Delegate Pascal, do you desire to speak
in favor of the amendment?
DELEGATE PASCAL: Mr. Chairman,
fellow delegates : I think we ought to recog-
nize something, that when regional gov-
ernment is created we are also giving them
the prerogative of taxing in the form of
service charges in other items here listed.
|
