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which are provided for in a section of the
Constitution already adopted. This pro-
posal goes much farther than the one which
was defeated yesterday, and should be de-
feated for all of those reasons, as well as
the additional reasons that have been stated
here this morning.
THE CHAIRMAN: Before proceeding
with debate, the Chair recognizes the
Honorary President for the purpose of
making an announcement.
DELEGATE TAWES: Thank you very
much, Mr. President. I should like to take
this opportunity to ask the members of this
Convention to welcome in the galleries of
the State House today 175 members of the
Civic Classes of Easton Middle School of
Easton, Maryland. They are visiting the
Convention with Miss Linda Herring and
other members of the faculty of the Easton
Middle School. I should like for us to give
them a warm welcome.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair also de-
sires to announce that we are on order to
have present with us today sixty members
of the American Association of University
Women, Maryland Division, in company
with their President, Mrs. Sherman Ross.
Delegates Lucille Maurer and Catherine
Beachley are members of this chapter. De-
lighted to have them with us.
The Chair recognizes Delegate Anderson-
DELEGATE ANDERSON: Mr. Chair-
man, I rise to speak briefly in favor of the
amendment.
As is well known, we in Anne Arundel
County border on the largest municipality
in the state. We are not objecting to that;
we feel very close to the metropolitan City
of Baltimore. Nevertheless, it is a matter
of great importance to the counties that
border on the city that nothing be done
which they do not want to be done. At the
same time, everything ought to be done
that they want done, and on those things
which we recognize are of mutual interest,
I am sure we would not oppose them. In
view of the confused state of the refer-
endum provision of the Constitution as it
now exists, I feel that this is a provision
that all of us should support.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Grant to speak in opposi-
tion to the amendment.
DELEGATE GRANT: Of all the dele-
gates here I ought to distrust the General
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Assembly more than anyone else, since we
do not have a representative there. It
would appear that I would like to hogtie
the General Assembly so they could not
pull these kinds of things. However, if this
were my purpose, this amendment would
be utterly futile to do so. The State has
plenary power, and it is simply a matter
of this: if you forbid and tie up the Gen-
eral Assembly so they can not do it on a
regional basis, they will simply do it on a
statewide basis. If I have to take some-
thing I do not want, I would rather go
down to Hagerstown or someplace near me
and wrestle with the regional government
than I would to go down to Baltimore and
wrestle with the whole State.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment?
Delegate Linton.
DELEGATE LINTON: Mr. Chairman,
I believe if we examine section 4.02 where
we provide that the merger, dissolution,
and alteration of boundaries is subject to
referendum, and then apply the Wagandt
amendment, we have provided for inter-
governmental authorities. I believe we
would be creating a situation that would
require clarification, if we did not adopt
an amendment which is consistent and
provide for referendum for the changing of
boundaries.
This amendment refers strictly to bound-
aries of governmental units, multi-county
governmental units. It is not talking about
the authorities that may operate within
those. It is talking about their boundaries,
and I believe they would be subject to refer-
endum under the language of section 7.02.
I, therefore, am in favor of the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Chabot to speak in opposi-
tion to the amendment.
DELEGATE CHABOT: Mr. Chairman,
at the present time Howard County is
quite concerned with the transportation
problems of the Washington Metropolitan
area, and I am sure that they are even
more concerned with the transportation
problems of the Baltimore Metropolitan
area.
The committee report and the Case
amendment would have permitted the
General Assembly to allow the voters of
Howard County to participate in decisions
with regard to any multi-county unit that
dealt with these transportation problems.
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