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difficulty with your language, "the General
Assembly has not rejected the resolution."
How would you define this? Is this rejec-
tion by a single committee in one House, a
rejection by a committee in each of both
Houses, a rejection by one House, or shall
we say an affirmative rejection by each
House of the General Assembly?
DELEGATE NEEDLE: As it is writ-
ten, it would mean that if the power to
tax were not granted by the General As-
sembly, the local subdivision would have,
or would not have the power to tax.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in opposition? Are
you ready for the question?
Sound the quorum bell.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Clagett.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: I second the
amendment, and feel that I should make
one or two very brief observations in sup-
port of it, if I am in order.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: What really is
being attempted here, and it is of vital im-
portance, is not only the maintenance of
stability in the tax and fiscal situation, but
the creation of a psychological initiative on
the part of local governing bodies.
Think of it in these simple terms of an
analogy to a board of directors of a bank
in a local area, where the bank is as solid
as the Rock of Gibraltar, but the sur-
rounding area is drying up economically
because of a lack of initiative. A young
man comes in and attempts to get a loan
but since he is only 21 years of age and
has no assets other than his good idea, the
board of directors turns him down and the
area shrivels. The point is the bank is
stable and sound, but the area has no
initiative to go forward in any direction.
The same thing applies here. What we are
attempting in this amendment is the crea-
tion of means for local government to carry
out the shared powers being granted to the
counties to stimulate local viability and
initiative. Without money to do something,
the something cannot be done, and conse-
quently the idea gets abandoned.
The Baltimore Sun, in an editorial of
November 8 made this very same point,
that sound home rule could not be assured
the counties or other local or regional gov-
ernments if they were put in a straitjacket
in the matter of taxes.
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This is taking the counties out of the
straitjacket and giving them an avenue of
approach to the General Assembly where,
in the area of new tax powers, it has not
yet acted by way of a specific grant to the
counties to go forward. The county having
conceived the idea, will approach the Gen-
eral Assembly after a well thought out and
planned resolution, and following proce-
dures established by the General Assembly
before a regular session will be in a posi-
tion to seek permission to impose a tax.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Clagett,
you have one-quarter minute.
DELEGATE CLAGETT: The General
Assembly would have the whole session
within which to decide yea or nay, in order
to preserve uniformity and stability of the
fiscal picture. If it did not say no, then the
county would be able to exercise its initia-
tive in carrying out the program.
I urge you to vote in favor of this
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any further
discussion?
Delegate Raley, do you desire to speak
in opposition or in favor?
DELEGATE RALEY: In opposition.
THE CHAIRMAN: You may proceed.
DELEGATE RALEY: Mr. Chairman, I
would like to speak in opposition to this
amendment.
What it does, is set up a procedure that
not only is not needed, but also has the
serious disadvantage of putting an inflex-
ible formula in the Constitution. This kind
of procedure would be better left to the
legislature to develop and establish by
statute.
In answer to Delegate Clagett on the
matter of initiative, and we all like initia-
tive, I think this well might have the oppo-
site effect. It will stifle initiative because
many of these counties will not want to be
put on the spot as such by having to pass
a resolution prior to any tax being ap-
proved; they will sooner do nothing, where-
as they might act if they could go directly
to the General Assembly.
I think a permanent, inflexible procedure
that might need changing in time to come
should not be in the Constitution. It is
something that is not needed, and should
be left to the legislature to handle.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor?
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