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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Schloeder.
DELEGATE SCHLOEDER: Might I
take this to be a public endorsement for
single member districts?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: It is a recogni-
tion of the decision of the Committee of
the Whole that they endorsed this concept
and I am suggesting that it does have
value, but it also has disadvantages. I
think that this would be a solution to one
of the disadvantages, one of the more seri-
ous ones, which is the one we suggested be
parochialism.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions of the minority spokesman?
Delegate Frederick.
DELEGATE FREDERICK: I would
like to ask the sponsor a question, a brief
one.
Does this mean if Anne Arundel County
would be entitled to a senator, and the
county adjacent to it would be entitled to
a senator, that you would have to cut
Anne Arundel County in half, cut the
adjacent county in half and instead of one
senator representing Anne Arundel County
he would represent half of Anne Arundel
and half of say, the adjacent county?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: I would respond
by saying that I would disagree with your
suggestion of cutting these in half. I do
not know what you mean by that, but I
would certainly suggest that one of the re-
sults would be, and this is what we con-
sider to be a benefit, that a senator would
sit across the hall representing a portion
of Anne Arundel County, and a portion of
Baltimore City, to be more appropriate.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Frederick.
DELEGATE FREDERICK: In the event
that a county would be entitled to one sen-
ator, and the adjacent county would be en-
titled to one senator, would they each be
from one county or would your amendment
which says, "senate district shall cross
county lines", require that they cross the
county lines dividing the two counties, so
that one county senator would have to rep-
resent two counties rather than one county?
We are not talking about Baltimore City.
We are talking about counties. I know what
you are thinking about Baltimore City, but
we are talking also about counties, where
it would be impossible for a county senator
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to represent a county, even though a county
may under the provision be entitled to a
full senator.
That is what the amendment says.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: I would sug-
gest in response that the reapportionment
commissioners would have the responsibility
for following these directions, to the extent
practicable, and I might also say that that
phrase was taken from, or is the same
phrase used by the Legislative Branch Com-
mittee. They could provide a formula for
redistricting that would produce just what
you suggest.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Frederick.
DELEGATE FREDERICK: But accord-
ing to this amendment if there is a con-
stitutional provision this Committee would
have no leeway. They would have to cut
these counties in half.
We are telling them they "shall" cross
county lines, not saying they "may" cross
county lines. We say they shall cross these
county lines.
THE CHAIRMAN: What is the ques-
tion, Delegate Frederick?
DELEGATE FREDERICK: I asked him
if that was his thought.
THE CHAIRMAN: I understand. What
is your present question?
DELEGATE FREDERICK: Is this true,
that they must cross county lines?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Byrnes.
DELEGATE BYRNES: The answer to
that is yes; it is what they may do now.
Under this amendment they would have
to.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any fur-
ther questions of the sponsor of the amend-
ment?
Delegate E. C. Murray.
DELEGATE E. C. MURRAY: May I
ask a question of Delegate Byrnes?
THE CHAIRMAN: Please state the
question.
DELEGATE E. C. MURRAY: I am
sorry, it is not clear to me what you are
trying to accomplish.
THE CHAIRMAN: What is your ques-
tion?
DELEGATE E. C. MURRAY: My ques-
tion is, what are you trying to accomplish?
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