COMMITTEE ON THE EXECUTIVE, MILITIA AND CIVIL OFFICERS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
STATE OF NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1947
COMMITTEE ON THE EXECUTIVE, MILITIA AND CIVIL OFFICERS
Tuesday, July 8, 1947
(Morning session)
(The session began at 10 A.M.)
PRESENT: Barus, Eggers, Farley, Feller, Hansen, Miller, S., Jr., Smith, J. S., Van Alstyne, Walton and Young.
Chairman David Van Alstyne, Jr., presided.
CHAIRMAN DAVID VAN ALSTYNE, JR.: We have now set up a Soundscriber and would like to request that everybody put the transmitter on the lapel of his coat. You won’t have to bother by holding it in your hand. I think the first thing to do is to take a look at the minutes.
MRS. JANE E. BARUS: Would you like me to read them?
CHAIRMAN: Yes, I think these are very important minutes.
MRS. BARUS: (reading):
“A meeting of the Committee on the Executive was held at 10:00 A.M., July 2, 1947. Present: Van Alstyne, Eggers, Hansen, Miller, Walton, Smith, Barus.
WALTON moved to eliminate paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 from Section III of Article IV, of the 1944 draft, relating to the powers of the Governor to reallocate departmental functions by executive order. Motion seconded and carried.
MILLER moved to incorporate the sense of the sentence in the ‘Model Constitution,’ page 11, section 507: ‘In such manner as will tend to maintain an orderly arrangement, etc.’ Motion seconded and carried.
At this point Commissioner Miller left the meeting.
EGGERS moved the inclusion of the last sentence in the same paragraph of the ‘Model Constitution’; ‘The Legislature may create temporary commissions for special purposes or reduce the number of departments by consolidation or otherwise.’ Motion seconded and carried.
WALTON moved to adopt paragraph 6, Section III, Article IV of the 1944 draft, relative to the principal departments and single executives. Motion seconded.
Discussion:
VAN ALSTYNE made a statement on the Department of Institutions and Agencies, its outstanding success and reputation throughout the country. This department and the Department of Agriculture might be made special exceptions to the rule of single executive heads.
WALTON called attention to the fact that the Department of Agriculture is entirely outside the control of the people.
SMITH feels that the present system is a very democratic one.
WALTON stated that it was not truly democratic, because it was controlled by a private special group.
BARUS: There has been a tendency in this State to remove certain important departments from political control, on the ground that politics
Previous Page in Book | Table of Contents | Next Page in Book