Opinion ID: 2367824
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Contingent Legislation Issue

Text: The petitioners argued that the General Assembly violated the Maryland Constitution by making Senate Bill 3, 2007 Md. Laws, Chapter 4, contingent on voter approval of the ballot question summarizing the proposed constitutional amendment contained in House Bill 4, 2007 Md. Laws, Chapter 5. The petitioners asserted that the Legislature ... may not escape its duties and responsibilities by delegating such legislative power to the people at large. See Brawner v. Supervisors of Elections, 141 Md. 586, 595-96, 119 A. 250, 252 (1922). The petitioners asserted that when the General Assembly made Senate Bill 3 contingent on voter approval of a constitutional amendment, it was merely a disingenuous pretext for shifting its vote to voters at large. They reasoned that the General Assembly, by enacting Senate Bill 3 and at the same time proposing the constitutional amendment embodied in House Bill 4, set up and subjected Maryland voters to an alleged bait and switch scheme. The alleged bait was that Maryland voters unwittingly would vote to approve the proposed constitutional amendment, believing that the slots revenue would fund education in Maryland. The switch, however, would be that the appropriations actually made by Senate Bill 3 significantly would benefit the horseracing industry. The petitioners relied on Brawner v. Supervisors of Elections, 141 Md. 586, 119 A. 250 (1922) to support their argument that the action of the General Assembly, during the 2007 Extraordinary Session, by subjecting the constitutional amendment to voter approval, was an unconstitutional attempt to delegate to the public its duties of enacting legislation. The petitioners asserted that, by subjecting the constitutional amendment to voter approval, the General Assembly was circumventing the redelegation prohibition that we recognized in Brawner. See also Benson v. State, 389 Md. 615, 641, 887 A.2d 525, 540 (2005) (noting that the Legislative body possesses the non-delegable power to enact legislation). They posited that [i]n a representative democracy, the people delegate power to legislators  not the other way around. Petitioners' Brief at 19. Thus, according to the petitioners, Maryland voters should not be able to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that merely would allow the General Assembly to redelegate its duties to them, a delegation, which, in any event, is prohibited under our holding in Brawner. The petitioners' reliance on Brawner, however, is misplaced. In Brawner, this Court was asked to address the constitutionality of Chapter 448 of the Acts of 1922, also known as the Soldiers' Bonus Act. There, Baltimore City resident, Harry Brawner, requested that the Baltimore City Court issue a Writ of Mandamus to the Supervisors of Election, commanding them to refrain from placing the Soldiers' Bonus Act on the ballot for voter approval. Brawner v. Supervisors of Elections, 141 Md. 586, 591, 119 A. 250, 250-51 (1922). The Baltimore City Court rejected the appellant's request for a Writ of Mandamus, and he appealed to this Court. Under the Soldiers' Bonus Act, a statute passed by the General Assembly, Maryland residents who served in the Army or Navy during World War I would be given a limited monthly stipend and an educational allowance. Id. at 591-92, 119 A. at 251. The Act's effectiveness was made contingent upon its approval by Maryland voters through referendum. Brawner, 141 Md. at 603, 119 A. at 255. The appellant proffered that [t]he General Assembly of Maryland [was] utterly wanting in authority to make the validity of a public general statute dependent upon approval by a majority of the voters of the State under a referendum. Brawner, 141 Md. at 593, 119 A. at 251. We agreed. Id. at 595, 119 A. at 252. This Court held the Soldiers'Bonus Act to be unconstitutional. We reasoned that the General Assembly, pursuant to Article III of the Maryland Constitution, was prohibited from enacting legislation that hinged its effectiveness or validity on its approval by the Maryland voters. Brawner, 141 Md. at 602, 119 A. at 254. In reaching our decision in Brawner, we explained that the Soldiers' Bonus Act violated the exclusive law-making authority that the Maryland Constitution reserved for the General Assembly: But in the act under consideration [the Soldiers' Bonus Act], the Legislature has added a new qualification or condition to the passage of legislation, in addition to and entirely dehors anything in the Constitution. That is, it provides that although the act under consideration has passed both Houses and has been signed by the Governor, it shall not become a law unless a majority of the qualified voters of the State approve it. The effect of that provision is not in any way to amend the Constitution, but to violate it. Brawner, 141 Md. at 602, 119 A. at 254. The petitioners' reliance, in the case sub judice, on our decision in Brawner is misplaced. As the Brawner court clearly indicated, in that case, we rejected the General Assembly's attempt to put before the voters, for their up-or-down vote, a statute already enacted by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. That simply is not the issue presented in the instant case. Rather, Maryland voters were being asked to approve, or not, a constitutional amendment. Thus, Maryland voters were confronted with a proposed constitutional amendment, which, if the majority voted to approve, would, in turn, trigger the appropriations contained in the already enacted Senate Bill 3. Said another way, Maryland voters, by approving the proposed constitutional amendment, were not asked to approve a statute. This distinction, although given short-shrift by the petitioners, is absolutely critical and dispositive on the issue before this Court. Indeed, it is this division of labor that is at the very foundation of our representative democracy. Section 1 of Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution empowers the General Assembly to submit constitutional amendments to Maryland voters. It provides, in relevant part: The General Assembly may propose Amendments to this Constitution; provided that each Amendment shall be embraced in a separate bill, embodying the Article or Section, as the same will stand when amended and passed by three-fifths of all the members elected to each of the two Houses, by yeas and nays, to be entered on the Journals with the proposed Amendment.... The votes cast for and against said proposed amendment or amendments, severally, shall be returned to the Governor, in the manner prescribed in other cases, and if it shall appear to the Governor that a majority of the votes cast at said election on said amendment or amendments, severally, were cast in favor thereof, the Governor shall, by his proclamation, declare the said amendment or amendments having received said majority of votes, to have been adopted by the people of Maryland as part of the Constitution thereof, and thenceforth said amendment or amendments shall be part of the said Constitution. MD. Const. Article XIV, Section 1. In passing House Bill 4, the General Assembly exercised that power, thus submitting it to Maryland voters for their consideration pursuant to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution. See Bd. of Supervisors of Elections for Anne Arundel County v. Attorney General, 246 Md. 417, 439, 229 A.2d 388, 400 (1967) (The people of Maryland from 1776 until today have shown that they concur in the generally prevailing view, which we believe to be sound, that the people retain the sovereign power to rewrite their constitution, that the legislative processes which lead to and assist in the exercise of that power are not a part of the previously bindingly delegated powers conferred on the Legislature by the people....). The petitioners, in their briefs, however, never squarely addressed the explicit authority given to the General Assembly under Article XIV to propose, and for the people to approve, amendments to the Maryland Constitution. Rather, the petitioners argued that the constitutional amendment proposed by House Bill 4 was unnecessary because the General Assembly could have enacted all of the provisions in House Bill 4 through regular legislation instead of an unnecessary amendment to the Maryland Constitution. Moreover, the petitioners, in a footnote in their brief, asserted that while the people did reserve the power of referendum in Article XVI, [5] they did not reserve any power to vote on revenue measures like those contained in the slots package. See Kelly v. Marylanders for Sports Sanity, 310 Md. 437, 530 A.2d 245 (1987). The respondents, on the other hand, rejected the petitioners' characterization of the proposed constitutional amendment in House Bill 4 as unnecessary. According to the respondents, an amendment to the Maryland Constitution was necessary because House Bill 4 proposed to limit the authority of future Legislatures to regulate commercial gambling. Specifically, the respondents proffered that the constitutional amendment in House Bill 4 will restrict the number of video lottery operation licenses to five, require that the licenses be for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education, limit the total number of video lottery terminals to 15,000, designate the exclusive locations for video lottery terminals, and make video lottery facilities subject to local planning and zoning laws. The constitutional amendment was necessary, according to the respondents, because it would limit the General Assembly's future power to legislate on the subject of commercial gaming. The petitioners respond that the constitutional amendment was a pretext for something that the General Assembly could have done through ordinary legislation. We start our analysis by considering the petitioners' argument that while the people reserved the power of referendum under Article XVI, they did not reserve any power to vote on revenue measures like those contained in the slots package. For this proposition, the petitioners cited our decision in Kelly v. Marylanders for Sports Sanity, Inc., 310 Md. 437, 530 A.2d 245 (1987). In Kelly, this Court had to determine whether various enactments passed by the General Assembly regarding the Maryland Stadium Authority were precluded by Article XVI, Section 2 of the Maryland Constitution from being referred for voter approval. Article XVI, Section 2 reads, in pertinent part, as follows: No law making any appropriation for maintaining the State Government, or for maintaining or aiding any public institution, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the same purpose, shall be subject to rejection or repeal under this Section. MD. Const. Article XVI, Section 2. In Kelly, the General Assembly created the Maryland Stadium Authority (the Authority) which it empowered to borrow money to purchase land, construct and regulate sports facilities, including stadiums for professional football and major league baseball in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Kelly, 310 Md. at 439, 530 A.2d at 246. After the Authority notified the General Assembly of its intent to purchase an 85 acre-tract of land in Baltimore City known as Camden Yards, the General Assembly enacted three bills which, in part, authorized the Authority to contract for a facility on the Camden Yards site, 1987 Md. Laws, Chapter 122, outlined the Authority's powers and duties, 1987 Md. Laws, Chapter 123, and limited the Authority's power to issue bonds for financing the project, 1987 Md. Laws, Chapter 124. Kelly, 310 Md. at 441-43, 530 A.2d at 246-48. Opponents of the three bills enacted by the General Assembly sought to petition 1987 Md. Laws, Chapters 122 and 124 to referendum under Article XVI of the Maryland Constitution. Kelly, 310 Md. at 446, 530 A.2d at 249. The petitioners' reliance on our decision in Kelly was misguided in light of the fact that the proposed constitutional amendment contained in House Bill 4 was proposed pursuant to Article XIV, and not referred pursuant to Article XVI. Thus, 2007 Md. Laws, Chapter 5 [House Bill 4] was not subject to the referendum limitation outlined in Article XVI, Section 2 of the Maryland Constitution. The question thus presented is whether the Maryland General Assembly had the power to enact general legislation before, and contingent on, the adoption of a constitutional amendment that it had proposed to the voters. We hold that it did. Indeed, its doing so was not an unusual occurrence. See 2006 Md. Laws, Chapters. 422 & 575 (availability of civil jury trials); 1996 Md. Laws, Chapters 81 & 674 (special elections in charter counties); 1990 Md. Laws, Chapters 62 & 515 (clerks of court  employees and funding); 1980 Md. Laws, Chapters 523, 525 & 526 (supreme bench consolidation); 1972 Md. Laws, Chapters 364 & 365 (State lottery). Legislatures in other jurisdictions have done so as well. See In re Thaxton, 78 N.M. 668, 670, 437 P.2d 129, 131 (1968) (It is generally held that the legislature may pass a statute in anticipation of adoption of an amendment to the constitution and to take effect thereon.); Fullam v. Brock, 271 N.C. 145, 149, 155 S.E.2d 737, 739-40 (1967) (The General Assembly has power to enact a statute not authorized by the present Constitution where the statute is passed in anticipation of a constitutional amendment authorizing it or provides that it shall take effect upon the adoption of such constitutional amendment.); Henson v. Georgia Indus. Realty Co., 220 Ga. 857, 862, 142 S.E.2d 219, 223-24 (1965) (It is the general rule in this country that a legislature has power to enact a statute not authorized by the existing constitution of that State when the statute is passed in anticipation of an amendment to its constitution authorizing it or which provides that it shall take effect upon the adoption of an amendment to its constitution specifically authorizing and validating such statute.). The Supreme Court in Druggan v. Anderson, 269 U.S. 36, 38, 46 S.Ct. 14, 70 L.Ed. 151, (1925) reached a similarly consistent result. There, the issue presented concerned the validity of a general law that was enacted prior to the effective date of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, but after its ratification. On January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, but the Amendment was not to take effect until one year from that date. Druggan, 269 U.S. at 38, 46 S.Ct. at 14, 70 L.Ed. at 153. The National Prohibition Act, ch. 85, 41 Stat. 305 (1919), was passed on October 28, 1919. The appellant, Mr. Druggan, was imprisoned on November 11, 1924, after the Eighteenth Amendment became effective, for contempt, under Section 22 of Title II of the National Prohibition Act, [6] for violating a temporary injunction that was issued pursuant to Section 22 of Title II, prohibiting Druggan's continued manufacturing and sale of intoxicating liquor. Druggan, 269 U.S. at 38, 46 S.Ct. at 14, 70 L.Ed. at 152. Mr. Druggan appealed the order denying his Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. The appellant argued that the National Prohibition Act was void because Congress enacted it before the Eighteenth Amendment took effect, notwithstanding the fact that the Eighteenth Amendment already had been ratified. Druggan, 269 U.S. at 38, 46 S.Ct. at 14, 70 L.Ed, at 153. Said another way, the appellant challenged Congress' ability to enact the National Prohibition Act in anticipation of, and contingent on, the Eighteenth Amendment subsequently taking effect. The Supreme Court, speaking through Holmes, J., rejected the appellant's argument for two reasons. First, Justice Holmes observed that [i]t is not correct to say that the Amendment did not exist until its prohibition went into effect; in other words that there was no Amendment until January 16, 1920, although one had been ratified a year before. The moment that the Amendment was ratified it became effective as a law. Druggan, 269 U.S. at 38-39, 46 S.Ct. at 14, 70 L.Ed. at 153. Secondly, the Court noted that no reason has been suggested why the Constitution may not give Congress a present power to enact laws intended to carry out constitutional provisions for the future when the time comes for them to take effect. Druggan, 269 U.S. at 39, 46 S.Ct. at 15, 70 L.Ed. at 153. Likewise, although not exactly mirroring the facts in Druggan, Maryland's General Assembly also has the authority, under Maryland's Constitution, to enact legislation in anticipation of a constitutional amendment being approved. Just as Congress had the power to enact laws in anticipation of a constitutional amendment taking effect, the Maryland Legislature also had the power to enact Senate Bill 3, 2007 Md. Laws, Chapter 4, in anticipation of voter approval of the proposed constitutional amendment contained in House Bill 4. [7] The petitioners also contended that Maryland voters should not be allowed to consider the proposed constitutional amendment, which was to be summarized by the Secretary of State in the form of a ballot question to Maryland voters, because any ballot question that was to be drafted would be misleading. See Maryland Code (2003, 2008 Supp.) § 7-103(c) of the Election Law Article (providing that the Secretary of State must prepare all statewide ballot questions). This alleged bait and switch scheme conjured up by the General Assembly, according to the petitioners, would cause voters to approve unwittingly the proposed constitutional amendment based on their belief that slots revenue would go towards funding education in Maryland. The switch, however, is that the proposed constitutional amendment would trigger the underlying appropriations contained in Senate Bill 3 that substantially would benefit the horseracing industry. Implicit in the petitioners' argument was that any ballot question [8] summarizing the proposed constitutional amendment would not fully inform voters about the underlying appropriations in Senate Bill 3. The problem we had with the petitioners' argument was that their challenge to the ballot question was not yet ripe for our consideration. The ballot question, at the time that we heard argument in this case, had not been drafted. [9] As a threshold matter, before addressing any issue raised by the parties, we must be satisfied that there is a justiciable controversy that is ripe for our consideration. Hatt v. Anderson, 297 Md. 42, 45, 464 A.2d 1076, 1078 (1983). A justiciable controversy requires that there be interested parties asserting adverse claims upon a state of facts which must have accrued wherein a legal decision is sought or demanded. Professional Staff Nurses Association v. Dimensions Health Corporation, 346 Md. 132, 140, 695 A.2d 158, 162 (1997) (quoting Reyes v. Prince George's County, 281 Md. 279, 288, 380 A.2d 12, 17 (1977)); Hatt v. Anderson, 297 Md. 42, 45-46, 464 A.2d 1076, 1078 (1983). If this Court were to address the sufficiency of a ballot question that had yet to be drafted, then this Court would be placed in the position of rendering purely advisory opinions, a long forbidden practice in this State. Hatt, 297 Md. at 46, 464 A.2d at 1078; see also Getty v. Carroll County Board of Elections, 399 Md. 710, 744, 926 A.2d 216, 237 (2007) ([T]he declaratory judgment process is not available to those seeking a decision on purely theoretical questions that may never arise, or where a declaration would serve neither a useful purpose nor terminate the controversy.). The petitioners' challenge to the ballot question was premature because the Secretary of State, to whom falls the responsibility of drafting the ballot question that describes the proposed constitutional amendment contained in House Bill 4 under Election Law Article § 7-103(c), had not undertaken to discharge that responsibility; thus, there was no ballot question, at that time, for us to review. Moreover, House Bill 4 was not a substitute for the language that would be used in the ballot question either. The petitioners, in effect, asked this Court to assume facts that did not exist. As this Court has made clear, we will not engage in such a hypothetical inquiry.