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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 1963)
1 M Revised Constitution Designed To Better Place Responsibility "A NEW CONST1TVTION FOR OREGON" (This Is the fourth in a series (A articles about the revised Con stitution proposed by the Oregon Constitutional Revision Commis sion. The articles were written by llans C. Linde, professor of con stitutional law at the University of Oregon and a member of the Commission. I The provisions for the execu tive branch of state government are the most important rec ommendations of the Constitution- ernor's position in the state as comparable to that of the Presi dent of the lnited States. It holds him responsible for w hatever hap pens during his term of office. executive functions that is, for the performance of all state agen cies. The revised Constitution makes the governor the only elect ed officer in the executive branch In fact, the typical 19th Century i so that he cannot shift that Election of the attorney generaltigation or other action without theieral within the governor's admin- cannot be justified by any "watch- governor's order. The revised iistration. and b transferring to dog" role he performs. The attor-j Constitution proposes to strength- the new ollice of the Controller ney general does not now have, en the eltecliveness ot both rolesuhe "watchdog" powers of inves- any independent powers of inves-lby tal placing the attorney gen-ltigation. and of giving independent state constitution gave a governor no such responsibility for state administration. Rather, it left sponsibility bv blaming other elected executive officials who are bevond his authority, and who state government, in Langlie'simay in fact oppose him. . phrase, more "a combination o( All control, or "watchdoe," semi-autono-1 functions are, on the other hand 'made independent of the execu consolidation or tive branch. No olficial should loosely - connected mous bodies. In this century the executive branch has become al Revision Commission. The i tiie key feature of constitutional have attracted much interest and! reform. It is the hallmark of the some misunderstanding. post-World War II constitutions of The Commission proposes to re tain the mutual checks and bal ances among the legislative, exec utive, and judicial branches of government, but to strengthen each branch by removing internal blocks to responsible perform ance. Critics of existing state con stitutions have found that the ex ecutive branch most often falls short of this second objective. As Governor Langlie of Washington, speaking as chairman of the Na tional Governors' Conference, la maneted in 1953: "The public looks upon the gov- New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, and the main objec tive of pending revision efforts in other states. GOVERNOR AND CONTROLLER The Constitutional Revision Commission adopted a clear prin ciple to assign responsibilities within and outside the executive branch. It distinguished between "executive" functions and "con trol" (or "watchdog") functions and kept them strictly separate in its proposals. The governor, as chief execu tive, must be responsible for all I ! ELECTRIC MANAGER The appointment- of Don Hicks, Alturas, as the new general manager of the Surprise Val ley Electric Corporation was officially confirmed last week. He had served as temporary manager since Au gust. Surprise Valley Board Names Hicks As Manager legal opinions to legislators and others outside the executive branch. (Next: The Executive, continued.) Wednesday, March 27, 1963 PAGE 5 A HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls, Ore. CHARGE SYRIAN SHOOTLNG TIBERIAS. Israel UPH - Syr ian soldiers fired at Israeli work ers twice in the Beit Katzir set tlement Tuesday, Israeli army of ficials reported. There were no casualties but Israel protested the incident to the United Nations Armistice Commission. ALTURAS Don Hicks of Al turas was named the general manager of the Surprise Valley Electric Corporation last week by the board of directors. Hicks had served in the capacity of tempo rary manager since the untimely death of C. J. Hunter last August. He has been an employe of the corporation since it was activated as part of the rural electrification program 25 years ago. A resi dent of Alturas since 1930, Hicks arrived here from Beloit, Wis., to work with the old California Public Service Company which was later merged with COPCO and PP and L. A spokesman for the board of directors stated, "Don was elect ed as the logical choice by the directors some time ago, but his appointment had to be confirmed by the Washington office. It's of ficial now." The Surprise Valley Electric services Modoc, Lake, and parts of Lassen counties with some 2,100 subscribers and 1,063 miles of distribution line. Don Hicks and his wife, Mar garet, have three children. Mrs. Nancy Heard. Donna and Paul. make decisions on action, and also investigate and report on the correctness of his own action These "watchdog" functions arc therefore assigned to a new con stitutional officer, called the Controller. The Controller mav by law be an elective officer. Just as he is made independent of the governor in selection, authority, staff, and budget, the Controller likewise may not be assigned any execu tive function in making or carry ing out governmental decisions. He can only audit, investigate, and report on the performance of government "in compliance with applicable standards of fi nancial accuracy, administration, and law." These essential func tions resemble those the U.S. Comptroller General performs in the federal government. To insulate the office of Con troller from politics and avoid the abuse of its power for personal political ambition, the Controller will have a term of not less than eight years, during which he is ineligible to run for another elec tive office. Some members of the Commission believe that the Con troller may well be made elec tive on a non-partisan ballot. The Commission's proposals thus strengthen both the gover nor's responsibility for executive performance, and also give surance that this performance will be checked by independent audits, investigations, and legal opinions. Like many old state con stitutions, the present Oregon pro visions fall short of these two goals. Under the present Constitution the' Secretary of State is both an administrative official, and also charged with responsibility for auditing the administration. The Attorney-General a stat utory officer not mentioned in the Constitution heads all law yers for the agencies within the state administration. This is a key role in the performance of the executive branch for which the governor is responsible. Under the revised Constitution it would not, as now, be held by an inde pendently elected officer, who is the political opponent of the chief executive. The present contradic tory arrangement is an inevitable source of difficulties, and has led governors to turn to other legal counsel than the attorney general. NEW LOW PRICE ON K0DAC0L0R 25 .'Tints, from orllnl 12 cxp. rolli LEO'S CAMERA SHOP 816 Main Ph. 2-3331 SHAPING WITHOUT ADDINGI wear this fabulous) CONTOUR rvRE r At lost ! A bro that lifts, firms and pre. shapes with the lightest laciest touch. 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