1954                                       Vetoes

House Bill No. 113—Marriage Licenses

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 6 of
Article 62 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1968 Replacement
Volume and 1970 1971 Supplement), title "Marriages," to require
both of the contracting parties to present birth certificates or other
proof of age when applying for a marriage license.

May 31, 1972.

Honorable Thomas Hunter Lowe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17, of the Maryland Con-
stitution, I have today vetoed House Bill 113.

This bill requires that persons applying for marriage licenses
evidence proof of age to the court clerk.

The Attorney General has advised me that House Bill 113 has
a defective title and is therefore of doubtful constitutionality, in
that the title contains no reference to the effective repeal of certain
provisions relating to Cecil County. For the reasons given in the
attached copy of the Attorney General's opinion, which is to be
considered a part of this message, I have decided to veto House
Bill 113.

Sincerely,

/s/ Marvin Mandel,

Governor.

Letter from The Attorney General on H. B. 113

April 28, 1972.

The Honorable Marvin Mandel
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Re: House Bill 113
Dear Governor Mandel:

We have reviewed House Bill 113, which would repeal and re-
enact with amendment Section 6 of Article 62. As it presently stands,
Section 6 consists of a Section (a), relating to issuance of marriage
licenses generally, and of a Section (b), which contains special pro-
visions for Cecil County. However, since House Bill 113 repeals and
re-enacts the entire Section 6, the effect would be to remove the
special Cecil County provisions from the law. There is no suggestion
of this effect in the title. We therefore believe the title is defective.

We might also point out a possible ambiguity. Only one of the
contracting parties would be required, under the Bill, to personally
appear before the clerk to apply for the license. This would con-
tinue the present provision of Section 6(a). However, the title to