3632

VETOES

or their guests. Similarly there is no limit on the hours when
slot machine activities would be permitted.

I have received substantial correspondence from legislators
and other citizens on this bill both urging its enactment and its
veto. In addition, the Town of Ocean City, though not
technically covered by the bill, has requested my veto because of
the fear of future pressure to include Worcester County among
those counties in which slot machine gambling is permitted.
Those requesting me to sign the bill argue that it is necessary
as a revenue raising measure for the affected organizations and
that it merely "ratifies" existing practice and "clarifies"
existing law. I note, in passing, that forfeiture actions are
pending at the trial level against 160 slot machines confiscated
from 24 Eastern Shore clubs. In addition, at least two cases are
pending in the Court of Appeals requiring an interpretation of
the scope of certain of the State's gambling laws, including the
prohibition against possession and operation of slot machines set
forth in Article 27 § 264B of the Annotated Code.

The issues raised by Senate Bill 774 and discussed in this
veto message reflect my view of its legal, philosophical and
regulatory implications. As recent memory reminds us, the
history of slot machines in Maryland is not without its color or
its passion.

Slot machine gambling has frequently been before the General
Assembly, at least since the Great Depression, when it was first
legalized as a temporary revenue raising measure in 1937. During
the 1940's, the legislature authorized slot machines in four
Southern Maryland counties. Slot machines proliferated, raising
fears of the potential for corruption and involvement by
organized crime. In 1962, Governor J. Millard Tawes commissioned
the Slot Machine Study Committee to review the impact of
mechanized gambling in the State. Chaired by Richard W. Emory,
Esquire, the Committee issued its recommendations (the so called
"Emory Commission Report") on how to effect the elimination of
slot machine gambling in those counties. Those recommendations
formed the basis for legislation (House Bill 475) enacted during
the 1963 Session phasing out slot machine gambling and, with very
limited exceptions, absolutely prohibiting the possession of the
machines (Chapter 617 of the Acts of 1963). As a member of the
State Senate in 1963, I vividly recall the floor debates on this
issue. Many legislators, including myself, believed that
elimination of slot machine gambling in Southern Maryland would,
in the long term, result in that region developing a sounder
economic foundation based on . the virtues of its historic and
natural resources as well as its proximity to the Nation's
Capital. Without question, Southern Maryland is now fulfilling
its economic development potential and its quality of life is
envied elsewhere.

The policy considerations underlying Senate Bill 774 cannot
be separated from its legal framework and associated legislative
history. Senate Bill 774 amends Article 27, § 264B of the Code
to create a new exception to the nearly absolute prohibition