bring our State Police nearer the optimum strength for adequate
highway policing.

As I said to you in my message three weeks ago, there are signs
that our efforts of the past three years to rehabilitate the oyster re-
sources of Maryland have begun to pay dividends. The Department
of Tidewater Fisheries reports to me that the oyster yield of the first
three months of this season is up by 93, 473 bushels, or 16 per cent
over the first three months of last season. Recognizing the splendid
progress that has been made in shell planting, I am proposing that
additional funds be allowed the department to continue its Oyster
Propagation Program. Adequate money is also made available for
the Department to sustain its good record in law enforcement and
public safety.

As I have said, there is not time in this message to recite in any
great detail the appropriations for all State departments, agencies
and commissions which are included in this budget. It is enough to
say, I believe, that all requests were examined with great care, and
in each instance where the need was clear, funds for improvements and
expansion were allowed—for economic development, for our penal
institutions, for the enlargement of parks and recreational areas, for
planning, for strengthening our judiciary and for a variety of other
governmental services.

The budget for capital improvements reflects this Administration's
desire to provide the physical facilities which are needed to carry
on the various governmental functions. In accordance with recom-
mendations made to me by the State Planning Department, I am
recommending that loans be authorized in the amount of $23, 647, 700.
You will note that more than half of this amount—52. 2 per cent
or $12, 345, 800, to be exact—is earmarked for education. The second
largest amount, $6, 948, 000, is to be used to improve housing con-
ditions in our prison system. The Department of Forests and Parks
is allowed $2, 076, 500, primarily for the acquisition of land for parks,
and $1, 604, 000 is assigned for the expansion and improvement of
mental health facilities.

Maryland's strong debt position is supported by such factors as
the continued steady growth in the assessable base and the low
ration of debt to assessed valuation, which has enabled us to main-
tain for many years a Triple-A credit rating. But here I think I
should pause to inject a note of caution. In addition to the heavy
demands made upon us for new and improved State facilities during
the past few years, we have been called upon to offer the State's

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