STATEMENT AS GOVERNOR-ELECT ON APPOINTMENT

OF BIPARTISAN LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON

TAX REFORM

December 7, 1966

With the approval of the President of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Delegates, I have today appointed a bipartisan legisla-
tive committee to develop a comprehensive program of tax reform
that we can present to the 1967 session of the Maryland General
Assembly.

I have asked Senator Harry R. Hughes of Caroline County to serve
as chairman of this important committee and Delegate J. Glenn Beall,
Jr., of Allegany County to serve as its vice-chairman. Senator Hughes
has served with distinction as chairman of the Finance Committee and
majority floor leader of the Maryland Senate and has demonstrated
a broad knowledge of State fiscal problems. Delegate Beall is a mem-
ber of the important House Ways and Means Committee and is the
minority floor leader in that Chamber.

Others who have agreed to serve on the committee are Delegate
William Houck of Frederick County, Senator John W. Steffey of Anne
Arundel, Senator J. Joseph Curran of Baltimore City, and Senator-
elect Jervis S. Finney of Baltimore County. I have asked Mr. John
G. Lauber, the director of finance for Montgomery County, who is
presently working with me on the budget, to serve as my personal
representative on the committee. Three of the legislative members
are Democrats and three are Republicans.

Senate President William S. James and House Speaker Marvin Man-
del agree with me that this is the proper approach to this most difficult
problem.

As I stated repeatedly during my campaign for Governor, tax reform
is the most critical problem facing the State of Maryland at this
moment.

We must better balance the revenue resources of the State to pre-
vent continued increases in the property tax, which is now the only
substantial revenue source for local governments. Retired persons
and people on fixed incomes are suffering serious inequities because
of the runaway growth in property taxes. The property owner bears
an unfair share of the local tax burden.