FAREWELL ADDRESS TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY 999

tion to posterity, for it has been developed to safeguard the health,
livelihood and recreational opportunities for future generations of
Maryland citizens.

At the same time, I would be remiss if I did not express my pride
in the Air Quality Control bill prepared by members of the General
Assembly and enacted during the first year of this administration.

Now I would like to turn to the 1970 Budget, which takes into ac-
count another crisis and another set of hard decisions. According to
the Board of Revenue Estimates report submitted to me on December
17, 1968, Maryland, without major alteration in its revenue receipts
policy, would face an estimated deficit exceeding $33 million at the
close of the 1969 fiscal year. In addition to this deficit, budget re-
quests considered only in terms of essential minimums would com-
pound the fiscal crisis.

The 1970 Budget, as it now stands, reflects my desire to provide
the citizens of Maryland and my successor with a blueprint that is
both financially sound and responsive to basic needs. To achieve this
goal, I have remained in office until presumably reliable revenue
estimates were available to form the basis of final judgments.

It would be unfair and unwise to place the new Governor and the
Legislature in a bind by presenting a budget begging for a deficit or
crippled by austerity slashes. In this situation, complicated by the
$33 million plus deficit, I did what best I could. I provided a balanced
budget which gives my successor the full options of gubernatorial
leadership.

This was achieved by first accepting the recommendation of the
Board of Revenue Estimates to transfer the credit of April to June
1969 income tax receipts from the first quarter of fiscal 1970 to the
last quarter of fiscal 1969 and pursuing this policy in all years here-
after. In addition, June receipts from the Retail Sales and Use taxes
will also be counted as revenues in the 1969 fiscal year.

Consequently, instead of facing a deficit of more than $33 million at
the close of fiscal 1969 we should have an approximate surplus of
$45. 5 million. But it can never be forgotten that this $79 million
transfer is a one-time bonus. That has not been forgotten in the
disciplined 1970 Budget, which assures the continuity of virtually
every program and service presently operated by the State. Growth
at existing program levels required a General Fund increase of al-
most $85 million over appropriations for the current fiscal year.