I4861 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 836

218A. Whenever, pursuant to or by reason of any direc-
tion or order of any agency of the Government of the United
States or of the State of Maryland, the owner of any motor
vehicle registered under the provisions of Section 218 of
this sub-title discontinues the operation of said vehicle, or
reduces the mileage operation of said vehicle, or eliminates.
any route over which said vehicle is licensed to operate, or
reduces the passenger capacity of said vehicle, or in any
other manner curtails the operation of said vehicle, such
owner, at any time on or after such direction or order has
become effective, (a) may, in the event the operation of said
vehicle is discontinued, surrender the registration tags issued
for such motor vehicle, and may thereupon apply to the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for and shall be entitled to
a refund of the fee paid for registration of such motor
vehicle pro rata for the unused portion of such year, or (b)
may, in the event the route mileage or passenger capacity of
said vehicle is reduced, or any route over which said vehicle
is licensed to operate is eliminated, or the operation of said
vehicle is in any other manner curtailed, apply to the Com-
missioner of Motor Vehicles for, on forms by him to be
prescribed, showing the nature and extent of such reduc-
tion of operation or passenger capacity, elimination of
route or other curtailment, and shall be entitled to, a re-
fund of the difference between the fee actually paid for the
registration of said vehicle and the fee which would other-
wise have been required to be paid for the registration of
said vehicle calculated on the basis of the passenger seat-
miles theretofore traveled by said vehicle, plus the pas-
senger seat-miles which it is shown by such application for
refund said vehicle will travel in the remaining portion of
such year.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That this Act is here-
by declared to be an emergency law and necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public health and safety,
and having been passed by a yea and nay vote, supported
by three-fifths of all of the members elected to each of the
two Houses of the General Assembly, the same shall take
effect from the date of its passage.

Approved May 6? 1943..

CHAPTER 836.
(Senate Bill 442)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments. Section
77 of Article 9 of the Code of Public Local Laws of Mary-