J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                     1381

Whereas, Recently during hearings by the Senate Finance Com-
mittee involving welfare programs and expenditures in the State,
members of the Committee requested from the State Welfare Depart-
ment Director an explanation of what use was made by welfare
recipients and welfare money, in response to newspaper accounts
appearing rather frequently reporting the cashing of welfare checks
at taverns and bars and suggesting the spending of welfare money
for non-essential personal uses; and

Whereas, The advice of the Welfare Director and the regional
office of the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare was
that such an inquiry as that proposed into what use welfare recipients
made of their assistance would violate federal welfare regulations to
the extent that the State would suffer a loss of all federal welfare
funds granted to the State, and

Whereas, The reply of the regional office was as follows: "The
provision that assistance shall be in the form of money payments is
one of several provisions in the Social Security Act designed to carry
out the basic principle that assistance shall be administered in such
a way that will preserve the individual's freedom to manage his af-
fairs, to decide what use of his assistance check will best serve his
interests, and to make purchases through normal channels of ex-
change—enjoying the same rights and discharging the same responsi-
bilities as do friends and other members of the community," and

Whereas, Members of the Senate, because of their obligation to
the public electing them feel that they have the right to know what
use is, in fact, made of welfare grants by recipients, and propose a
meeting with the Maryland Senators and Congressmen for the pur-
pose of preparing necessary amendments to federal law; now, there-
fore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the President
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland
are urged to appoint a joint legislative committee charged with the
duty of meeting with the Maryland Senators and Congressmen to
consider changes in federal welfare requirements to allow the States
to make reasonable inquiry into the use made by welfare recipients of
the monies paid to them for welfare assistance, and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this Resolution are sent to Senators
Brewster and Tydings, Congressmen Fallon, Friedel, Garmatz, Long,
Machen, Mathias, Morton and Sickles, to the President of the Senate
of Maryland, the Speaker of the House of Delegates of Maryland, and
the Director of the State Department of Public Welfare.

Approved May 6, 1966.

No. 37
(Senate Joint Resolution 48)

Senate Joint Resolution requesting the Governor to appoint a study
commission to investigate the problems of water pollution.