J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                     1427

April 4, 1966.

Honorable J. Millard Tawes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Governor Tawes:

The General Accounting Division of the State Comptroller's
Office, the Department of Budget and Procurement, and the State
Auditor's Office, respectfully request that you give consideration to
vetoing Senate Bill No. 399 recently enacted by the General Assem-
bly. This Bill proposes to amend the law concerning the account-
ability for certain unestimated receipts of State Agencies in order
to make particular provisions for reporting and accounting for stu-
dent activities fees at educational institutions.

A brief background history of this Bill indicates that at the
Frostburg and Salisbury State Colleges several students have com-
plained because of the adoption of certain accounting control proce-
dures instituted by the Comptroller at the request of the State
Auditor to safe-guard a growing amount of funds coming into the
hands of the State Colleges from student fees. The State of Mary-
land is required to assume responsibility for these funds but the
manner in which they had been handled in past years gave the
State's Fiscal Officers little or no control over their accountability.
The State Auditor had, for many years, while the Teachers Col-
leges were under the administration of the State Department of Edu-
cation, made critical comments relative to the accountability for
the student activities funds in the Colleges, and had recommended
that they be deposited with the State Treasurer and disbursed
through warrant of the State Comptroller. However, no action was
taken on the recommendation until such time as the Teachers Col-
leges were incorporated under the Board of Trustees of the State
Colleges several years ago. The Board of Trustees of the State Col-
leges set forth rules and regulations whereby these funds would be
controlled in accordance with the recommendations of the State Aud-
itor's Office. This was in line with the manner that these funds had
been controlled for many years by both the University of Maryland
and Morgan State College.

The procedure adopted by the Board of Trustees of the State
Colleges provided for the advancement of a Working Fund to the
respective Colleges, based on amounts estimated by each College as
needed to operate the programs. These Working Funds gave the
Colleges a free and unrestricted hand in administering the student
activities programs, and at the same time enabled the financial of-
ficers of the State of Maryland to exercise a considerable degree of
accounting control over such funds being collected by the various
business offices at the Colleges.

To further support our position, we enclose a copy of an un-
published opinion of the Attorney General, dated June 13, 1949, in
paragraph four of which he makes the unqualified statement that
"activities fees collected are State money." Furthermore, student
activities fees are but one of a myriad number of non-budgeted
amounts which are controlled as outlined herein. Such other funds