SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                        1107

in addition to or as part of a petition filed under subsection (a)
hereof. The court, after such hearing and investigation as it may
deem appropriate, shall have the power to grant a decree awarding
guardianship and vesting in the guardian the right to consent to
arrangements for the long-term care of the child short of adoption.
Such a decree shall terminate natural parental rights, and the consent
of the guardian to arrangements for long-term care shall eliminate
the necessity of further notice to the natural parent or parents. The
consent of the guardian to such arrangements shall not be valid until
approved by the court upon appropriate petition and after such
hearing and investigation as the court may require.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
June 1, 1967.

Approved April 21, 1967.

CHAPTER 502
(Senate Bill 410)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, subsection (a)
of Section 42A of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1965 Replacement Volume and 1966 Supplement), title "Health",
subtitle "Miscellaneous Provisions", to follow immediately after
Section 42 thereof, providing a minimum local appropriation for
the fiscal year of 1968 to permit each county and Baltimore City
to place on deposit with the State Department of Health funds
to permit the said Department to pay 100% of current costs for
the hospital care of indigent and medically indigent persons.

Whereas, Section 42A of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland (1965 Replacement Volume and 1966 Supplement) re-
quires certain appropriations for hospital care of residents of the
respective political subdivisions, for the 1967 fiscal year only, and
full costs for hospital care of indigent and medically indigent
patients can be paid only if the mandatory local appropriations are
continued in the 1968 fiscal year; and

Whereas, The amounts specified in the 1966 Act were based on
1965 fiscal year expenses and hospital costs have increased since
1965, and will increase further in the 1968 fiscal year, the calcula-
tions in this bill are based on an estimated 20% hospital cost increase
in 1968 over 1965; now, therefore,

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 42A (a) of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1965 Replacement Volume and 1966 Supplement), title
"Health", subtitle "Miscellaneous Provisions", be and it is hereby
repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

42A.

(a) For the [1967] 1968 fiscal year, each county and Baltimore
City shall place on deposit with the State Department of Health,