SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                      1769

Letter from State Law Department on H. B. 640

April 25, 1967
Honorable Spiro T. Agnew
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Governor Agnew:

At your request I have examined House Bill No. 640, in order to
determine whether it meets minimum Constitutional requirements as
to form and legal sufficiency.

In Section 29-1 of the bill, on page 2 thereof, at line 22, the
following matter has been omitted from existing law, immediately
succeeding the word "shall:" "appoint someone to fill such vacancy.
The Board of County Commissioners of Prince George's County shall."

Because this bill omits crucial language of existing law, and
further, since as now drafted House Bill No. 640 is meaningless with
respect to such provision, we respectfully submit that you disapprove
this bill in its present form. By virtue of the omission, the bill fails
to conform to Constitutional standards as to form and legal sufficiency.

Sincerely yours,

(s) Francis B. Burch,

Attorney General.

House Bill No. 671. Prince George's County—Alcoholic Beverages

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 158
(k) of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1966 Supple-
ment), title "Alcoholic Beverages," subtitle "Boards of License Com-
missioners," relating to the number and residents RESIDENCE of
the inspectors in Prince George's County and the manner of appoint-
ment of and the term of the Chief Inspector.

May 4,1967.

Honorable Marvin Mandel
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Section 17 of Article II of the Maryland Con-
stitution, I have vetoed today House Bill 671 and am returning it
to you.

This bill removes the power of appointment of alcoholic beverage
inspectors from the Prince George's County Board of License Com-
missioners and places it in the County's Board of County Commis-
sioners. The effect of this would be to impair the control of the
License Commissioners over the selection of their own employees and
seems contrary to reasonbly sound administration, particularly when
the employees concerned are engaged at the level of policy execution.