SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                       517

provided, further, that there shall be no change in or encroachment
upon the holidays set forth and established in the following para-
graph :

The following days shall be holidays, viz.: Thanksgiving Day, and
the day after; from Christmas Eve to the first day of January,
inclusive; and from the Friday before Easter to the Monday after
Easter, inclusive; and a holiday on primary and general election days
[, except in Wicomico County where the schools shall remain open
on election days]. On Washington's Birthday, the schools shall de-
vote a portion of the day to exercises bearing on the life and services
of "The Father of Our Country"; and on November 11th, known as
[Armistice Day,] Veterans' Day, the schools shall devote a portion
of the day to exercises bearing on the World Wars and the participa-
tion of the United States and the State of Maryland in said wars and
on "Memorial Day," the schools shall devote a portion of the day to
exercise bearing on the War between the States and the participation
of Maryland in said war; and "Memorial Day" shall be observed at
such time and in such manner as the State Board of Education may
direct; and Arbor Day shall be observed on the first Wednesday in
April and in such manner as the State Board of Education may direct.

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

Approved April 14, 1967.

CHAPTER 217
(House Bill 206)

AN ACT to add new Sections 47-53 to Article 73B of the Annotated
Code of Maryland (1957 Edition), title "Pensions," to be under
a new subtitle, "Baltimore City Police Department Death Relief
Fund," establishing the Baltimore City Police Department Death
Relief Fund as an instrumentality of the State of Maryland, and
relating to special benefits upon the death of certain Baltimore
City policemen and civilian employees of the Baltimore City Police
Department and the machinery for administering the fund.

Whereas, Since February 16, 1948, the Police Commissioner of
Baltimore City has administered a fund created by contributions
deducted from the pay of officers and civilian employees of the
Baltimore City Police Department, to provide death benefits to the
dependents of Baltimore City police officers killed in the line of duty,
and the fund has now grown to $264,688.03 as of January 12, 1967,
and

Whereas, the Police Commissioner of Baltimore City has request-
ed the Legislature, and it is deemed by the Legislature desirable, to
formalize the machinery for the administration of said fund, and to
establish it as an instrumentality of the State of Maryland, subject to
proper regulation and control, in order to provide maximum protec-
tion to those whom the fund was intended to benefit, to expand the
benefits of the fund and to include civilian personnel, and to maintain
and improve the morale of the Baltimore City Police Department.