SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                      1425

racial Commission," subtitle "Discrimination in Housing," be and it
is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, ENACTED
AND to read as follows:

23. Discrimination in financing.

(a)    It shall be unlawful for any bank, savings and loan institu-
tion, credit union, insurance company, or other person regularly en-
gaged in the business of making mortgages or other loans for the
purchase, construction, improvement, or repair or maintenance of
dwellings to deny such a loan to a person applying therefor, or dis-
criminate against him in the fixing of the down payment, interest
rate, duration, or other terms or conditions of such a loan, because
of the race, color, religious creed, or national origin of such person,
or of any member, stockholder, director, officer, or employee of
such person, or of the prospective occupants, lessees, or tenants,
of the dwelling or dwellings in relation to which the application
for a loan is made.

(b)    It shall be unlawful for any State, County, City, or Municipal
Treasurer or governmental official whose responsibility it is to
account for, to invest, or manage public funds to deposit or cause
to be deposited any public funds in any lending institution pro-
vided for herein which is found to be committing discriminatory prac-
tices by the Commission and where such practices FINDINGS were
upheld by the Court. Upon the Court's judicial enforcement of any or-
der to restrain a practice of such lending institution or for said insti-
tution to cease or desist in a discriminatory practice, the Commis-
sion shall notify all persons in charge of public funds of the name
of any such lending institution found to be practicing discrimi-
nation in the course of providing its customary commercial services.

If the State or any political subdivision thereof has its funds de-

posited in any lending institution which is practicing discrimination

as set out herein by the Commission, it shall take immediate steps

to have the funds deposited in another lending institution. UPON RE-
CEIVING SUCH NOTIFICATION THE APPROPRIATE FISCAL
OFFICER OR TREASURER OF THE STATE OR ANY POLIT-
ICAL SUB-DIVISION THEREOF WHICH HAS FUNDS DEPOS-
ITED IN ANY LENDING INSTITUTION WHICH IS PRACTIC-
ING DISCRIMINATION, AS SET FORTH HEREIN, SHALL TAKE
IMMEDIATE STEPS TO HAVE THE SAID FUNDS WITH-
DRAWN AND RE-DEPOSITED IN ANOTHER LENDING INSTI-
TUTION. If for reasons of sound economic management this action
will result in a financial loss to the State or any of its political subdivi-
sions, the action may be deferred for a period not longer than one (1)
year. If the Commission notifies the State or a political subdivision
thereof that the lending institution in question has corrected its dis-

criminatory practices within the given one (1) year, it shall be

discretionary with the State or the particular political sub-
division whether or not its public funds shall remain deposited in the
lending institution. ANY PROHIBITION SET FORTH IN THIS
SECTION SHALL NOT BE APPLICABLE. Any notification by the
Commission shall comply with Section 13 (d) of this subtitle and the
prohibitions set out therein shall be binding upon the State and local
fiscal officers receiving such notice.

(c)    The provisions of this section are severable and if any pro-
vision, sentence, clause, subsection or part thereof is held illegal,