702                             LAWS OF MARYLAND                    [CH. 244

and sale thereof; said bonds shall be signed by the President of the
County Commissioners and by the Treasurer of Garrett County, and
the seal of said County shall be affixed thereto. Said bonds may be
made registrable as to principal.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act is hereby declared
to be an emergency measure and necessary for the immediate preser-
vation of the public health and safety and having been passed by a
yea and nay vote supported by three-fifths of all the members elected
to each of the two houses of the General Assembly, the same shall
take effect from the date of its passage.

Approved April 23, 1969.

CHAPTER 244
(House Bill 6)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 599 of
Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1965 Replacement
Volume), title "Health," subtitle "Chronic Hospitals and Infir-
maries," to eliminate the restriction of tubercular PATIENTS and
orthopedic patients; to establish the requirements for out-of-State
patients; to provide for discharge procedure; to authorize the
transfer of patients financed by the State; to authorize the super-
intendent to apply for local, State or Federal programs when patient
refuses to apply and to generally amend the admission and dis-
charge procedure in certain hospitals.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 599 of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1965 Replacement Volume), title "Health," subtitle "Chronic Hos-
pitals and Infirmaries," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted,
with amendments, to read as follows:

599.

Admission to the chronic hospitals shall be made on the basis of a
statement by a physician who, after an examination, finds that the
patient is in need of chronic hospital care, and the review and ap-
proval of the application by the chronic hospital. No patient shall
be admitted who has [tuberculosis in a form requiring treatment in
a tuberculosis hospital,] mental disease of the type requiring care in
a mental hospital [, or an orthopedic disease for which medical
treatment is available to the patient in a special orthopedic hos-
pital].

Patients may be admitted who can pay part or all of the costs of
their carer, [only when the special facilities required by their condi-
tions are not otherwise obtainable elsewhere in Maryland.]

The hospitals shall be primarily and principally conducted for
legal residents of Maryland. Out-of-State patients may be served in
the chronic disease hospitals provided that they are admitted and
discharged in accord with specific regional health programs or spe-