20                                Laws of Maryland                          Ch. 4

and from any previous levy of the tax provided for in this section,
and to meet all payments of principal and interest due on said bonds
or Certificates of Indebtedness in the current year after making
allowance for estimated collections in the current year from the
proceeds of the tax imposed by said Section 278A.

Any taxes collected to pay the principal of or interest on said bonds
or Certificates of Indebtedness, as hereinabove in this section pro-
vided, shall be credited by the State Comptroller, on or before the
15th day of April of the year following the year in which such taxes
are collected, to a special fund account as provided for in Section 10
in this Act, as as much as is required for the payment of principal of
and interest on such bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness shall be
transferred to the Annuity Bond Fund.

Until all of the bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness issued
under the provisions of this Act [section] and the interest thereon,
shall be paid or provision of such payment shall be made, the pro-
ceeds of so much of the tax on written instruments as imposed by
Section 278A of Article 81 of the Annotated Code of Maryland as
set forth in Section 10 of this Act, received in each year as is
required to make the principal and interest payments due in that
year (to the extent not previously set aside) and in the next succeed-
ing year shall be set aside by the State Comptroller and transferred
to the Annuity Bond Fund for the purpose of making such principal
and interest payments. The balance of the proceeds of such tax, if
any, shall remain in the special fund account on the books of the
State Comptroller, provided, however, that if the State Comptroller
determines at any time or from time to time that a portion thereof
will not be required for the payment of the principal of or interest
on the bonds or Certificates of Indebtedness issued under the pro-
visions of this Act, he shall certify the amount of such portion,
which shall thereby be made available for the funding of projects
for the acquisition and development of recreation land and open
space, as provided under "Program Open Space." Any proceeds of
such tax which may for any reason not be expended or applied as
herein provided, shall be transferred to the Annuity Bond Fund and
shall be applied to the debt service requirements of the State.

12A.

And be it further enacted, That if any provision of this Act or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for
any reason, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or
any other application of this Act which can be given effect without
the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions
of this Act are declared to be severable.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act is hereby
declared to be an emergency law and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public health and safety, and having been
passed by a yea and nay vote, supported by three-fifths (³/₅ths) of
all of 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 by the Governor, December 18, 1969.