Marvin Mandel, Governor                       2161

The Bill as originally introduced gave this authority to all of the
clerks of courts throughout the State, subject to approval of the resi-
dent circuit court judge of the county from which the papers were to
be destroyed. During the passage of House Bill 533 through the Gen-
eral Assembly, the Bill was amended with the intention of having it
pertain only to Baltimore County. Unfortunately, the provisions of
Section 1A were not completely amended so that the Bill, in its final
form, still grants authority to the various clerks of court throughout
the entire State. However, the Bill provides that destruction of these
various unnecessary pleadings and papers be subject to authority of
the judges of Baltimore County. Therefore, if the Bill were signed,
and in the event that the clerk of the circuit court for Allegany
County desired to destroy documents arising in that County, it would
be necessary for him to obtain permission from one of the judges of
Baltimore County. Obviously, this was not the intention when the
Bill was amended to pertain only to Baltimore County, and it is ap-
parent that the authority which was intended to be granted, was only
for the clerk of the circuit court for Baltimore County. This technical
error could create an extremely cumbersome and inappropriate pro-
cedure which would greatly burden the judges of Baltimore County.

In light of the inconsistent amendment which inadvertently did
not limit the provisions of the bill to Baltimore County, I have no
alternative other than to veto House Bill 533.

Sincerely,

/s/ Marvin Mandel,

Governor.

House Bill No. 575—Penalty Provisions in Insurance Laws

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section 55A
12 of Article 48A of the Annotated Code of Maryland, (1968 Replace-
ment Volume), title "Insurance," subtitle "DEFINITIONS AND
GENERAL PROVISIONS" AND TO REPEAL AND RE-ENACT
SECTION 55A OF SAID ARTICLE AND TITLE OF SAID CODE,
SUBTITLE "Insurers: Authorization and General Requirements" to
lower from one thousand dollars ($1,000) to one hundred dollars
($100) the minimum penalty the Commissioner can impose on an
insurer for each violation PROVIDE THE PENALTIES FOR VIO-
LATIONS of Article 48A; to raise the maximum fine from twenty-
five thousand dollars ($25,000) to one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) for willful violations of Article 48A; to add restitution to
the remedies which the Commissioner may require; and to make the
imposition of a penalty and the requirement for restitution additional
as well as alternative to revocation or suspension.

May 26, 1970.

Honorable Thomas Hunter Lowe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland