426                              Laws of Maryland                        Ch. 154

112.

(1) (h) The interest on the unpaid balance not to exceed [6% per
annum] the percentage per annum as allowed by Article 49, Section
3, as amended from time to time, ground rent, if any, taxes and other
public charges.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1970.

Approved April 15, 1970

CHAPTER 154
(House Bill 135)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 66H(a)
of Article 16 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1966 Replace-
ment Volume), title "Chancery," subtitle "Paternity Proceeding,"

and to add a new Section 66H(i) thereto to follow immediately

after Section 66H(h) thereof, to provide that the court may order
a lien on the wages of a defendant in a paternity proceeding, and
providing further that it is a misdemeanor for any employer to
discharge or fail to hire said defendant because of a paternity
support decree.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 66H(a) of Article 16 of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1966 Replacement Volume), title "Chancery," subtitle "Pater-
nity Proceeding," be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with
amendments; and that new Section 66H(i) be added to follow imme-

diately after Section 66H(h) thereof, and all to read as follows:

66H.

(a) If the finding of the court or jury, as the case may be, be
against the defendant alleged to be the putative father, the court
shall pass an order declaring the defendant to be the father of said
child and providing for the support and maintenance of the child.
Such order shall specify the sum to be paid by the defendant weekly
or otherwise until the child reaches the age of 21 years, dies, marries,
or becomes self-supporting, whichever event first occurs; provided,
that in any case where said child, having reached 21 years of age, is
destitute of means and unable to support himself by reason of mental
or physical infirmity, the court shall have power to require payments
to be made or continued during the continuance of such mental or
physical infirmity. The Court may order a lien upon the earnings of
the defendant in the amount so specified and the employer is re-
quired to deduct that amount as soon as notified by the Court. All
such deductions are to be paid directly by the employer to the re-
cipient designated by the Court. In addition to providing for the
support and maintenance of the child, the order also may require the
defendant to pay all or any part of the mother's medical and hospital
expense for her pregnancy, confinement, and recovery, and for the
funeral expenses if the child has died or dies; and in addition thereto,