Marvin Mandel, Governor                         751

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

Approved April 22, 1970

CHAPTER 350
(House Bill 594)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 140 of
Article 27 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1969 Supplement),
title "Crimes and Punishments," subtitle "False Pretenses, Bad
Checks, Etc.," adding Baltimore County to the list of those coun-
ties which allow the People's Court and trial magistrates to prose-
cute one for obtaining money or checks by false pretenses where
the amount does not exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00).

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 140 of Article 27 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1969 Supplement), title "Crimes and Punishments," subtitle "False
Pretenses, Bad Checks, Etc.," be and it is hereby repealed and re-
enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

140.

Any person who shall by any false pretense obtain from any other
person any chattel, money or valuable security, with intent to de-
fraud any person of the same, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and
being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court,
to be punished by fine and imprisonment, or by confinement in the
penitentiary for not less than two years nor more than ten years, as
the court shall award; provided always, that if upon the trial of any
person charged with such misdemeanor it shall be proved that he
obtained the property in question in any such manner as to amount
in law to larceny or robbery, he shall not by reason thereof be entitled
to be acquitted of such misdemeanor; and no person tried upon such
misdemeanor shall be afterwards liable for larceny or robbery upon
the same facts; and provided also, that a mere promise to be prose-
cuted for future payment, though not intended to be performed, shall
not be sufficient to authorize a conviction under this section. In
Wicomico County, St. Mary's County, Worcester County, Caroline
County, Prince George's County, Baltimore County, and Anne
Arundel County where the amount of money or the value of the thing
received does not exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00), the people's
court and the trial magistrates, respectively, shall have concurrent
jurisdiction with the circuit court to try persons charged with vio-
lating this section and Sections 142 and 144 of this article, provided
that persons so convicted in the people's court or trial magistrate's
court shall not be sentenced to the penitentiary by that court. In
Baltimore City where the amount of money or the value of the thing
received does not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), the Munic-
ipal Court of Baltimore City shall have jurisdiction to try persons
charged with violating this section, provided that persons so con-
victed in the Municipal Court shall not be sentenced to the peniten-
tiary by that court.