952                              Laws of Maryland                       Ch. 408

51.    Civil Rights of Patients.

No patient in any facility shall be deprived of his right to vote,
receive, hold and dispose of property unless he has been declared
to be incompetent by a court in accordance with the provisions of
Article 16 of this Code.

52.    Penalties.

Any person who knowingly interferes with the rights of any pa-
tient in a facility as specified in this subtitle is guilty of a misde-
meanor and upon conviction thereof shall be imprisoned for a period
not to exceed two years, or fined an amount not to exceed $5,000.,
or both.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any part of this Act,
or any section or part of a section hereof, shall be held to be uncon-
stitutional or invalid for any reason, such unconstitutionality or in-
validity shall not affect the remainder of this Act, and to this end
this Act is declared to be severable.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
on July 1, 1970.

Approved April 28, 1970

CHAPTER 408
(House Bill 132)

AN ACT to add new Article 43C to the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1957 Edition, 1965 Replacement Volume 1969 SUPPLEMENT),
to follow immediately after Article 43B thereof and to be under
the new title "Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities
Authority" to provide for the creation of the Maryland Health and
Higher Educational Facilities Authority, the purposes of which
are to provide CERTAIN hospitals located within the State with
appropriate means to expand, enlarge and establish health care
hospitals and other related facilities; to assist certain institutions
of higher education to obtain and construct projects required or
useful for the instruction of students or the conducting of research
for the operation of an institution for higher education; to assist
certain hospitals in the construction and maintenance of hospitals,
clinics, health care facilities and other structures or facilities re-
lated thereto; to create a body politic and corporation to be known
as the "Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities Au-
thority" consisting of nine members appointed by the Governor,
and to provide for general counsel and executive director for said
Authority; to grant to the Authority power to assist institutions
for higher education and hospitals in the construction, financing
and refinancing of certain projects; to grant to the Authority
the power to issue bonds, notes, and other obligations; to provide
for employment of engineers, architects, accountants, and such
other professional and non-professional employees as the Author-
ity may determine necessary; to provide for the Authority to