1670                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 769

31.

(a)  No attachment of the wages or hire of any laborer or em-
ployee, in the hands of the employer, whether private individuals
or bodies incorporate, shall affect any salary or wages of the debtor
which are not actually due at the date of the attachment, and the
sum of [one hundred dollars] one hundred twenty dollars multiplied
by the number of weeks in which such wages due were earned or
seventy-five percent (75%) of such wages of hire, whichever is
greater, due to any laborer or employee by any employer or cor-
poration shall always be exempt from attachment by any process
whatever except that in Caroline, Worcester, Kent and Queen Anne's
counties the exemption for any workweek shall be the greater or
seventy-five percent (75%) of the wages due or thirty (30) times
the federal minimum hourly wage provided by Section 6 (a) (1) of
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, U.S.C. Tit. 29, Section 206
(a) (1), in effect at the time the earnings are payable. Every con-
tract or agreement of any character whatsoever of such laborer or
employee, the purpose of which is to waive this right of exemption,
shall be absolutely void, provided, however, that the salary or wages
of any laborer or employee shall not be exempt from attachment,
levy or lien at the instance of the State for income tax due the State
by any such laborer or employee.

(b)  No employer may discharge any employee by reason of the
fact that his earnings have been subjected to garnishment |[on any
one occasion] for any one indebtedness within a calendar year and
whoever wilfully violates this subsection shall be guilty of a mis-
demeanor and subject to a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00) and/or imprisoned not exceeding one year.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1971.

Approved May 28, 1971.

CHAPTER 769
(Senate Bill 830)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 96 (a)
of Article 75 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1969 Replace-
ment Volume and 1970 Supplement), title "Pleadings, Practice
and Process At Law," subtitle "Bases of Personal Jurisdiction
Over Persons Outside this State," to provide that a court may
exercise personal jurisdiction over a person causing tortious injury
both in this State or outside this State.

Whereas, In 1964, as amended in 1970, by the General Assembly,
the bases of personal jurisdiction over persons outside this State
were expanded by the enactment of Article 75, Sections 94, 95 and
96 as supplementary to any law of this State providing for personal
jurisdiction over persons outside this State and nothing contained
in Article 75 shall repeal or modify any law of this State authorizing
the exercise of jurisdiction on any basis other than the basis provided
herein as set out in Section 2 of Ch. 95, Acts 1964.