Marvin Mandel, Governor                        1905

and in its place the General Assembly provided that the issue should
be submitted to the voters of Montgomery County in a referendum
at the general election to be held in November, 1972. If the vote at
said referendum was favorable, the legislation provides "then this
act shall become effective". The confusion arises from other language
added by amendment in Section 3 stating that "this act shall take
effect June 1,1972".

While we agree that a certain ambiguity does exist, we think
that the legislative intent is made clear by the fact that the June 1,
1972 effective date is made "subject to the provisions" already dis-
cussed relating to the referendum. For this reason we conclude that
the June 1, 1972 effective date has no legal effect and that the effec-
tiveness of the bill must await the outcome of the vote in November,
1972. We hasten to point out, however, that, if a majority of the
voters at that election favor this bill, there is a further ambiguity
as to when the bill becomes effective. Normally, of course, a bill
which is approved by the voters at a referendum takes effect 30 days
after such approval (see Article XVI of the Maryland Constitution)
but the constitutional provisions relating to the referendum do not
apply to a bill in which the right to referendum has been created by
the General Assembly.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Francis B. Burch,

Attorney General.

House Bill No. 218—Intestate Succession

AN ACT to repeal Section 3-104(c) and (d) of Article 93 of the
Annotated Code of Maryland (1969 Replacement Volume), title "De-
cedents' Estates," subtitle "Intestate Succession and Statutory
Shares," subheading "Intestate Succession," and to enact new Sec-
tion 3-104(c) and (d) in lieu thereof, to stand in the place of the
section repealed, to provide that intestate succession if there are no
surviving parents, brothers, sisters, or issue of a brother or sister,
shall be to surviving grandparents or their issue; and to provide that
the intestate succession in the event that none of the grandparents
or their issue are surviving shall be to the great-grandparents or their
issue.

May 28, 1971.

Honorable Thomas Hunter Lowe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17, of the Maryland Con-
stitution, I have today vetoed House Bill 218.

This bill provides for intestate succession by grandparents and
great-grandparents under certain circumstances.