1952                                       Vetoes

House Bill No. 16—Hospital Care of Indigents and
Medically Indigent

AN ACT to repeal AND RE-ENACT WITH AMENDMENTS
Section 42A of Article 43 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1971
Replacement Volume), title "Health," subtitle "Miscellaneous Pro-
visions," to repeal TO PROVIDE FOR PHASING OUT the require-
ment that counties and Baltimore City pay a designated percentage
of the costs for the hospital care of indigents and medically indigents
and to repeal related procedures for such payments AND GENER-
ALLY RELATING THERETO.

May 31, 1972.

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 16.

This bill requires the State to assume one-half of the local
contribution to the cost of providing hospital and medical care to
the indigent after July 1, 1973, and to assume the full cost of such
care after July 1,1974.

I have been advised that the cost to the State under House
Bill 16 in terms of lost revenues would be $5,000,000 in fiscal year
1974 and $11,000,000 in fiscal year 1975. I do not believe that suffi-
cient consideration has been given as to how this loss of revenue
from the local contributions will be replaced.

When the State assumes such a considerable Annual expense,
it must do so in the light of other existing calls upon its fiscal re-
sources, and adequate fiscal planning must be undertaken with re-
gard to the source of required revenues.

In the absence of some definite plan or indication of where the
State will find sufficient revenues to replace the local contributions,
I am required to veto House Bill 16.

Sincerely,

/s/ Marvin Mandel,

Governor.

House Bill No. 26—Instruction for Handicapped Children

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Sections 92
(a) and 99 of Article 77 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1969
Replacement Volume and 1971 Supplement), title "Public Educa-
tion," subtitle "Chapter 6. The Public Schools," and "Chapter 7.
Handicapped Children," respectively, to provide that the boards of
education of the several counties and the Board of School Commis-
sioners of Baltimore City shall provide a program of instruction
for any child between the ages of six (6) and twenty-one (21)
TWENTY years old who has a mental, physical or emotional handicap
and who is educable and qualified for special instruction under the
rules, regulations and laws of the State Board of Education; to