1970                                       Vetoes

Area." IN BALTIMORE COUNTY AND USED FOR CERTAIN
PURPOSES.

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 764.

This bill exempts from county taxation the property owned by
the Towson Presbyterian Church known as the Bee Tree Retreat
Area.

The Attorney General has advised me that House Bill 764 is
of doubtful constitutionality, as being in possible contravention of
Article 15 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, based upon the
decision of the Court of Appeals in Baltimore City v. Starr Church,
106 Md. 281 (1907). For the reasons given in the attached copy of
the Attorney General's opinion, which is to be considered a part of
this message, I have decided to veto House Bill 764.

Sincerely,

/s/ Marvin Mandel,

Governor.

Letter from the Attorney General on House Bill No. 764

May 2, 1972.

The Honorable Marvin Mandel
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Re: House Bill 764
Dear Governor Mandel:

We approve the form of House Bill 764, but we wish to point
out certain constitutional problems which may exist with respect
to it. House Bill 764 purports to exempt from county taxation a
specific parcel of real property owned by the Towson Presbyterian
Church in Baltimore County known as Beetree Retreat. Presum-
ably this exemption was deemed necessary because the property did
not fall within the class of property exempted by Article 81, Section
9(4) of the Annotated Code of Maryland, namely, "Houses and build-
ings used exclusively for public worship, and the furniture contained
therein, and any parsonage used in connection therewith, and the
grounds appurtenant to such houses, buildings and parsonages and
necessary for the respective uses thereof."

We are not prepared to say whether the assumption that this
retreat does not qualify under the existing exemption provision is
necessarily true. Depending on the facts of the situation, a religious
retreat may qualify for a property tax exemption, and we refer you