218                                       LAWS OF MARYLAND                            [Ch. 2

No definition of person is included because
Art. 1, §15 defines "person" as including
"corporations". It does not expressly
include "firms" however, and therefore the
term is retained in subsection (a).

Art. 43, §556A provides immunity for
hospitals from tort liability.

Art. 48A, §480 estops insurance companies
form pleading a charitable institution tort
immunity as a defense to a suit.

See §5-1104 of the Natural Resources
Article for similar provisions applicable
to persons allowing land owned by them to
be used, free of charge, as a playground or
park.

SEC. 5-304. ACTION FOR DEFAMATION AGAINST LOCAL
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.

A CIVIL OR CRIMINAL ACTION MAY NOT BE BROUGHT
AGAINST A CITY OR TOWN COUNCILMAN, COUNTY
COMMISSIONER, COUNTY COUNCILMAN, OR SIMILAR OFFICIAL
BY WHATEVER NAME KNOWN, FOR WORDS SPOKEN AT A MEETING
OF THE COUNCIL OR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS.

REVISOR'S NOTE: This section is new language
derived from Art. 23A, §1A, Art. 25, §1A,
Art. 25A, §3, and Art. 25B, §10A. These
sections were enacted by Ch. 287, Acts of
1973 and all are combined here.

GENERAL REVISOR'S NOTE.

In the course of compiling Title 5 of the Courts
Article, the Governor's Commission to Revise the
Annotated Code considered the following sections and
concluded that they were not proper to be included in
the Courts Article. The following treatment is
proposed:

Section in Code: Treatment: Comment:

Art. 57, §§ 4 Repeal Made obsolete by
and 5                                                                 the long—arm

statute and
current venue and
service of
process