1973]                                OF THE SENATE                                    15

Department of Assessments and Taxation," to raise [[classification]]
salaries of supervisors of assessments in Calvert [[ [ ]] and [[ ] ]] St.

Mary's [[and Anne Arundel]] counties.

The President put the question: Shall the bill pass notwithstanding the
objections of the Executive ?

The President announced the veto was sustained by roll call as follows:

Affirmative—None

Negative

Messrs.—

President, Mrs. Abrams, Bailey, Bauman, Bertorelli, Bishop, Blount, Boyer, Bozick,
Byrnes, Clark, Conroy, Coolahan, Curran, Dalton, Emanuel, Finney, Goodman, Hall,
Hodges, Hoyer, Lapides, Lipin, Malkus, McGuirk, Mrs. Nock, Pascal, Pine, Mrs. Schwein-
haut, Smelser, Snyder, Staszak, Staten, Steinberg, Stone, Thomas, Mrs. Welcome,
Wilson.                                                                                                        Total—38

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

June 1, 1973.

Honorable William S. James
President of the Senate
State House
Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Mr. President:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17, of the Maryland Constitution,
I have today vetoed Senate Bill 507.

This bill would establish, inter alia, certain maximum and minimum
periods of suspension of a person's driver's license for refusal to take a
blood alcohol content test.

As presently worded, Section 6-205.1 of Article 66˝ of the Annotated
Code of Maryland provides that, upon a driver's refusal to take a blood
alcohol content test, the Motor Vehicle Administration may suspend that
person's driver's license for a period not to exceed sixty days. Should the
Administration find that the operator had justifiable cause for refusing
to take the test, the Administration is granted a certain degree of flexi-
bility, in that it may decide not to suspend that operator's license.

Senate Bill 507, in addition to providing for a minimum ten-day
suspension, would also amend the present law in a manner which raises
a question as to whether the administration would retain this degree of
flexibility in making its determinations. This bill is, in fact, internally
inconsistent on this point.

From the proposed amendment to Section 6-205.1 (a), which sets
forth the language required in the contract to be signed as a condition
precedent to the issuance or renewal of a license, it would appear that
the suspension requirement is mandatory for any refusal to take the
test. Thus, the applicant would expressly agree, in pertinent part, "that
the Motor Vehicle Administration shall suspend my license ..... upon
receipt of a sworn statement from the detaining officer ..... that I ...
refused to take the chemical test for alcohol." Similar amendments would
be made in Section 6-205.1(b), relating to the implied consent of nonresi-
dents and unlicensed persons, and in Section 6-205.1(c), relating to the