MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                             1597

an ordinance or ordinances for said purpose to the
legal voters of Baltimore City; and providing
generally for the issuance and sale of said
certificates of indebtedness.]]

WHEREAS, Provident hospital, Inc. has experienced
financial difficulties during the past year; and

WHEREAS, This hospital has made great strides to
stabilize its financial status; and

WHEREAS, Provident Hospital, Inc. has agreed to
undertake in good faith a community fund raising effort;
and

WHEREAS, Supplemental financial aid will greatly
enhance the chances of its continued existence and
complement other efforts undertaken by the public and
private sectors to guarantee its functioning; and

WHEREAS. Provident Hospital, Inc. is a community
based institution that has provided much needed medical
care and services to the citizens of Baltimore; and

WHEREAS, The existence of the hospital as a vital
provider of quality health care is a concern of the
general public and should be assured; and

WHEREAS, The creation of the State debt, and the use
of the proceeds thereof in the manner hereinafter
provided will serve a valid public purpose; now,
therefore

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That: (a) [[the]] The Mayor and City Council
of Baltimore be and it is hereby authorized to create a
debt, and to issue and sell its certificates of
indebtedness (hereinafter called "bonds") as evidence
thereof, to an amount not exceeding One Million Dollars
($1,000,000.00), the proceeds derived from the sale
thereof to be used for the purposes hereinafter
mentioned, but said debt shall not be created and said
bonds shall not be issued, in whole or in part, unless an
ordinance or ordinances of the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore providing for the issuance thereof shall be
first submitted to the legal voters of Baltimore City at
such time and place as may be fixed by said ordinance or
ordinances and be approved by a majority of the votes
cast at such time and place, all as required by Section 7
of Article XI of the Constitution of Maryland; and the
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, in submitting any
ordinance or ordinances for the issuance of said bonds,