MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                        3077

found in the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article,
Section 9-116 (the "Dead Man's Statute"). The additional
limitation proposed by the bill was the exclusion of
testimony concerning transactions with or statements made
by dead or incompetent persons not only in proceedings in
which a personal representative, heir, devisee,
distributee, legatee or incompetent person was a party
but also in a narrow category of such proceedings,
namely, when a judgment or decree may be rendered for or
against them. The effect of this narrowing limitation
would presumably be to permit the admission of the
testimony in question in a proceeding where no such
judgment or decree could be rendered.

Unfortunately, the title of this kill does not
adequately describe this effect and, in our view, is
fatally misleading. The title (page 1, units 47—50)
indicates that the limitation imposed by the bill obtains
only when the testimony in question "would tend to
decrease or diminish the estate of a decedent" and "where
judgments or decrees may be rendered against" (emphasis
supplied) any of the category of persons listed in the
second sentence of the above paragraph. In fact, the
text of the bill imposes no limitation concerning the
diminution of an estate (as it includes increasing),
contains no restriction to "estate[s] of decedent[s]" (as
it includes proceedings involving incompetent persons)
and relates to judgments or decrees for (or against)
personal representatives, heirs, devisees, distributees,
legatees or incomptent persons.

In essence, then, the title is misleading in three
respects, any one of which standing alone would possibly
constitute sufficient cause to render it unconstitutional
in view of the requirements of Article III, Section 29 of
the Maryland Constitution. It is our view that these
title defects have the cumulative effect of rendering
this bill unconstitutional.

Very truly yours,
/s/ Francis B. Burch
Attorney General

Senate Bill No. 788 — Calvert County Treasurer
and Streets

AN ACT concerning

Calvert County — [[Salary of County Treasurer