MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                       3159

receiving of stolen goods under the value of $100 to the
criminal penalties for the larceny of such goods.

It would appear that the intent of the General
Assembly was to specify that the punishment for each of
these crimes be a fine of not more than $100 or
imprisonment for not more than 18 months or both.
However, during the legislative process, House Bill 1526
was amended in such a way as to delete from Section
341 (a) of Article 27 the key phrase "or imprisonment for
not more than".

The Attorney General has advised me that, as a
result of this apparently inadvertent deletion, it would
be arguable that no prison sentence whatever may be
imposed for a violation of Section 341 and, at the least,
substantial confusion would arise in connection with
sentencings thereunder. A copy of the Opinion of the
Attorney General is attached to and should be considered
a part of this veto message.

For these reasons, I have decided to veto House Bill
1526.

Sincerely,

/s/ Marvin Mandel

Governor

Letter from State Law Department on House Bill 1526

May 28, 1974.

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

Re: House Bill 1526
Dear Governor Mandel:

We have reviewed House Bill 1526 which purports to
make the criminal penalties for larceny of goods and
receipt of stolen goods under the value of $100.00
consistent, and we feel compelled to bring to your
attention a potentially serious problem pertaining to the
penalty provided for larceny of such goods.

Because of what was quite apparently an inadvertent
mistake in the amendment process, Section 341 of Article
27 dealing with larceny of goods under the value of
$100.00 would, as amended by House Bill 1526, provide
that a person convicted of such crime shall, in addition
to restoring the goods or paying restitution "be fined