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3878
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VETOES
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Commission from authorizing telephone company
charges to be levied for directory assistance calls
made by residential customers.
May 26, 1977
Honorable John Hanson Briscoe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404
Dear Mr. Speaker;
In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the
Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed House Bill
875.
This bill prohibits the Maryland Public Service
Commission from authorizing telephone company charges for
directory assistance calls made by residential customers.
This is the second year in which the General
Assembly has presented me with inconsistent bills on this
issue. Last year, the Legislature enacted a bill similar
to House Bill 875, flatly prohibiting the Commission from
authorizing a charge for directory assistance calls, as
well as a bill proscribing such a charge for one year
only. I signed the latter bill in order to allow the
Public Service Commission to study the benefits and
detriments of directory assistance charges, which was the
represented purpose of the moratorium bill.
The Commission did study the matter, and presented a
report to the General Assembly showing that the
imposition of directory assistance charges would allow
for a general reduction in the basic phone bills of
nearly all residential subscribers. The Legislature
responded by once again passing two inconsistent bills,
from which I am unable to determine the true legislative
policy.
House Bill 875, as noted, flatly prohibits the
Commission from ever authorizing any charge for directory
assistance calls. Senate Bill 382, which, as introduced,
was identical to House Bill 875, was consciously amended
and passed so as to permit such charges, except as to (1)
the first twelve calls a month from a residential user,
(2) calls dialed by handicapped persons unable to use the
telephone book, and (3) calls dialed by other classes of
residential users exempted from a charge by the
Commission.
Since the General Assembly apparently desires that I
set the State policy on this issue by presenting
contradictory bills that cannot both be signed, I have
chosen the less restrictive bill - Senate Bill 382. That
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