HARRY HUGHES, Governor                               2235

Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. President:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the
Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed Senate Bill 587.

Introduced as a comprehensive Condominium Commission
revision measure, this bill was substantially amended. As
passed, the bill removes the present requirement that, at
least 180 days before property is subjected to a condominium
regime, the owner and the landlord of each tenant then
occupying any portion of the property as his residence, if
other than the owner, must give each tenant notice of the
intention to create a condominium. Under this bill, all
tenants would continue to be entitled to 180 days in which
to decide to purchase or find housing elsewhere; however,
this 180 day period would no longer be a condition precedent
to the filing of the condominium regime. Among other
things, the bill also lowers the percentage of unit owner
votes necessary to amend the bylaws, adds a requirement that
a vendor of a previously sold unit furnish certain documents
to a purchaser, and changes the right of a council of unit
owners to terminate certain contracts.

Although a statewide bill, the measure has attracted
unusual interest in Montgomery County, so much so that I
found it desirable to hold a hearing on this bill in order
to be fully informed as to its potential impact. As a
result of that hearing I am persuaded that at this time the
relaxed notice provisions of this measure would combine with
the apparently limited low/moderate income housing
conditions presently existing in Montgomery County so as to
severely dislocate many citizens, particularly those living
on fixed incomes.

Accordingly, while I have not concluded that the
provisions of this measure are forever without merit, I have
decided that their postponement for at least another year is
necessary in order to provide both the tenants and the
County Government an opportunity to better anticipate and
mitigate the impact of such provisions.

For this reason, I have decided to veto Senate Bill 587
and to re—establish the Condominium Commission for the
purpose of evaluating the legislative and community reaction
to this measure and preparing appropriate legislation for
the 1980 Session.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor