HARRY HUGHES, Governor

2269

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

House Bill No. 55

AN ACT concerning

Estates and Trusts — Commissions of Trustees

FOR the purpose of providing a method based upon a cost of

living index as a manner of calculating the amount of

the commission to which testamentary trustees and

certain other trustees are entitled; and providing for
annual adjustments in this commission changing the
method of calculating the commission that testamentary
trustees and certain other trustees are entitled to
receive on certain trusts.

May 29, 1979
Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin
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 55.

As introduced, this bill would have applied to a cost
of living adjustment to the schedule of trustees'
commissions contained in Section 14—103 of the Estates and
Trust Article.

In the course of enactment, the till was totally recast
so as to eliminate this provision. As enacted, the bill
preserves the existing commission schedule as to estates
under $150,000 while providing as to larger estates that
commissions shall be "as agreed upon between the person
creating the trust or the personal representative of the
estate and the trustee. If no agreement has been entered
into, then the commission shall be as approved by the
court."

This bill speaks to a real problem arising from the
apparent inadequacy of the existing schedule of commissions
as applied to moderate size estates, which has led banks to
decline trusteeships with respect to such estates. It