2314

VETOES

after which it shall be abrogated; prohibiting the
expenditure of future State Capital Project Funds for
the purpose of converting any part of the existing
Prince George's County Detention Center into a juvenile
detention or correctional facility whether or not it is
being used for the detention of juveniles as of the
effective date of this Act and which funds are to be
used solely for the purposes of implementing this Act;
and correcting an error.

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 1263.

This bill provides that in Prince George's County a
child sixteen or seventeen years of age, if adjudicated
delinquent for having committed an act which would
constitute a crime punishable by imprisonment of one year or
more if committed by an adult, may, on order of the court,
be detained in an adult penal institution as long as the
child is confined in a section which is separate from that
maintained for adults and as long as the term of detention
does not exceed fourteen days. Inter alia, the bill also
provides:

... if a federal agency determines that this Act
contravenes any requirement under federal law in a
manner that would terminate the right of this State to
receive from the Law Enforcement Assistance
Administration any juvenile delinquency grant or award
for this State, this Act shall be null and void without
the necessity of further action by the General
Assembly.

I understand that this measure, if approved, would authorize
the detention of such persons in the Prince George's County
Jail only.

In a May 11, 1979 letter to the Executive Director of
the Governor's Commission on Law Enforcement and the
Administration of Justice, Thomas J. Madden, Assistant
Administrator and General Counsel, Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration, United States Department of
Justice, advised:

At your agency's request, in order to assess the
potential impact of House Bill 1263, representatives of
OJJDP made a visit to the Prince George's County Jail