HARRY HUGHES, Governor

3461

Dear Mr. President:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the
Maryland Constitution, today I have vetoed Senate Bill 850.

This bill authorizes the County Commissioners of
Charles County to impose, levy and collect a site value tax
upon the owners of real estate upon which there is a mobile
home. The bill further provides that the County
Commissioners shall determine the tax with respect to each
parcel.

The Attorney General has advised me that the site value
tax authorized by the bill is an ordinary tax on real
property and, as such a tax, violates the requirements of
uniformity embodied in the Declaration of Rights, Article 15
of the Constitution of Maryland and of equal protection of
the law embodied in Amendment 14 to the Constitution of the
United States and Declaration of Rights, Article 24, of the
Constitution of Maryland. A copy of the opinion of the
Attorney General is attached and should be considered to be
a part of this letter.

For these reasons, I have decided to veto Senate Bill
850.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

May 18, 1981

Honorable Harry Hughes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Re: Senate Bill 850

Dear Governor Hughes:

We have reviewed for constitutionality and legal
sufficiency Senate Bill 850, a bill amending Article 81 § 70
and adding § 411E to empower the Charles County
Commissioners to impose, levy and collect a site value tax
upon the "owners of real estate ... upon which there is a
mobile home." (Lines 94-95). In our judgment, this bill is
unconstitutional as a non-uniform and discriminatory
property tax.

The Court of Appeals has stated that in Maryland taxes
are classified as either property or excise. Herman v.
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 189 Md. 349 (1977). In