5134

VETOES

matching federal funds are available to the State. I am
fearful that the fiscal impact of Senate Bill 702 could
result in a discontinuance of existing sign control programs
and would provide a severe fiscal disincentive to any future
regulation.

The mechanism provided in the bill for payment "in
accordance with the just compensation schedule of the State
Department of Transportation" also is troublesome. The
Department of Transportation's schedule was developed to
implement the Federal Highway Beautification Act, which
requires each State to develop "effective control" measures
for billboards located within a certain distance of a
federally aided primary or an interstate highway. The
existing schedule, therefore, pertains only to large signs
and does not cover the wide array of signs which may be
included within the scope of the bill's undefined class of
"off-premises outdoor advertising signs."

In conclusion, I am vetoing Senate Bill 702, not
because I oppose compensation to sign owners, but because it
does not provide sufficient local flexibility and because
its substantial fiscal impact may well halt sign regulation
programs at the local level.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

Senate Bill No. 709

AN ACT concerning

Anne Arundel County - Dog Tags and Licenses

FOR the purpose of requiring that dog tags in Anne Arundel
County be impressed with the expiration date of a dog
license; exempting dog tags in Anne Arundel County from
the requirement that dog tags change shape from year to
year; providing that dog licenses in Anne Arundel
County expire when rabies vaccination certificates
expire; and generally relating to dog tags and licenses
in Anne Arundel County.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,

Article 56 - Licenses
Section 191(m) and 193