HARRY HUGHES, Governor                                 5173

culminates in a judgment. Senate Bill 921 would, in effect,
restrict the right of redemption of leased premises even
more by reducing from four to two the number of other
summonses, received by a tenant within a twelve-month
period, which are necessary to foreclose the tenant's right
of redemption.

A major reason to veto this legislation lies in the
requirement, even in existing law, for the landlord merely
to serve a certain number of summonses on the tenant in
order to foreclose the tenant's right of redemption. The
Governor's Landlord-Tenant Laws Study Commission has
recommended that the landlord be required to obtain a
certain number of judgments before the right of redemption
is foreclosed so that the tenant will be assured an
opportunity to assert any available defenses in the prior
actions for summary ejectment before the right to redeem is
lost. Senate Bill 921 contains no such assurance that the
defenses can be raised. Moreover, at least one of the
District Courts has questioned the propriety of the
requirement that the mere filing of three ejectment suits
serves to deprive a tenant of the right of redemption.

I believe that the Commission should examine this issue
once again and should strive to formulate a legislative
proposal which is both fair to low-income tenants and
adequately protects landlords against tenants who refuse to
pay rent when due for no adequate reason.

For these reasons, I have decided to veto Senate Bill
921.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

Senate Bill No. 926

AN ACT concerning

Aid to Families with Dependent Children -
Coverage for Anticipated Child

FOR the purpose of providing that certain public assistance
payment shall be payable to cover the financial needs
of the anticipated child and pregnant natural mother
woman; mandating the Secretary of Human Resources to
promulgate certain rules and regulations and to take