3976

VETOES

It is, of course, an exercise in legislative power for the
General Assembly to specify criteria for selecting State projects
for which private donations could be solicited. If the
Legislature delegated the development of such criteria to the
Executive, this office has indicated that it is not clearly
unconstitutional for the Legislature to reserve a veto over the
exercise of this delegated legislative power. See letter to the
Honorable Catherine I. Riley and the Honorable John Arnick, dated
February 9, 1984. However, it can not exercise an essential
executive function of making the selection. Although the bill
also raises issues of whether the legislators would be holding
more than one office and whether the private donation would be
subject to the appropriation process, we find it unnecessary to
address these matters in view of the separation of powers
objection.

Very truly yours,
Stephen H. Sachs
Attorney General

Senate Bill No. 857

AN ACT concerning

State Donations - Administration

FOR the purpose of establishing a State Donations Oversight

Committee; providing for membership of the Committee;

prescribing certain duties of the Committee, defining

certain terms; describing the State Donations Program;
prescribing certain duties of the secretaries of State
agencies or departments under the Program; prescribing
certain duties of the State Comptroller under the Program;
prohibiting certain uses of funds by recipients under the
Program; providing for the first recipients of funds under
the Program; providing for the termination of the Program;
and generally relating to the State Donations Oversight
Committee and State Donations Program.

BY adding to

Article 15A - Budget and Fiscal Planning

Section 5A

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1981 Replacement Volume and 1983 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND , That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article 15A - Budget and Fiscal Planning