HARRY HUGHES, Governor

4147

This bill would amend the definition of wages for purposes
of the State unemployment insurance tax to include as wages all
sickness or accident disability payments other than those made
under a workmen's compensation law.

The Attorney General has determined in the attached letter
that the title of the bill states that the bill is intended to
include as wages only those accident or disability payments that
are made under a workmen's compensation law and therefore the
bill is violative of Article III, Section 29 of the Maryland
Constitution. Since the federal law with which House Bill 1541
was designed to conform does not become effective until January
1, 1985 and the bill itself had the same effective date, the
purpose may be accomplished with an emergency bill in the next
regular session of the General Assembly.

For that reason, I have decided to veto House Bill 1541.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

May 25, 1984

The Honorable Harry Hughes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401

Re: House Bill 1541

Dear Governor Hughes:

We have reviewed House Bill 1541 (Unemployment Insurance
Taxable Wages) for constitutionality and legal sufficiency.
Unfortunately, because of a serious defect in its title, we are
unable to approve this bill.

House Bill 1541 was introduced to amend the statutory
definition of "wages" (Article 95A, § 20(n)), with the primary
purpose of modifying the State unemployment tax required to be
paid by employers under Article 95A, § 8.

The Federal Unemployment Insurance Tax Act was recently
amended to provide that, effective January 1, 1985, payments made
under an employer's plan for sickness or accident disability
benefits, other than "payments which are received under a
workm[e]n's compensation law", are to be considered wages for
purposes of federal unemployment insurance tax. 26 U.S.C. §
3306(b)(2)(A), as amended by Pub. L. 98-21, Apr. 20, 1983, 97
Stat. 123, 125. Article 95A, § 20(n)(2) currently defines
"wages" to exclude, among other types of employers' benefit plan