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VETOES

incarceration in the State system as well as the incoming volume
would depend largely upon local construction decisions.

While I remain supportive of the original objective
contained in House Bill 354 and recognize the effort expended by
members of the General Assembly during the 1985 Session to
structure an acceptable proposal, I cannot approve this
legislation as finally adopted. Unfortunately, disapproval will
automatically cancel a $150,000 appropriation to be used for the.
planning of a new detention facility in Baltimore City, contained
in the General Construction Loan Act of 1985 (Chapter 125 of the
Laws of 1985), which was contingent on passage of House Bill 354.
Alternatively, I will request legislative approval for a
deficiency appropriation to permit this activity to proceed
uninterrupted while developing Administration legislation
consistent with the intent of House Bill 354 for introduction at
the 1986 Session of the General Assembly. Since most of the
principal features of House Bill 354 were not scheduled to begin
until July 1, 1986, this procedure should result in little
substantive delay.

Therefore, for the above reasons, I have decided to veto
House Bill 354.

Sincerely,
Harry Hughes
Governor

May 24, 1985
The Honorable Harry Hughes
Governor of Maryland
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Re: House Bill 354

Dear Governor Hughes:

We have reviewed and hereby approve for constitutionality
and legal sufficiency House Bill 354, concerning sentencing to
local detention centers. In so doing, at the request of your
legislative office, we have considered a potential interpretative
issue raised by an amendment to the bill.

House Bill 354 is an attempt to clarify the respective
responsibilities of the State and the local jurisdictions with
respect to the housing of prisoners. As introduced, the bill
raised the minimum sentence to the jurisdiction of the Division
of Correction to six months, and combined the provisions on
regional and local detention centers, renaming all of them local
detention centers. 1/ The combination of the two types of