PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor                            H.B. 897

(B) The signs shall:

(1) [be] BE designed in order to provide notice of the provisions of Article
27, § 286D of the Code; AND..

(2) (C) IN BALTIMORE CITY, FOR ALL NEW OR REPLACEMENT SIGNS
POSTED AFTER JUNE 30, 1995. THE SIGNS SHALL INCLUDE A HOT LINE NUMBER TO
REPORT INFORMATION CONCERNING SUSPECTED ILLEGAL DRUG ACTIVITY.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect
June 30, 1995.

May 24, 1995

The Honorable Casper R. Taylor, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis MD 21401

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the Maryland Constitution, I have today
vetoed House Bill 897.

House Bill 897 holds the community colleges harmless by requiring that the amount of aid
distributed to a community college in fiscal years 1996 and 1997 under the State
Community College Aid Formula be not less than the previous fiscal year's distribution.
While this bill has no effect on expenditures in fiscal year 1996, the Maryland Higher
Education Commission estimates that this bill will require an additional $1.36 million to
provide the State's share in fiscal year 1997.

When the aid formula was originally enacted, a portion of the fiscal support for
community colleges was directly tied to enrollment, with aid increasing and decreasing on
the basis of the increase or decrease in enrollment. Enrollment at a majority of
community colleges has decreased and, as a result, State aid has been estimated to
decrease in FY 1996 by slightly more than $1 million. In 1991, the community college aid
formula was revised to include other factors that help mitigate the effect of enrollment
swings. I believe that it is inappropriate to make an adjustment to the funding formula
because of an actual or projected decline in enrollment, especially given the significantly
increased level of funding provided through the budget process and legislation.

The State's community colleges system is an invaluable partner in our higher education
efforts, providing quality academic and career training opportunities that might otherwise
be unavailable to some of our citizens. While I was required to reduce the 1996 total
general fund appropriation by $235 million to meet spending affordability limitations, I
did provide an additional $5 million for community college funding over and above the
funding required by the aid formula. In my first supplemental budget, I included another
$.5 million for the community colleges for job training and retraining efforts. In addition,
I provided $4 million under the Board of Public Works for community college capital
improvements. In all, the community college system received an additional $9.5 million in

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