Evening star., 1941-03-24
Budget Passed.,
Assembly Goes
Into Final Week
Tax Rate Cut Among
Bills Up Today
At Annapolis
By the Associated Press.

| By the Associated Press.
ANNAPOLIS, March 24.-Mary-
land legislators returned here today
for a homestretch effort toward sine
die adjournment after completing
the job of enacting a S106, ,963,772
State budget into law.
Members of the House of Dele
gates had been informed by Speaker
Thomas Conlon that their conduct
during this final week would spell
the difference between success and
failure of the session. The General
! Assembly is scheduled to adjourn
before midnight March 81.
Senator Dudley R. Gore, majority
floor leader, prepared to report
group Of bills favorably cleared by
| the Senate Finance Committee.
These included administration
measures to reduce the State tax
rate, create a S2217OOO bond issue
for capital improvements in the
next biennium, authorize puchaSe
of the Claiborne Annapolis Ferry
and impose a special tax on half
mile race tracks to help finance
equalization of Negro and white
teachers salaries.
Marriage Bill Before House.
A bill to tighten the States 49,
hour marriage law was before the
House after passage by the Senate.
introduced by Senator Wilmer Fell
Davis, Republican. of Caroline,
it would prohibit judges from waiv-
ing the waiting period unless one
of the contracting parties was a
Maryland resident
Administration leaders. to ad-
vance Gov OConors blue ribbon"
measures. had forced delay on the
! f1libuster- provoking bill to open the
Potomac River to handscrapers.
Speaking during the week end of
legislative efforts to avert a last
minute jam, the Governor said:
The situation of today is very
much better than it was at this
/ time during the 1889 session The
House is in good shape. The Senate
| Finance Committee has finished
| considering all Senate bills be-
fore it.
S23,454,032 for Education.
A breakdown of the budget issued
by the Governor showed that of
the StO6 963.772 biennial budget, a
total Of S23,454,O32 would go for
education.
The breakdown provided for gen.
eral fund disbursements totaling
S46046,600 and special fund dis
bursements amounting to s60917, ,172. |
Of the former. S18,1l2.352 was al
located for education and in the
special fund S5.34l680 was ear
marked for the same purpose.
The latter figure included S4,700,-
900 for the University of Maryland, |
s220,OOO for Morgan College, S373,-
$50 for State Teachers Colleges and |
$4,000 for st. Mary's Female Semi
nary.
In the general fund s8,657 1886 was
set aside for the Department of |
Public Welfare, and highways |
claimed $50 736,935 of the special
fund.
Conservation Proposal.
Meanwhile, Gov. O'Conor has sug-
gested a possible amendment to the |
unified conservation program bill
to placate TideWater representa-
tives in the Assembly and possibly to
appease watermen with respect to
the program.
The Governor said he would pro-
pose, if necessary, that the unified
conservation program bill be
amended to make mandatory upon
the executive the appointment of
representatives of practical water
men on the Natural Resources
Commission. This commission would
coordinate various State derort-
mentS in the conservation fl
The Governor said tidewater rep
reSentativeS naturally would be ap-
pointed on the commission, but he
had no objection to such repre-
sentation being specifically provided
in the bill if it would be more salts
factory to Watermen.
Makeup of Commission
The Natural Resources Commits
sion, under the administration uni
field conservation program, would be
composed of heads of various de-
partments engaged in conservation
activities and six members ap-
pointed by the Governor.
1t was intimated that steps had
been taken to gain a favorable
report on the unified program bill by
the Senate's Chesapeake Bay and
Tributaries Committee.
The committee, at a meeting Fri
day, was ready to vote an unfavor-
| able report on the administration
measure, according to its chairman,
Senator Philip H. Dorsey, jr. He
said such vote was delayed by his
appeal to defer action.