Evening star., 1943-04-05
Gov. 0'Conor Faces
Task Of Deciding Fate
OF Hundreds Of Bills
Court Revision Major
Issue of Session That
Ended Yesterday
BY the Associated Press.

Issue OF Session That
Ended Yesterday
BY the Associated Press.
ANNAPOLIS, April 5.-Legislative
attaches busted themselves today
with the task of putting into proper
form for action by Gov. OConol
the hundreds of bills passed by the
first General Assembly of this wal
before it adjourned sine die early
yesterday.
Emergency legislation covering
various phases of the States wal
effort dominated the picture
throughout the 1943 session, al
though the major dispute of the 90
day deliberations was over revision
of the Maryland Court of Appeals.
The measure to submit to the
people constitutional amendment
to cut the size of the court from
eight to five Judges, who would be
relieved of trial duties, finally won
through. 1t will be submitted to the
voters at the next general election
Other Major Bills.
However, bills such as the work
or-f1ght" measure, the State income
tax reduction proposal. which would
help compensate for war-born in
creases in Federal taxes and the
teachers bonus, were the ones on
which citizens of Maryland focused
most of their attention.
Leaders said it was the most har-
monious and businesslike assembly
In memory, and was the first to
complete its work in less than the
80 days set by law.
The Senate adjourned at 3:13
am. Yesterday and the House gavcl
fell three minutes later. Under the
constitution the session could have
continued until midnight tonight.
There was the usual rush of last
minute local bills, plus some State
wide measures that required atten-
tion. However. compared to some
recent sessions, proceedings were
tranquil the last day.
Oyster Measure Killed.
Some controversial measures were
killed IN the last-minute rush to
adjourn, including compromise
measure which would have author
lied the Tidewater Fisheries Com
mission to reopen the Potomac River
to oyStermen.
Hand scraping and dredging of
oysters In the Potomac was stopped
in 1881.
Among measures adopted just be-
fore adjournment were those per-
mitting transfer of horse-racing
dates among Maryland tracks for
the duration. proposal to revise
completely the juvenile delinquency
laws and a bill permitting appeals
from Liquor Board decisions to
circuit courts of many counties and
Baltimore City instead of a State
board.
Gov O'Conor has until May 7 to
sign or veto all bills passed during
the last 10 days of the session.
The Senate well after midnight
yesterday voted down a House-a ap-
proved bill that would have required
three years residence in Maryland
before persons could qualify for di-
rect relief. The State welfare De-
partment opposed the measure,
which sponsors said. was aimed at
the thousands of war workers who
had come into the State and who
might be stranded here after the
war.
Income Taxes Reduced.
One law that Free Staters greeted
with the most applause was the one,
already signed by Gov O'Conor,
which reduced State income taxes
by 1913 per cent. 1t is expected to
save the States taxpayers at least
s4000,oOO annually for the next
three years.
Linked to this measure was one
allowing the State to place a salary
lien on those who failed to pay in
come taxes.
This, too, was war-inspired legis-
latlon, since legislators reported a
month ago that many out-of- State
war workers had said they planned
to report their earnings, then refuse
to pay the tax.
Senators battling over the Court
of Appeals reorganization bill forced
the longest discussion of the session.
Amendments were made before the
measure finally passed the upper
chamber, but Gov O'Conor said just
before he signed it that it was the
most important single bill of the
session"
Under its terms the voters of the
State will have a chance to decide
whether they wish the membership
of the appellate court cut from eight
10 five, with two coming from Balti-
more City and three from geograph-
ical districts in the counties, and
whether the judges should be freed
of trial work in circuit courts to
devote their time to appellate duties
only.
The House and Senate accepted
Gov. O'Conor'S biennial budget pro-
posal calling for the disbursement
of more than s1O0,000,O0O.