Evening star., 1943-01-15
Assembly
Full Payment Of
Years Salary
Quarterly InstoIIments
Would Be Drawn
Immediately
BY the Associated Press.

ANNAPOLIS, Jan. 15.-With Gov.
O'Conor's budget message delayed
at least until the beginning Of next
week, the General Assembly under
took today the passage of legislation
making it possible to pay members
their salary for the full session.
There had been speculation that
the Governor might present his
budgets requests today, but the
Chief Executive said he now hoped
to have 1t ready early in the week.
Meanwhile, move was develop
ing to abolish Maryland Governors
power of absolute veto which is pos
sible under procedure termed unique
by the Legislative Council
The pay bill, which would provide
that legislators be paid in advance
for the year, was introduced in the
Senate yesterday by Senator James
j. Lindsay of Baltimore County and
was referred to Mr.. Lindsay's FL
mace Committee for action tomorrow.
Legislative sources said the bill
would be rushed through the Senate
and the House today under suspen-
sion of rules, and that it would be
sent to the Governor Immediately
for his signature.
If Gov. O'Conor acted promptly,
it would be possible for the mem
bers to draw their salary checks
early next week.
Bill Called Necessity"
The constitutional amendment
approved by the electorate in No
vember provided that legislators
should draw their $l,000-a-year in
quarterly installments, and the
Lindsay bill would make these in
stallments payable in advance.
Before approval of the amend
ment, legislators were paid IS a day.
Some Assembly members reported
they were running short OF funds,
and Senate President Arthur H.
Brice called the Lindsay bill "one of
necessity rather than anything else"
Would Date Bills.
The move to curb the power OF
absolute veto was set under way
by Delegate Bernard C. Melnicove,
Democrat, of Baltimore, who intro
duced a House resolution which If
passed would instruct the House
clerk to date all approved bills
within six days of final passage.
The Constitution requires that
the Governor act on all bills within
six days after they are presented
to him, but past Assemblies have
customarily sent bills to the exec
utive Office without dating them.
Under this procedure the Chief
Executive may hold the bills as long
as he wishes before taking action.
and he could presumably allow con-
troversial measures to lie on his
desk, undated, until after adjourn
ment of the Legislature. The legis-
lative branch would then be left
with no opportunity to override
veto.
Would Take Effect in June.
"This resolution is certainly not
intended to embarrass the admins
tration," Mr.. Melnicove asserted,
but merely provides for immediate
effect of similar bill already in
troduced in the Senate by the Legis-
lative Council"
The Senate bill, if passed, would
not take effect until June and thus
would not govern the present session.
Mr.. Melnicove said q resolution
similar to his would be introduced
in the Senate by Senator E. Milton
h1tfn1H norp0prot nf Dolfiv,,Nrn
A memorandum report on the
signing of legislative acts, prepared
by the Legislative Council, by COIN
cidence appeared almost at the same
time Mr.. Melnicove proposed his
resolution.
This collection of data" the re-
port declared, makes it abundantly
clear that Maryland is the only State
IN which bills may be held for two
months or more after enactment.
before being acted upon by the Gov
ernor. In only few instances
was it reported that more than one
or two days elapsed between passage
OF the bill and its presentation to
the Governor.
1He iengtn OF tnlS period and the
manner in which the bills are held
put Maryland in a unique position
among the States"
A bill authorizing the refunding,
at lower interest rate, of a $4,000
Frostburg bond issue was the first of
more than 200 proposals introduced
this session to become a law.
GNu H'Co,,or
Speaker Thomas E. Conlon signed