Evening star., 1945-01-04
200 Bills Ready
For Maryland
Assembly Today
Home Rule Measures
Are Among Proposals
Of Legislative Council
BY the Associated Press.

VI Le9ISlutlve Council
BY the Associated Press.
ANNAPOLIS, Md, Jan. 4.-The
opening preliminaries about over,
the Legislature was set to receive
about 200 bills drawn up and ap-
proved by the Legislative Council
before the House and Senate ad-
journed today for the week.
However, legislative leaders have
much in the way of routine proce-
dure, plans for routing of legislation
and decisions on committee men,
berships to be worked out between
today and the reconvening Monday
night.
Senate President James j. Lind
say, Democrat, of Baltimore County
said he hoped to appoint most of
the Senate committees during the
day, but Speaker John S. White,
Democrat. of Prince Georges was
not expected to appoint House COM
mittees before next week,
Council Bills Divided.
The Legislative Council bills will
be divided about evenly between the
two Houses. Some legislators pre-
dicted the home rule" measures,
designed to give county and munich
pal governments greater control of
their affairs, would be introduced
in the Senate.
| Mr.. White has expresSed onnosj.
tion to the bills, whereas Mr.. Lind
say has been one of the leading
hackers of the home rule proposals.
AS the home rule" bills and a
measure which would place building
and loan associations under the con-
troll OF the State Banking Commits
sion were the only ones that have
given promise of stirring contro-
versy, the legislators looked forward
to what might turn out to be the
shortest regular session in the mod
ern history of the General Assembly.
Sixty-day Session Seen.
The comparative absence of bills
calling for much debate and the
desire of both the administration
and the legislators to confine delib-
erations to essentials because of the
press of the war may mean a so
or 10 day session instead of the
usual 90-oay run.
Although the law limits the length
of the session to 80 days there is
no provision barring sine die ad-
| jOurnment earlier
Yesterday Gov. O'Conor outlined
to the session the major problems
which it faces, citing the financing
of the States capital improvement
program ard rehabilitation of serv-
icemen as two outstanding issues.
Undoubtedly one of the major
problems that face the State in
the years ahead is that of providing
for the orderly re-entry into and
the refrigeration in the life of the
community of 10000 men and
women who have been inducted into
the armed service" the Governor
told the legislators.
He asked for utmost sympa-
thetic consideration" when the
series of veterans legislation pro-
posals, devised by group of rep
resentatives of civic and veterans
organizations in conjunction with
the attorney general, is submitted.
Postwar Projects Listed.
With the aid of State and public
agencies, he said, the Maryland
Commission on Postwar Reconstruc-
ton and Development had de-
veloped IAN inventory of 539 post
war public works projects totaling
S163 ,784,l including So State
Roads Commission projects totaling
SCI ,420 $50; 161 State capital i'm
provements totaling s17,397 ,916; 14s
Baltimore City items totaling $67,-
OLA 300; 126 county and municipal
projects totaling s13,854 800, and Al
for sanitary commissions totaling
81 ,096, ,481.
The Governor asked for passage of
bills designed to: Extend the liberal
features of unemployment compen-
satlon provisions by providing broad
er protection Of employers, eliminat-
ing the waiting period and increas-
ing the amount and duration of pay
ments; authorizing the erection of a
third chronic disease hospital; es-
tabllsh a 12-year State wide public
school education system, and create
new permanent salary schedule
for teachers.
Maryland's financial condition
was never more sound than at
present" Gov. O'Conor said, adding
that the States total bonded debt
amounted to $27, ,150, ,000-a reduction
during the present administration
OF $21 ,007 900 and the lowest real
estate and property tax level since
the Civil War.