Evening star., 1945-01-13
Maryland Official
Offers 10 Explain
Budget 10 Assembly
7S Bills Are Prepared
For Final Passage on
Recovering Monday
BY the Associated Press.

~S fVsShA4y
By the Associated Press.
ANNAPOLIS, Jan. 13.-The Mary
land Legislature, well ahead OF
schedule, recessed for the week emo
today after receiving an offer from
State Budget Director Walter N
Kirkman to appear before joint
session of both Houses to explain
the 1946-47 budget.
Gov. O'Conor said he had dis
cussed the matter with Senator
John B. Funk of Frederick, Finance
Committee chairman, and Mr.. Kirk
man, and that the director would
be only too glad to be of whatever
aid he could in helping the Legis-
lature to understand the budget bill
that they will be asked to vote on. /"
Gov. OConor did not say when
he would deliver his budget mes
sage, which under law must be sub
mitted within 20 days of the start
of the session, or by January %
However, in past years Gov. O'Conor
has delivered the message ahead OF
time.
Senate Passes 13 Bills.
Indicating the speed displayed by
the lawmakers was the Senate ac-
ton of yesterday in passing 13
bills, most of them minor repealers
and all bearing Legislative Council
backing.
Seventy-eight other bills, IS of
them in the Senate, were prepared
for final passage and may be voted
on when the Assembly convenes
again Monday night.
Two veterans of the Legislature,
Senate President James j. Lindsay
and C. Andrew Schaab, Senate sec
retary, said that no General As
sembly had ever passed bills
through one house in the first two
weeks excepting under suspension
of rules in a few cases many years
ago.
Two of the Senate bills passed
provided that dividends received
from stock of national banks out
side of Maryland should be ex-
cluded from gross income under the
State Income Tax Act, and that
bowling alley licenses should be pro-
rated.
Fifteen bills were introduced dur
ing the day, 10 in the Senate, in
cluding one to extend and increase
coverage of the State unemployment
compensation laws.
Women's Jury Bill Offered.
Among the new House bills was
the perennial women's jury measure,
introduced by three women dele
gates, Lulu w. Boucher, Republican,
of Allegany; Josephine A. Mackie,
Democrat, of Cecil, and Genevieve
H. Wells, Democrat, of Montgomery.
1t was the 18th time since 1922
that such a bill has been offered
and provides that mo person shall
be disqualified for service as a juror
in this State by reason of sex"
Two years ago the measure was
defeated in the Senate by single
vote of Senator Joseph A. Wilmer,
Republican, of Charles.
Tying in with the budget discus
sion, Delegates Jerome Robinson and
Michael j. Lucey, Democrats, of Bal
timore introduced a bill amending
the State constitution to provide for
an annual budget. If approved, it
would 60 to the voters in a referen-
dunn at the next election.
Previously, four House members
had asked in resolution that the
entire budget system be studied with
view to eliminat ting cumbersome"
provisions.
Asked Jobless Aid Study.
The measure to extend jobless aid
coverage followed a request earlier
in the day by Gov. O'Conor. I
Principal features of the bill are:
To extend coverage from employ
ers OF four or more persons to en-
ployers of one or more. Not to be
covered by the act are agricultural
workers, domestic servants and en-
ployes of nonprofit institutions.
To eliminate the waiting period
before benefits are paid;
To extend the duration of benefits
from % weeks to rs weeks in a
benefit year;
To eliminate the provision for
disqualification, while retaining
safeguards to prevent fraud;
To extend the benefits to claim
ants who, during unemployment,
are taken Ill and thereby unable to
accept suitable work:
To extend experience rating bene-
fits to'employers with annual payroll
of $4,000 or less;
To continue freezing" benefits
for persons in armed services;
To make possible increase of max
imum weekly benefits on condition
that Federal legislation increases
weekly allowances to veterans; the
weekly benefit to be matched up to
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