Evening star., 1945-03-09
Maryland Assembly
Expected 10 Defeat
Two Home Rule Bills
Thirteen Counties Exempt
From One Measure;
Second at Voting Stoee
~ the Associated Press.


ANNAPOLIS, Mar. 9.-Proponents
of two bills. aimed at transferring
certain law-making powers from the
State to local governments had little
hope today of success at the present
session of the Maryland General
Assembly.
One of the measures, scalling for
constitutional amendment curtail-
ing the powers of the Assembly to
pass local laws, squeaked through to
passage stage in the Senate, 14-13.
A two-thirds favorable vote Is neces-
sary.
The other was emasculated when
a last-minute amendment, exempt
ing 13 counties and offered by
Minority Leader Davis, was adopted
by a voice vote. Prince Georges
was among the counties excluded.
Opponents Led by Davis.
Senator Cronin of Hartford, chair
man of a Judicial Proceedings SUBJ
committee which worked on the bill
which would give law-making pow
ers to county commissioners with
out repeating existing local laws,
told the Senate he was shocked
and disappointed" by the exclusion
of 13 counties.
Opponents of this bill, led by Mr..
Davis, contended that. the county
commissioners did not want home
rule legislation and that the As
sembly would be Sinking RESPONSE
bility in giving its legislative tasks
over to the counties.
Senator Kimble, Republican, of
Allegany said home rule legislation
without a constitutional amend
ment was "a farce and a mockery. !"
After the Seate adopted the Davis
amendment, Senate President Lind
say turned over the chair to Senator
Sothoron, Democrat, of Prince
Georges and opened his defense of
the home rule legislation, moving to
substitute the constitutional amend
menemeasure for an unfavorable re-
port which the Judicial Proceedings
Committee had returned on it.
Up to Voters, He Says.
Such move, it successful, would
have brought the amendment meas
ure to the stage for final action
Mr.. Lindsay pleaded with the Sem
ate to "allow the voters of Mary
land to pass on what kind of local
self-government they wished to
have" He said this would be done
by referendum on the proposed
constitutional amendment.
The parliamentary struggle over
home rule was the only friction in
an otherwise smoothly flowing legis-
lative routine.
Sixty-Six bills were passed, As by
the House and 80 were introduced,
all but five of them in the House.
Few were of more than local in
terest.
The House passed and sent to
the Governor bills providing for
State Licensing and supervision of
well drIllers, and placing employ
ment agencies under supervision of |
the commissioner of labor sta
tistics.
University Bills.
The Senate approved a measure to
relieve officers, directors of domestic
insurers of liability for payment of
taxes imposed by statutes which
might be declared unconstitutional
Most OF the other bills were locals.
New House bills would:
Empower the University of Mary
land to acquire land and other prop
erty and permit the Board of Public
Works to allocate the necessary
money.
Create a corporation under juris-
diction of the schools Board of Re-
gents to promote industrial research.
Define and extend veterans pref
erence ratings in all examinations
under merit or civil service provi-
sions for public jobs.
Counties exempted in the diluted
version of the county government
bill, which would leave the extent
of home rule" largely up to the
commissioners. were, besides Prince
Georges, Allegany, Calvert, Caroline,
Garrett, Charles, Howard, Dorches-
ter, Kent, ST. Mary's, Somerset, Wi
cOn1icO and Worcester