Evening star., 1953-04-04
Planning Bill
Believed Dead !.
For '53 Session
Coalition Defeats
Move to Extend
Unit in RuroI Areas
By Gene Goodwin
Stur StuH Correspondent

By Gene Goodwin
Star Stoff Correspondent
ANNAPOLIS, April "A bill
to extend the Maryland National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission to the rural areas OF
Montgomery and Prince Georges
Counties apparently is dead for
this session of the Legislature.
It was killed yesterday in the
House when Montgomery County
Republicans and their new-found
Democratic friends from Balti-
more City locked arms to pre-
vent the Democratic majority
from bringing the bill out on
the floor for a vote.
Plan No New Effort.
Spokesman for the Democratic
House leadership said today they
planned no further attempt to
bring the bill out of the Prince
Georges Montgomery delegation
committee to the floor, where
they had hoped to pass it over
the objections of some of the
members from those two coun-
ties.
Yesterdays motion to force
the measure out failed on a So
81 vote, six short of the 81 votes
necessary.
Twenty-three Baltimore City
Democrats, most of them under
the sway Of city boss James H.
(Jack) Pollack, joined the eight
Montgomery and Prince Georges
delegates and II other Republi-
cans to defeat the motion.
The bill would have strength
ened the Planning Commission
by extending it throughout both
counties. It also would have cut
the agency'S administrative tax
by l cent, and provided future
automatic tax reduction on the
commissions park taxes, now at
a 7-cent rate in Montgomery and
Q scent rate in Prince Georges.
The bill was introduced by Re-
publican Senators John r.
Fletcher of Prince Georges and
Anders r. Lofstrand, jr., of
Montgomery. It had the ap-
proval of the Planning Com
mission and had passed the SEN
ate by unanimous vote.
Couldn't Amend It.
The joint Montgomery Prince
Georges delegation voted 7-3 to
kill the bill in committee yes
terday. Delegates said the two
Senators had informed them
they would not be able to amend
it. They had hoped to change it
to bring the commission more
under county control, which was
the goal Of a joint-delegation
bill defeated by the House last
week.
Moves were under way today
in the two delegations to salvage
a few of the non-controversial
portions of the bill. One of these
is the 1-cent administrative tax
cut, which the delegates hope to
tack on as an amendment to a
bill still pending.
A provision in the bill that
would have allowed the Prince
Georges commissioners to take
over building inspection and zon-
ing enforcement from the plan
ming agency will be tackled onto
another measure, according to
Delegate j. Frank Lillard, jr.,
Republican, of Prince Georges.
Those functions already have
been transferred in Montgomery.
Yesterdays House action was
upsetting to the two Senators.
Mr.. Lofstrand charged that his
county colleagues had "aligned
themselves with a corrupt ma
chine"
Mr.. Fletcher said: IT never
thought would live to see the
day when Republicans from
Montgomery County would join
themselves with the Pollack
crowd from Baltimore"
te-Swapping Kills Bill.
The Baltimore Democrats
Joined forces with the Montgom-
cry group in return for support
Of the county delegates have
been giving the city group in it's
campaign against a Baltimore
court reorganization bill. Mr..
Pollack has been lobbying in
State House corridors for days to
block the court bill, which would
cost his organization six patron
age clerkships and control of the
court house.
Mr.. LofStrand said, "the re-
Sponsibility for the failure of
any planning legislation to get
through this legislature rests
squarely with Delegate j. Doug
las Bradshaw, chairman Of the
Montgomery delegation.
Mr.. Bradshaw had no COM
ment.
Leading the fight to pass the
bill was Delegate Perry o. Wilk-
inson. Democrat, of Prince
Georges.
On the vote. Harry E. Taylor,
jr., and MIR. Lillard, Prince
Georges Republicans, Joined the
six Montgomery Republicans
against the motion. Mr.. Wilk-
inson and his fellow county
Democrat. Delegate Leroy Pum-
phrey, voted for the motion. The
other two Prince Georges House
members, Albert r. Hassall and
William r. Hughes. Republi-
cans, abStained.
NIL