80                                    VETOES

Honorable Marvin Mandel                                        April 7, 1964.

Speaker of the House
State House
Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the Maryland Con-
stitution, I am returning herewith House Bill No. 8, Special Session,
which has been vetoed by me today.

This bill changes the description of "establishments" which are
prohibited from making sales on Sunday in Anne Arundel County.
Under existing law, as recently interpreted and unheld by the Court
of Appeals of Maryland in the case of Richards Furniture Co. v.
Board of County Commissioners (Certiorari denied by the Supreme
Court of the United States), retail establishments in Anne Arundel
County, the operation of which does not entail the employment of
more than one person, not including the owner or proprietor, may
sell any and all items at retail in Anne Arundel County on Sunday.
Also, under existing law, every market or department store, in which
stalls or departments are rented or concessions given to individual
merchants or vendors, is considered as one establishment and each
stall or department thereof is not considered a separate establishment.

House Bill No. 8 changes this latter concept, so that as changed,
every stall or department which is rented, or concession given, to
individual merchants or vendors in markets or department stores, is
to be considered as one establishment. Should House Bill No. 8 be-
come law, a limited number of large discount type stores or "markets"
in Anne Arundel which are presently so constructed (viz., they are com-
partmentalized into numerous stalls which are rented or placed out
on concession) as to permit their operation on Sunday, without re-
striction, for the sale of any and all items at retail. In other words,
whereas under existing law such compartmentalized establishments
are considered as being "one establishment," under House Bill No. 8,
every stall or department therein will be considered as "one estab-
lishment" (rather than the main establishment itself being considered
as "one establishment"). The bill, therefore, would enable a very
limited number of establishments in Anne Arundel County to sell at
retail on Sunday any and all items of merchandise and at the same
time deny this same privilege to other retail stores and outlets which
are unable to avail themselves of the privilege afforded in this bill.

Although on the surface House Bill No. 8 would appear to be
essentially a local bill, an analysis thereof reveals that it has far
reaching effects that extend well beyond the boundaries of Anne
Arundel County. In reality, it would create an unfair and inequitable
competitive advantage to a very limited number of establishments in
Anne Arundel County at the expense of innumerable retail stores and
outlets in Baltimore City and the counties throughout the State.

In view of the foregoing and the fact that the Senator and
Chairman of the Anne Arundel County Delegation recommended that
the bill be vetoed, I feel that I have no other alternative than to do so.

With kindest personal regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

(s) J. MILLARD TAWES,

Governor.