The members of the Board shall receive no salary for their services
as such.

The Bank Commissioner is appointed by the Governor for a term
of four years.

STATE TAX COMMISSION
Union Trust Building, Baltimore-1, Md.

Name Term Expires Postoffice
Commissioners:
Robert France.................. 1949...................... .Baltimore

Chairman

Emerson C. Harrington, Jr......1947......... ...... ...... Cambridge
Owen E. Hitchins .................. 1946...................... Cumberland

Secretary:
Albert W. Ward. ...................................... .Baltimore

The State Tax Commission was created by the Act of 1914, Chapter
841, superseding the State Tax Commissioner, an office which was
established in 1878, with functions limited virtually to the assessment
of the shares of domestic corporations and national banks, the gross re-
ceipts of certain classes of corporations, and distilled spirits. Greatly
enlarged jurisdiction and responsibilities were conferred upon the State
Tax Commission by the act creating it and by subsequent legislation.
In addition to the duties formerly exercised by the State Tax Commis-
sioner, the Commission is empowered to "supervise the administration
of the assessment and tax laws of Maryland and of each county or city
thereof"; "to enforce and execute a continuing method of assessment
and to require that all property in the State be reviewed for assess-
ment at least once in every five years," but not necessarily by reassess-
ment of all property in the same year; to act as an appellate tribunal
to which all appeals from assessments of real and personal property
made by local assessing bodies must be taken; to assess the operating
property, except land, of railroads and other public utilities and contract
carriers; "to participate in any proceeding in any court wherein any assess-
ment or taxation question is involved."

The Commission appoints for each of the counties a Supervisor of As-
sessments who has the status of chief assessor in the county, with power also
to appeal to the Commission from any assessments or rulings made by the
County Commissioners. The supervisors are appointed from a list of five
nominees submitted by the County Commissioners. They serve during good
behavior and are removable by the State Tax Commission "for incompet-
ency or other cause." Their salaries are paid by the respective counties and
are graded according to the aggregate value of property assessed in
the county. A supervisor is also appointed for Baltimore City with im-
portant duties of investigation.

Under the provisions of Chapter 717 of the Acts of 1943, a continuous
assessment plan was adopted, whereby permanent assessors are established
to review for reassessment all property in each county in Maryland once
in every five years. The law requires that one fifth of each county be re-
viewed each year, whereas it had been the practice to review the whole
county in the fifth year. The supervisor of assessments is the chief assessor in
the county and acts as such over the local assessors. The local assessors
are appointed by the County Commissioners for an indefinite period from a
list of applicants examined and graded by the State Tax Commission.