18 EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT

with the assistance of Records Engineering, Inc., drafted appropriate legis-
lation. On March 19, 1953, Senators Delia and Kimble introduced the bills
in the General Assembly which on passage became Chapters 436 and 437 of
the Acts of 1953 and which are reprinted under "Acts of Assembly" in
this report.

The responsibilities of the Hall of Records Commission under these acts
required an increase in staff, and accordingly, an additional appropriation of
$ 11,942 was asked for. This amount was included in the Governor's Sup-
plemental Budget and was granted by the General Assembly, April 1, 1953.

The Records Management Division of the Hall of Records Commission
came into being on July 1, 1953. While the survey prepared by Records
Engineering, Inc., afforded an excellent base for the beginning of such a pro-
gram, there is much work that must be accomplished before it can become
fully effective. It is too soon to know how much money can be saved but
there is every reason to believe that, with the cooperation of the agencies,
the total will be large. It is interesting to note that Records Engineering, Inc.,
estimated in their summary report that the accumulation of records inven-
toried at the time of the survey can be reduced from 25,000 to 12,500 linear
feet, and that the net annual increment can be reduced from 1,750 to 250
linear feet. J. Millard Tawes, Comptroller of the Treasury, generalized the
results of the survey cogently when he said for the press:

"For the first time in Maryland history we have a complete in-
ventory of records held by the State, their volume, how fast
they accumulate, and their value, need and use from a legal, archi-
val and business stand-point. This information together with the
retirement schedules which have been carefully worked out with
legal approval, will be of utmost value in making operations of
all State agencies more efficient and economical."

RECORDS DISPOSAL

On July 1, 1952, the Public Records Examiner was added to the staff
of the Hall of Records Commission. As a part of his indoctrination in the
records systems of the State agencies, the Examiner was assigned to work
with the survey team of Records Engineering, Inc. In this assignment he
observed survey techniques and participated in the writing of several of the