In adopting in 1916 the constitutional
amendment embodied in Article III, Sec-
tion 52, Maryland became one of the first
states to adopt an executive budget sys-
tem. Prior to this transition, appropria-
tions from the treasury were subject only
to the requirements of Article III, Sec-
tion 32, which provides:
"No money shall be drawn from the
Treasury of the State by any order or
resolution, nor except in accordance
with an appropriation by law; and
every such law shall distinctly specify
the sum appropriated and the object
to which it shall be applied; provided
that nothing herein contained shall
prevent the General Assembly from
placing a contingent fund at the dis-
posal of the Executive, who shall re-
port to the General Assembly at each
session the amount expended, and the
purposes to which it was applied. An
accurate statement of the receipts and
expenditures of the public money shall
be attached to and published with the
laws after each regular session of the
General Assembly."
1 This article was prepared for the Constitu-
tional Convention Commission by George C.
Doub, Jr.; B.A., 1962, Harvard University;
LL.B., 1965, University of Virginia; Member
of the Maryland Bar.
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A further limitation was the original
Article III, Section 52, which provided:
"The General Assembly shall appro-
priate no money out of the Treasury
for payment of any private claim
against the State exceeding three hun-
dred dollars, unless said claim shall
have been first presented to the Comp-
troller of the Treasury, together with
the proofs upon which the same is
founded, and reported upon by him."
Appropriations for various purposes were
made piecemeal by the General Assembly,
each project receiving independent con-
sideration without relation to other
claims upon the public purse. It was cus-
tomary for the governor to appear in per-
son before a joint meeting of the mem-
bers of the House of Delegates and the
Senate, at the beginning of every regular
session of the legislature, and to address
them on "the condition of the State," —
in the course of which he was expected
to direct their attention to the essential
needs of the State, and to specifically
recommend to their consideration such
measures as he judged necessary. Having
then discharged the responsibility im-
posed upon him by Article II, Section 19
of the Constitution, the governor there-
after could only await the final disposition
231
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