implemented by the passage of such rev-
enue measures as shall produce the
moneys necessary for the treasury to
meet the appropriations made by the
budget bill.9
CONCLUSIONS
The budget bill system would seem to
apply to appropriations for either the
legislature or the judiciary, subject to
the following qualifications: (1) the
General Assembly may amend the gov-
ernor's bill by increasing or diminishing
the items therein relating to the legis-
lature, but only by increasing the items
therein relating to the judiciary; (2)
the salary or compensation of any pub-
lic officer cannot be decreased during his
term of office.10
Except as otherwise specified in Art.
III, sec. 52, the General Assembly may
not alter the said bill except to strike
out or reduce items therein.11
9 Dorsey v. Petrott, 178 Md. 230, 13 A.2d
630 (1940).
10 md. const, art. Ill, §52(6).
11 Ibid.
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As to appropriations for educational
purposes, the Constitution, in the same
section provides :
"The General Assembly shall not
amend the Budget Bill so as to affect
either the obligations of the State
under Section 34 of Article 3 of the
Constitution, or the provisions made
by the laws of the State for the estab-
lishment and maintenance of a system
of public schools or the payment of
any salaries required to be paid by the
State of Maryland by the Constitu-
tion thereof. . . ."12
Practically speaking, the governor
may exercise a good deal of control over
the other two branches and the various
state agencies and offices, but the Gen-
eral Assembly always has the ultimate
power to appropriate, by means of
supplementary budget bills (to create
additional funds) or decreasing the
governor's bill (to reduce the requested
funds) .
12 Ibid.
237
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