of County Systems of Roads and Bridges. The cost of maintenance
of the County Systems of Roads and Bridges is charged to those
funds allotted to the Counties from the one and one-half cent (1 1/2 cent)
Lateral Gasoline Tax, and administered by the Commission for use
of the respective counties (Chapter 425, 1933, Chapter 465, 1935,
Chapter 341, 1937, and Chapter 766, 1939).

At the last session of the Legislature (1939) the two most important
measures passed were

(a) The Act controlling the administration of road funds for the
use of the Counties. Under the Act, at least fifty percent.
(50%) of the funds allotted to the use of the counties from
the one and one-half cent (1 1/2 cent) Lateral Gasoline Tax fund
must be applied and expended in the construction of new
roads as part of the State System. This will insure the con-
struction of additional miles of new roads;

(b) The Budgetary provision with respect to the Diversion of road
incomes to other than road purposes. Under the provisions
of the Appropriation Bill, large amounts of funds previously
applied to purposes other than road construction and main-
tenance, have been applied to no other purposes than road
development, and as a consequence larger amounts than pre-
viously applied, will be available to the Counties, Baltimore
City and the State Roads Commission for road construction,
betterment, and additions, from the State Funds.

Federal Appropriations to the State Roads Commission for new con-
struction, during 1939 and 1940, will be less than the appropriations
made in previous years.

The cost of maintaining all existing roads and bridges on the
State System, first, is reserved and deducted from the net income
derived from automobile license fees imposed and collected by the Com-
missioner of Motor Vehicles and remitted to the State Comptroller for
the use of this Commission, together with the net revenue derived
from the two cent (2 cent) gasoline tax set over to the use of this Com-
mission. After deducting the cost of maintenance of the State Sys-
tem from the combined total receipts of the Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles and the two cent (2 cent) gasoline tax received by this Com-
mission, the remainder of such fund is expended for projects of
reconstruction, betterments, and additions to the entire system, or
for costs of construction of new projects, including those projects
constructed by Federal Aid Funds, fifty percent. (50%) of costs
being contributed by the Commission. Funds for Grade Crossing
Eliminations are provided by the one-half cent (1/2 cent) gasoline Tax,
together with contributions by the Railroad Companies and from
special Federal Appropriations.

The Commission in 1934, issued the first of its series of Debentures.
The total authorized issue was $4,000,000 (Chapter 463, 1933), and
an additional issue of $3,000,000 was authorized at the Session of
the General Assembly in 1935 (Chapter 563, 1935).' The proceeds
of the sales of these bonds were used in conjunction with Federal
funds made available to Maryland under the National Industrial
Recovery Act—Public Works Administration, and used to construct
new roads and bridges on the State System of Highways.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 1939, the receipts of
the Commission, from all sources, were $20,868,469.55, and the ex-