DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE

Horace E. Flack, Director
Carl N. Everstine, Assistant Director
Elwyn A. Mauck, Director of Fiscal Research Bureau
City Hall, Baltimore 2 Telephone: Plaza 2000

The Department of Legislative Reference was originally created in
1906 to serve the City of Baltimore; in 1916 the scope of the Depart-
ment was enlarged to serve the State as well. The Department col-
lects, compiles and indexes information on all questions of proposed
legislation. The Department investigates and reports on the laws of
Maryland and other States at the request of the Governor, any com-
mittee or member of the General Assembly, or any State agency. At
the request of a member of the General Assembly, the Department
prepares or aids in the drafting of any law or resolution. During ses-
sions of the General Assembly, the Department maintains offices in
the State House at Annapolis. Each department of the State Govern-
ment is required to transmit to the Department of Legislative Refer-
ence at least two copies of each of its reports which are used for
exchange and reference purposes by the agency. To aid in their
research, the Department maintains a complete index and a complete
file on all bills introduced in the General Assembly from 1908 to the
present, the Codes and Laws of other States, and a library compris-
ing 19,000 books and 66,000 pamphlets and reports, in addition to a
number of periodicals and clippings from magazines and newspapers.
The Department also has supervision of the Archives of Baltimore
City (Code 1939 and 1947 Supp., Art. 41, secs. 100-103).

Fiscal Research Bureau

The Fiscal Research Bureau was established by Act of the Gen-
eral Assembly in 1947 within the Department of Legislative Refer-
ence. Its general duties include the collection of data on the revenue
and appropriations of the political sub-divisions of the State, the
study of State and local taxation, the study of State and local fiscal
relationships, and assisting State commissions and the committees of
the General Assembly on tax and fiscal matters. Each county, incor-
porated city or town or special taxing district of 2,500 or more popu-
lation is required to submit a copy of its annual fiscal report to the
Bureau (Code 1939 and 1947 Supp., Art. 41, secs. 103A-103H).

Expenditures Appropriations

1950 1951
Legislative Reference ........................$10,462.74 $15,723.00
Fiscal Research Bureau.................. 16,750.00 19,089.00
Staff (Fiscal Research Bureau): 3.
Staff (Legislative Reference): 2.

COMMISSIONERS FOR THE PROMOTION OF UNIFORMITY
OF LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Chairman: C. Walter Cole, 1955
Eugene G. Feinblatt, 1955; Roger Howell, 1955
Masonic Building, Towson 4 Telephone: Towson 8465

The Governor, every fourth year, appoints this Board of three
Commissioners, who represent Maryland in the National Conference
of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The Commissioners exam-
ine into and ascertain the best means to effect uniformity in the laws
of the States. They meet on call of the Chairman to determine what