Since his inauguration on January 14, 1959, Governor Tawes, with
the approval of the General Assembly, has reorganized many State
agencies for the purpose of increasing their efficiency. Included are the
State Roads Commission, the State Racing Commission, the Depart-
ment of Tidewater Fisheries and the State Planning Department. The
old State Tax Commission was divided into two agencies, the State
Tax Court and the Department of Assessments and Taxation, to
separate the administrative and quasi-judicial functions of that body.
The Department of Besearch and Education was re-established as a
part of the University of Maryland under a new name, the Natural
Resources Institute. The governing bodies of the closely allied depart-
ments of Health and Mental Hygiene were consolidated into a single
Board of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Two agencies were created to perform new governmental services.
These were the Department of Economic Development, to encourage
the development of business and industry and to promote tourism, and
the Commission on Problems of the Aging, to coordinate activities on
behalf of older citizens. With the Governor's strong support, there was
created for the City of Baltimore a new Municipal Court with full-time
judges. The membership of the Court of Appeals was increased by a
Constitutional amendment from five to seven, and several new circuit
judgeships were created to relieve an overburdened judiciary.
During the first two years of his term, substantial advancements
were made in the State programs of highway construction, education,
health and public welfare.
To relieve financially hard-pressed counties, cities and towns, the
General Assembly, at Governor Tawes' request, increased materially
the State's financial aid to local subdivisions.
An active participant in the affairs of the National Governors Con-
ference, Governor Tawes in 1961 was made a member of the executive
committee of that body.
In May, 1960, Governor Tawes issued an invitation to Governors of
the states of the Appalachian region to attend a conference in Annap-
olis to discuss problems of the Appalachian area. Out of that meeting
grew the Conference of Appalachian Governors, which President
Kennedy selected as an advisory group to work with his Area Rede-
velopment Commission to revitalize the economically depressed Appa-
lachian region.
The Governor holds membership in the following clubs and fraternal
organizations: Crisfield Rotary Club (charter member), Elks, Knights
of Pythias, Advertising Club of Baltimore, Hibernian Society of
Baltimore, Maryland Society of Pennsylvania, Crisfield Fire Depart-
ment (past president), Chesapeake Bay Fishing Fair Association
(past president), Masons, Shrine, Order of the Eastern Star, Eastern
Shore Shrine Club, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, Scimeter Club, and the
Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore.
He is a former member of the Board of Visitors and Governors of
Washington College, and of the Board of Trustees of Wesley Junior
College, Dover, Delaware, and is a member of the Board of Directors
of the McCready Memorial Hospital in Crisfield, and the Board of
Trustees of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is past
president of the Maryland State Firemen's Association and is a former
chairman of its Scholarship Committee. He is past president of the
National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers, and Treasurers.
He is an honorary member of Omicron Delta Kappa, National men's
leadership society.
Governor Tawes' present address is Government House, Annapolis,
Maryland. He maintains a residence in Crisfield.
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