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The first four departments created by Mandel Administration legis- lation were: Department of Natural Resources; Department of Plan- ning; Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning; and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Other significant legislative achievements of Governor Mandel's Administration included: increasing the State's contribution to com- munity colleges; creation of a State Drug Authority; creation of a State Housing Authority to encourage the development of low-rent housing; enactment of a prevailing wage law for Maryland; restora- tion of the Presidential preferential primary election in Maryland; and the strengthening of Maryland's Human Relations Commission. Similarly, the Governor's legislation reorganizing the Metropolitan Transit Authority was designed to prepare the way for mass transit systems in the State's two sprawling population centers. He also pro- posed legislation to assure that enough open space will be preserved to provide for parklands and recreation areas in Maryland. One of Governor Mandel's first acts was to create the Maryland Council of Economic Advisors—only the second' in the nation on the state level—whose membership includes economists from The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland and the Brookings Institute. For his personal staff, he was able to attract a group of assistants from Capitol Hill, academia and the professions. Building on his intimate knowledge of the State, Governor Mandel visited every county in the State for first-hand discussions with local officials during his first few months in office. In addition, he appointed an Executive Department liaison officer to the Maryland Association of Counties. During the 1970 session, Governor Mandel successfully sponsored what was probably the most ambitious legislative program ever offered by a State administration in an election year. Among the highlights of that effort was the continuation of the Governor's pro- gram to streamline the Executive Branch, adding seven new cabinet- level departments to the four created during his first year in office. His reorganization package included the establishment of an extra- ordinary Department of Transportation, which consolidates all exist- ing transportation agencies into a single unit, placing Maryland in the forefront of the nation in the area of unified transportation. Other cabinet-level departments created by Mandel Administration legislation were: Department of Employment and Social Services; Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Department of Personnel; Department of Licensing and Regulation; Department of Economic and Community Development; and Department of Gen- eral Services. Equally significant was the passage of bold new measures, initiated by Governor Mandel, to protect and improve the quality of Maryland's environment. In all, 13 Administration-backed bills—ranging from a comprehensive program for the management of liquid and solid wastes to putting added muscle in existing water and air pollution control laws—won legislative approval. The Environmental Services Act of 1970 created the nation's first State utility-type agency to regulate the building and operation of water treatment facilities. Also enacted were important measures to afford Maryland consumers greater pro- tection in the marketplace, to create a new authority to guide the development of Friendship Airport, and to assist institutions of higher learning and health in improving their facilities. The 1971 session of the General Assembly again saw the enactment of landmark legislation sponsored by Governor Mandel, including the 6 |
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Maryland Manual, 1971-72
| Volume 175, Page 6 View pdf image (33K) |
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