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twenty-three counties; he succeeded in enacting a unique insurance law which combines a limited "no fault" feature with a State insurance company which will insure Maryland motorists unable to obtain private insurance and which gives the State Commissioner of Insurance broad regulatory powers over the industry. The high points of Governor Mandel's 1969 Legislative program were eight Constitutional Amendments—including reform of the State's court system—and legislation launching the reorganization of the cumbersome Executive Department's 248 agencies and departments into 11 modern departments headed by cabinet-level secretaries. Mary- land thus because one of the few states in the nation to adopt the cabinet system. 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 Ad- ministration included: increasing the State's contribution to commun- ity 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; restoration 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, and the University of Maryland. 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, and has continued the practice every year. In addition, he ap- pointed an Executive Department liaison officer to the Maryland Asso- ciation 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 program to stream- line 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 extraordinary Department of Transportation, which consolidates all existing transportation agen- cies 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 Li- censing and Regulation; Department of Economic and Community Development; and Department of General Services. In 1972, the De- partment of Agriculture was added. Equally significant was the passage of bold new measures, initiated by Governor Mandel, to protect and improve the quality of Maryland's 6 |
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Maryland Manual, 1973-74
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