MARYLAND OFFICE FOR THE
BICENTENNIAL OF THE U.S.
CONSTITUTION

Director: Dr. Gregory A. Stiverson, Assistant State
Archivist

State Archives
350 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis 21401 Telephone: 974-3916

The Maryland Office for the Bicentennial of the
U.S. Constitution was established in March 1985
within the State Archives (General Assembly Res-
olution no. 506). The Office plans and coordinates
activities commemorating Maryland's role in the
creation and adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

The Office was responsible for the four-day
commemoration of the Annapolis Convention Bi-
centennial in September 1986. The Annapolis
Convention, which met in Maryland's capital city
on September 11-14, 1786, issued the call for the
Philadelphia Convention of 1787, charging it with
the responsibility of devising a system of govern-
ment for the United States that would be "ade-
quate to the exigencies of the Union."

From May 25 to September 17, 1987, the Office
will coordinate Maryland's observance of the bi-
centennial of the Philadelphia Convention that
wrote the U.S. Constitution. The Office also will
coordinate a four-day observance of the bicenten-
nial of Maryland's ratification as the seventh state,
April 28-May 1, 1988.

The Office developed the idea of re-creating the
fifteen-foot miniature ship Federalist as a focal
point for Maryland's celebration of the Constitu-
tion bicentennial. Built entirely with private
funds, the Maryland Federalist was christened at
the Annapolis City Dock on June 13, 1987, and
commissioned at Fort McHenry on June 14, 1987.
The ship will have its public debut in the Grand
Federal Procession in Philadelphia on September
17, 1987, and then tour the state of Maryland for
four years before being retired to a museum as a
permanent educational exhibit.

The Office has developed a variety of education-
al materials, including a week-long elementary
school unit, Maryland and the U.S. Constitution,
and a twelve-page newspaper, the Maryland Bi-
centennial Gazette, for high school students and
adults.

STATE DEPARTMENT OF
ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION

Director: Gene L, Burner

301 W. Preston St.
Baltimore 21201 Telephone: 225-1184

Property Tax Credit Programs: 321-9750
1-800-492-3790

The State Department of Assessments and Tax-
ation was created in 1959 (Chapter 757, Acts of
1959). Its origins, however, trace back to 1878
when the office of the State Tax Commissioner
was established (Chapter 178, Acts of 1878). In
1914, the State Tax Commission replaced the of-
fice of the State Tax Commissioner (Chapter 841,
Acts of 1914). The quasi-judicial appeal responsi-
bilities of the State Tax Commission were re-
placed by the Maryland Tax Court in 1959, and
the Commission's administrative duties were as-
sumed by the State Department of Assessments
and Taxation that same year. In 1973, the State
took on the complete administration of local as-
sessment offices and bore their full operational
costs as well (Chapter 784, Acts of 1973). Mary-
land is the only state where the assessment proc-
ess is fully centralized at the state level.

The Director is appointed by the Governor but
thereafter holds office under the Merit System.
The Director administers and enforces the proper-
ty assessment and property tax laws of Maryland.
Specifically, the Director supervises the assess-
ment of all property in the counties and cities so
that all similar kinds of taxable property are as-
sessed alike. The Director must establish a contin-
uing method of assessment for both real and busi-
ness personal property. Personal property,
including operating property of railroads and pub-
lic utilities, is reassessed annually. Real property
is reassessed on a three-year cyclical basis by re-
viewing one-third of all property every year. The
review includes an exterior physical inspection of
the property. The Department participates in all
court proceedings where assessment or taxation
questions are involved (Code Tax—Property Arti-
cle, Title 2).

For each county and Baltimore City, the Direc-
tor appoints a Supervisor of Assessments from a
list of five qualified applicants submitted by the
Mayor of Baltimore City, the County Commis-
sioners, or, under charter government, by the
County Council or the County Executive with the
approval of the Council. Each Supervisor serves