264 /Department of General Services Maryland Manual 1994-1995
ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

The Department of General Services provides the professional and technical services for the design and
construction of State public improvements, except for those of the Department of Transportation, the
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and the University of Maryland System. The
Department manages, operates, and maintains State government facilities; assesses all State-owned
facilities; and manages their renewal funds. By its expertise in lease negotiation, contracts, bidding, and
real estate transactions, the Department supports the acquisition and disposal of any State interest in real
property. For State-owned or leased facilities, the Department engages in master planning and, for
materials, supplies, and equipment used by State agencies, manages centralized procurement. For State
agencies, the Department provides and manages printing, publication, duplicating, photocopying, graphic
design, typography, and graphic art; centralized inventory standards and control; and records manage-
ment. The Department also plans and coordinates the development, procurement, and operation of
telecommunication equipment, systems, and services by State agencies, except the University of Maryland
System and the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission. In addition, the Department manages the
Maryland State Agency for Surplus Property.

The oldest function now within the Department of General Services is the care of buildings owned by
the State. Prior to the burgeoning growth of State government in this century, Maryland had few State
buildings, most of them encompassed within State Circle in Annapolis. Other space, in scattered locations,
usually was leased as needed. In 1845, the State Librarian was delegated some responsibilities for hiring
persons to look after public buildings in Annapolis (Resolution no. 36, Acts of 1845). As early as 1849,
a person referred to as superintendent of the public buildings was authorized to plant trees and repair
gates and gutters (Resolution no. 81, Acts of 1849). The 1860 budget provided a salary for a Superin-
tendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, but the position was not established by statute until 1888,
although legislation in 1862 made the Governor responsible for appointing a competent person for upkeep
of buildings and grounds, two watchmen, and a Keeper of the Steam House and Furnace (Chapter 341,
Acts of 1860; Chapter 15, Acts of 1862; Chapter 175, Acts of 1888). The 1888 law specified the duties
of the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds; virtually the same text was used in the 1970 law
that created the Department of General Services (Chapter 97, Acts of 1970). In 1920, a commission was
appointed to look into leasing or building a State office building in Baltimore (Chapter 149, Acts of 1920),
which later would require a buildings and grounds unit as well.

Also in 1920, the Central Purchasing Bureau, another component of the modern Department, was
formed (Chapter 184, Acts of 1920). The Bureau became part of the Department of Budget and
Procurement in 1939 (Chapter 64, Acts of 1939), then briefly moved to the Department of Budget and
Fiscal Planning in 1969 before it was incorporated into the Department of General Services in 1970.
Through centralized purchasing, the Bureau since 1920 has provided supplies efficiently and economically
to all State agencies.

The General Assembly in 1947 established the Department of Public Improvements to advise the Board
of Public Works and other State agencies on engineering questions and other matters pertaining to
construction, renovation, maintenance, and repair of buildings, structures, and public works. This
department developed the State Building Code. Its functions now belong to the Department of General
Services.

When the executive branch of government was reorganized in 1970, the Department of General
Services was created (Chapter 97, Acts of 1970). At that time, duties of the former Department of Public
Improvements and State purchasing functions from the Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning were
transferred to the Department of General Services along with oversight of several previously independent
agencies. The War Memorial Commission, Washington Cemetery Board of Trustees, Board of Architectural
Review, Office of the Superintendent of Annapolis Public Buildings and Grounds, Office of the Superin-
tendent of Baltimore Public Buildings and Grounds, Hall of Records Commission, Commission on Artistic
Property, and the Purchasing Bureau constituted original components of the Department. Since that time,
however, the Washington Cemetery Board of Trustees, the Hall of Records Commission, and the
Commission on Artistic Property have been statutorily removed from the Department.