88 Board of Public Works

One of the major pillars of New Deal fiscal policy was an extensive public works
program, part of which involved matching grants to assist in the construction of state
and local facilities. The General Assembly, anxious for the federal assistance, began
to condition its own capital appropriations on attempts to secure such grants, and
through its general control over capital construction the board was called upon to
consider and approve these applications and to accept the grants made pursuant to
them.³⁵ Some of this process was routine and does not seem to have been a particular
burden to the board, although it was a new area of responsibility.

One phase of the board's new role was not routine, however, and on at least one
occasion it created some controversy. With the enactment of the federal Davis-Bacon
Act (requiring contractors on federal public works projects to pay prevailing wage
rates) and the regulations adopted pursuant to it, the board was called upon to "pre-
determine minimum wage rates for each trade and occupation to be engaged in work
on the project... in accordance with rates prevailing for work of a similar nature in
the locality of the project." The board's first attempt at setting wage rates, in November
1937, apparently went smoothly. Upon the advice of the architects it selected, the
board predetermined prevailing wage rates for a few dozen trades in connection with
projects for five state hospitals and two colleges. If there was any controversy about
the rates established, it is not reflected in the minutes.³⁶

A problem arose several months later, however, in connection with two projects
for the University of Maryland—one in Baltimore and one in College Park. The con-
struction industry wage rates in the Washington area were apparently lower than
those in Baltimore. As a result, the board had previously established one set of rates
for the state hospital projects located around Baltimore and a lower set for work at
Bowie State College, nearer to Washington. The architects on the University of Mary-
land projects recommended use of the Baltimore area rates for both projects. A dele-
gation of contractors "representing Open Shop Builders" appeared before the board to
protest that recommendation, asking instead that the rates established for the Bowie
project be applied to the work at College Park. This, in turn, was opposed by a union
representative, who spoke in support of the architects' proposal. The board split—the
governor favoring the architects' and union approach, the comptroller and treasurer
siding with the nonunion contractors.³⁷

A third area of responsibility prompted by federal impetus came with the enact-
ment of the State Unemployment Compensation Law in a special session of the leg-
islature held in December 1936. The act created a system of unemployment compen-
sation benefits and established criteria for eligibility, a procedure for filing and
adjudicating claims, and a method of funding the program through employer contri-
butions to an unemployment compensation fund. The administration of the act, ac-
cording to section 10, was "placed under the direction and supervision of the Board of
Public Works." The board was given complete responsibility for running the program;
it was to appoint all the major administrative personnel—examiners, an appeal tri-
bunal, an executive director and his associates—as well as to fix witness fees and to
adopt rules and regulations pertaining to nearly every aspect of the program.³⁸