326 LAWS OF MARYLAND. CH. 238

having a right thereto in his official capacity, it shall be unlaw-
ful for any person or persons to divulge or make known in any
manner the names of, the amounts paid to, or any other in-
formation concerning, persons applying for or receiving gen-
eral assistance, old-age assistance, aid to the blind, or aid to
dependent children, directly or indirectly derived from the
records, papers, files, investigations or communications of the
State, county or city, or sub-divisions or agencies thereof, or
acquired in the course of the performance of official duties.

(2) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the pub-
lication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identifica-
tion of particular persons or cases, or to prohibit the disclos-
ure of information concerning particular persons or cases,
for purposes of administration and in accordance with the
regulations of the State Department, to the officials of this
State, the counties thereof, the United States, or any other
State.

(3) Any offense against the provisions of this section shall
be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not ex-
ceeding five hundred dollars ($500) or imprisonment for not
exceeding ninety days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

(3B. ) It shall be the duty of the attorney to the County
Commissioners of each of the several counties of the State, or
an attorney to be designated by the County Commissioners, to
institute and defend all civil cases in which any county wel-
fare board is an interested party. All such suits shall be in-
stituted in the name of the welfare board of such county.

Whenever such attorneys institute suit for the recovery,
from the estate of a recipient of any type of public assistance,
of the amount paid to such recipient during his lifetime, or
whenever such attorneys institute suit for the recovery, from
a recipient of any type of public assistance, of the amount paid
to such recipient prior to his coming into possession of any
property or income in excess of the amount stated in his ap-
plication for assistance and in excess of his need, such at-
torneys may be allowed such fees for their services as may be
fixed by the court, and the amount of such fees allowed by
the court shall be deducted from the gross amount of the re-
covery in each case, and the net amount of the recovery turned
over to the county welfare board to be divided between the
State, the county, and the Federal Government in proportion
to the amount paid by each respectively.

8. All monies appropriated to charitable institutions,
organizations or agencies (including hospitals), shall be paid
to them on a per capita basis at the rates and subject to the
rules and regulations established by the State Board of Public
Welfare; and any part of such appropriations may be used for
matching purposes in the event that the Federal Government