458 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 291

case exceed a total of thirty dollars ($30. 00) a month, except
that in special cases requiring medical or nursing care, the
assistance granted shall not exceed forty dollars ($40. 00) a
month.

17. (Application for Assistance to the Needy Blind. ) Ap-
plication for public assistance under this sub-title shall be
made to the County Board of the county in which the appli-
cant resides. The application shall be made in the form and
manner prescribed by the State Department.

23. (Appeal to the State Department. ) If an application
is not acted upon by the County Board within a reasonable
time after the filing of the application, or is denied in whole
or in part, or if any award of assistance is modified or can-
celled under any provision of this sub-title, the applicant or
recipient may appeal to the State Department in the manner
and form prescribed by the State Department. The State
Department shall, upon receipt of such appeal, give the appli-
cant or recipient an opportunity for a fair hearing. The
State Department may also, upon its own motion, review any
decision of a County Board, and may consider any application
upon which a decision has not been made by the County Board
within a reasonable time. The State Department may make
such additional investigation as it may deem necessary, and
shall make such decision as to the granting of public assistance
and the amount of assistance to be granted as in its opinion is
justified and in conformity with the provisions of this sub-title.
Applicants or recipients affected by such decisions of the State
Department shall, upon request, be given reasonable notice
and opportunity for a fair hearing by the State Department.
All decisions of the State Department shall be final and shall
be binding upon the County involved and shall be complied
with by such County Board.

24. (Periodic Reconsideration and Changes in Amount of
Assistance. ) All public assistance grants made under this
sub-title shall be reconsidered as frequently as may be required
by the rules of the State Department. After such further
investigation as the County Board may deem necessary or
the State Department may require, the amount of assistance
may be changed or may be entirely withdrawn if the State
Department and County Board find that the recipient's cir-
cumstances have altered sufficiently to warrant such action.
The County Board may at any time cancel and revoke assist-
ance for cause and it may for cause suspend assistance for
such period as it may deem proper. All such decisions shall
be subject to review by the State Department as provided in
Section 23 of this Article.