194 LAWS OF MARYLAND [CH. 50

WHEREAS, The several Registers of Wills in this State
collect in their offices fees from which they deduct the ex-
penses of their offices, after which they remit the balance
to the State Treasury; and

WHEREAS, Any change in the salaries of these officials
therefor becomes a matter having to do with budgetary,
revenue and finance matters of the State government which
may properly be considered at a thirty day session of the
General Assembly in even years; now therefore

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of
Maryland, That Section 298 (a) of Article 93 of the Anno-
tated Code of Maryland (1951 Edition), title "Testa-
mentary Law", sub-title "Register of Wills", as said section
was amended by Chapter 435 of the Acts of 1953, be and
it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to
read as follows:

298. (a) The Register of Wills of Baltimore City and
SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE ANNUALLY A
SALARY OF NOT LESS THAN $3600.00, AND NOT
MORE THAN $9000.00, AND THE REGISTERS OF
WILLS of Frederick, Washington, and Montgomery Coun-
ties shall be entitled to receive annually a salary of not less
than $3,600 and not more than [$7,500] $9,000, to be fixed
and determined by the Board of Public Works and the
Register shall be entitled to the salary so fixed and no more.

The Board of Public Works in fixing the annual salary
of the Register of Wills of Baltimore City and of Frederick
and Washington Counties shall be guided in the exercise of
its discretion in regard thereto, by the population of said
City, or County, determined by the last official United
States Census, by the current representation of said City
or County in the House of Delegates of Maryland, by the
dollar volume of total fees and taxes collected and of excess
fees turned over to the State for each of the preceding five
(5) years by the office of the Register of Wills for which
the salary is being fixed and by other pertinent data which
has relation to the reasonableness of the salary in relation
to the work done and volume handled by the office, it being
the intent of this section that the said Register shall re-
ceive a fair and adequate compensation for the effort and
duties required of him by his office and the volume and
character of work done by him as Register in proportion
to the salary fixed by the Legislature for other Registers
of Wills in this State.