THEODORE R. MCKELDIN, GOVERNOR 939

be the duty of the City Solicitor of Baltimore City or the
counsel to the County Commissioners of the respective
counties to act, without charge to the petitioner on behalf
of the petitioner.

(c) The Court of this State acting as an initiating state
has discretion to discharge all duties imposed by this
Article without fees or other costs to the petitioner.

12. Duty of the Court of this State as Responding State.

(a) When the Court of this State, acting as a responding
state, receives from the court of an initiating state the
aforesaid copies, it shall (1) docket the cause, (2) notify
the State's Attorney of the jurisdiction, (3) set a time and
place for a hearing, and (4) take such action as is neces-
sary in accordance with the laws of this State to obtain
jurisdiction.

(b) When any court of this State, acting as a responding
State, shall receive a petition from a Court of an initiating
State in any proceeding, whether civil or criminal, it shall
be the duty of the State's Attorney of the jurisdiction to
prosecute such cause.

(c) The court of this state acting as a responding state
may, pursuant to the statement of the court of the initiating
state or on its own initiative discharge all duties imposed by
this Article without fees or other costs to the petitioner.

(d) If a court of this state, acting as a responding state,
is unable to obtain jurisdiction of the obligor or his prop-
erty due to inaccuracies or inadequacies in the petition or
otherwise, the court shall communicate this fact to the court
in the initiating state, shall on its own initiative use all
means at its disposal to trace the obligor or his property,
and shall hold the case pending the receipt of more accurate
information or an amended petition from the court in the
initiating state.

17A. State information agency. The State Department
of Public Welfare is hereby designated as the State In-
formation Agency under this Act, and it shall be its duty:

(1) To compile a list of the courts and their addresses in
this State having jurisdiction under this Act and transmit
the same to the State Information Agency of every other
state which has adopted this or a substantially similar Act.

(2) To maintain a register of such lists received from
other states and to transmit copies thereof as soon as pos-