44                                LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 19

Sec 2. And be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws
presently in existence in the State of Maryland, which are incon-
sistent in any degree with the provisions of this Act, are hereby re-
pealed to the extent of such inconsistency.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
June 1,1958.

Approved March 6, 1958.

CHAPTER 19
(House Bill 97)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 22 of
Article 30 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1957 Edition), title
"Deaf, Mute or Blind", sub-title "Public Assistance to the Needy
Blind", relating to appeals to the State Department of Public Wel-
fare from action by county welfare boards.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 22 of Article 30 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1957 Edition), title "Deaf, Mute or Blind", sub-title "Public As-
sistance to the Needy Blind", be and the same is hereby repealed and
re-enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

22. Appeal from action of county boards to State Department;
appeal to circuit court.

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 an 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 pre-
scribed by the State Department. The State Department shall, upon
receipt of such appeal, give the applicant 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 subtitle. 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. If the applicant or recipient shall
feel aggrieved by any decision of the State Department in respect
to his case, he shall have the right to appeal such decision to the cir-
cuit court of the county in which he resides or to the Baltimore City

EXPLANATION: Italics indicate new matter added to existing law.

[Brackets] indicate matter stricken from existing law.
CAPITALS indicate amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken out of bill.