540                                   LAWS OF MARYLAND                          [CH. 321

by the State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene to register or
certify the facts pertaining to a birth, death, fetal death or marriage,
upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars
($500) or be imprisoned not exceeding one year or shall be both
fined and imprisoned.

[(c) Unlawful communication of information.—] (e) Any em-
ployee or appointee of the State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene
or other person having access to the birth, death and [stillbirth]
fetal death certificates, who wilfully shall communicate to any person
not authorized to receive the same, any of the facts recorded on any
birth, death or [stillbirth] fetal death certificate, upon conviction,
shall be fined not [less than $50 nor] more than two hundred dollars
($200,) for each offense.

[(d) Transportation and disposition of dead body without per-
mit.—] (f) Any person who wilfully transports or accepts for trans-
portation, interment, dissection or other disposition, [of] a dead
body without [an accompanying] a burial-transit permit issued in
accordance with the provisions of this sub-title, upon conviction,
shall be fined not [less than $50 nor] more than two hundred dollars
($200; for each offense.

[(e) General penalty.—] (g) Except where a different penalty
is provided in this section, any person who wilfully violates any of
the provisions of this sub-title or neglects to perform any of the du-
ties imposed upon him under this sub-title, or who violates any of
the rules and regulations of the State Board of Health and Mental
Hygiene as authorized under this sub-title, upon conviction, shall
be fined not [less than $10 nor] more than one hundred dollars
($100,) for each offense.

[(f) Duty and authority of State Board to enforce.—] (h) The
State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene is hereby charged with
the thorough and efficient execution of the provisions of this sub-title
in every part of the State [, and with supervisory power over local
registrars,] to the end that all its requirements shall be uniformly
[complied with] observed. The State Board of Health and Mental
Hygiene shall have authority to investigate cases of irregularity or
violation of law, and all registrars shall upon request aid it in such
investigations. When the Board shall deem it necessary, it shall re-
port cases of violation of any of the provisions of this sub-title to the
[prosecuting] State's attorney of the county with the statement of
the facts and circumstances and when any such case is reported to him
by the State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene the [prosecuting]
State's Attorney shall forthwith initiate and promptly follow up the
necessary court proceedings against the person or corporation re-
sponsible for the alleged violation of the law.

[(g) Removal of local registrars for neglect of duties.—Should
any county registrar, local registrar, or deputy local registrar refuse,
neglect or fail properly to execute his duties, as provided by this
sub-title, the State Board of Health may require him to vacate his
office and make a new appointment to fill the vacancy so created.]

28A. Severability

If any provision of this sub-title or the application thereof to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not af-
fect other provisions or applications of the sub-title which can be