J. MILLARD TAWES, Governor                      325

12.

The State's Attorney of Baltimore City and of the various counties,
upon the request of the court or the State Department of Public
Welfare, shall represent the obligee in any proceeding under this
article.

13.

A petition on behalf of a minor obligee may be brought by a
person having legal custody of the minor without appointment as
guardian ad litem.

[11.] 14.

If the Court of this State acting as an initiating state
finds that the petition sets forth facts from which it may be deter-
mined that the [respondent] obligor owes a duty of support and
that a court of the responding state may obtain jurisdiction of the
[defendant] obligor or his property, the court shall so certify and
shall cause [certified] three copies of (1) the petition, (2) the
certificate and (3) this Article to be transmitted to the Court of
the responding state. If the name and address of such court is
unknown and the responding state has an information agency com-
parable to that established in the initiating state, it shall cause such
copies to be transmitted to the state information agency or other
proper official of the responding state, with a request that it forward
them to the proper court, and that the court of the responding state
acknowledge their receipt to the court of the initiating state.

[(b). In the event the petitioner OBLIGEE makes oath that she
is without sufficient funds to obtain personal counsel it shall be the
duty of the State's Attorney of Baltimore City and Baltimore County
or Worcester County or the counsel to the county COUNCIL OR
COUNTY commissioners of the respective counties except in Wor-
cester County to act, without charge to the petitioner OBLIGEE on
behalf of the petitioner. In Wicomico County under such circum-
stances it is the duty of the State's Attorney to act, without charge
to the petitioner OBLIGEE 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.] OBLIGEE.

15.

There shall be no filing fee or other costs taxable to the obligee,

but a A court of this state acting either as an initiating or responding
state may in its discretion direct that any part of or all fees and
costs incurred in this state, including without limitation by enumera-
tion, fees for filing, service of process, seizure of property, and
stenographic service of both obligee and obligor or either, be paid
by the obligor or by the county or City of Baltimore.

16.

When the Court of this state, acting either as an initiating or
responding state, has reason to believe that the obligor may flee the
jurisdiction, it may (1) as an initiating state request in its certificate
that the court of the responding state obtain the body of the obligor
by appropriate process if that is permissible under the law of the