SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                         29

Education," subtitle "State Scholarship Board," be and it is hereby
repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

284G.

(c) From the examination papers which are graded with a pas-
sing mark, the State Scholarship Board shall certify each year a
number of applicants for scholarships in accordance with the allow-
able annual quota for each county and each legislative district of
Baltimore City. The allowable annual quota for each county and
each legislative district of Baltimore City shall be determined each
year by the State Scholarship Board and shall consist of that number
of scholarships which is equal to the number of scholarships allowed
that county or legislative district of Baltimore City by the provisions
of Section 284H-1 of this article, increased or decreased by such
number of scholarships as is required, by reason of the filling of
vacancies, to insure that the overall maximum number of scholar-
ships for each county and legislative district shall not be exceeded.
Over a period of four consecutive scholastic years and thereafter
from year to year the total number of scholarships awarded and
outstanding, including those awarded to fill vacancies, shall not ex-
ceed a combined overall maximum number in each county and
legislative district equal to the number of scholarships allowed
that county, or legislative district of Baltimore City by the pro-
visions of Section 284H-1 of this article. The scholarships thus
awarded shall be to those qualified applicants who received the high-
est grades in their respective county or legislative district. If for
any reason a recipient of a scholarship on the graded list for a
county or legislative district shall refuse or for any reason be un-
able to accept and use the scholarship, the next qualified applicant
on the graded list in such county or legislative district shall be
selected. It is the legislative intent that applicants be certified for
the full number of scholarships, that vacancies be filled, and that
unfilled scholarships and unused funds be distributed so long as the
requirements of this section are observed. If in any county or legis-
lative district there are fewer applicants in any year than its quota
either available for certification or able to accept or use the scholar-
ship, the State Scholarship Board shall certify the number of
scholarships by which the quota [if] is unfilled from a State-
wide list of qualified applicants selected on the basis of the
highest grades. In addition to the number of scholarships
to be awarded in any year, as provided in this section,
the State Scholarship Board shall award scholarships to fill va-
cancies, if any, that have occurred. If a student who attends a
junior college under a scholarship awarded hereunder does not elect
to transfer to a college or university to complete a four-year curricu-
lum as provided in this section, or if any other holder of a scholar-
ship discontinues its use for any reason before the expiration of four
years from the award thereof, the scholarship shall be considered
as vacated and the vacancy shall be filled and the scholarship held
as provided herein for other vacancies that may occur. Such a
scholarship shall be awarded to a qualified applicant from the same
county or legislative district as the student who vacated the scholar-
ship, or in the absence of such an applicant, the scholarship shall
be awarded from a State-wide list, and, in either event, the award
shall be made under the same requirements that apply to an original
award.