Marvin Mandel, Governor                        1735

CHAPTER 606
(House Bill 739)

AN ACT to add new Sections 357B through 357G, inclusive, to
Article 66C of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1967 Replace-
ment Volume and 1969 Supplement), title "Natural Resources",
subtitle "Forests and Parks", to follow immediately after Section
357A thereof and to be under the new subheading "Program
Open Space", and to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Sec-
tion 5 of Chapter 403 of the Acts of the General Assembly of

1969, as amended by Chapter 4 of the Acts of the Special Session

of December 16, 1969, to clarify the purposes and objects of the

Open Space Program adopted by the General Assembly in 1969,
to establish a statutory CODIFIED authorization for the acquisi-
tion of land for, and development of, areas by the State and its
political subdivisions for outdoor public recreation and open space
use, and to establish criteria for such areas and the application for
and use of funds available for this purpose, and to provide for the
effect of this statutory authorization on projects for which funds
are allocated under the Outdoor Recreation Land Loan of 1969
AND RELATING GENERALLY TO PROGRAM OPEN SPACE.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That new Sections 357B through 357G, inclusive, be and they are
hereby added to Article 66C of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1967 Replacement Volume and 1969 Supplement), title "Natural
Resources", sub-title "Forests and Parks", to follow immediately
after Section 357A thereof and to be under the new subheading
"Program Open Space", and to read as follows:

PROGRAM OPEN SPACE
357B.

(a)    The General Assembly hereby declares there is a need for
a program to make funds available to State agencies and subdivi-
sions in order: (1) to expedite the acquisition of outdoor recreation
and open space areas before the escalating cost of land prevents its
purchase for public use and before potential areas are devoted to
some other use; and (2) to accelerate the development of needed
outdoor recreation facilities.

(b)    This program is known as Program Open Space and carries
out the recommendations of the 1968 Legislative Council Commit-
tee on Recreational Areas. It is the intention of the General As-
sembly in the enactment of Program Open Space to provide funds
to the State and its political subdivisions to enable the State and
the subdivisions to acquire lands for outdoor public recreation and
open space use and to develop such lands for the recreation use
of the public.

(c)    In effectuating the purposes of this section, the General As-
sembly has established a funding program pursuant to Chapter 403
of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1969, as amended from
time to time.