Marvin Mandel, Governor                        1899

Letter from Department of Personnel on Senate Bill No. 813

May 5, 1971.

Honorable Marvin Mandel
Governor of Maryland
Executive Department
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Governor Mandel:

It is my recommendation that you veto Senate Bill 813 which
passed both Houses of the General Assembly. This bill would add a
new Section 27 (e) to Article 64A titled "Merit System," and would
repeal and re-enact Section 16B of Article 78A titled "Public Works,"
requiring actions concerning the creation of new permanent positions
to be reported to the General Assembly.

Under this bill, when I take action to increase the salary of a
particular classification between budget periods and you approve my
action, such action would then have to be reported to the General
Assembly on the first day of the next regular session. If the General
Assembly takes no contrary action, the increased compensation shall
be determined approved; but if the General Assembly reduces the com-
pensation from that so proposed, the action of the Secretary of Person-
nel in granting the increase shall be held refuted and the compensation
shall be fixed at the reduced and amended rate as of the first day of the
next following fiscal year. In a large and viable organization such as
the State Government, it is necessary on occasion to create new classi-
fications (as provided for under the Merit System Law) and to fix their
compensation to meet administrative needs. In my opinion, it would
not be a good personnel practice to fix salaries on a temporary basis
subject to having them reduced by the General Assembly at the next
session. This would pose difficulties in recruiting and retaining com-
petent men and women to staff the agencies if there were no assurance
that the salaries once set shall be considered approved. In my opinion,
individuals would be reluctant to assume new positions or to assume
additional responsibilities on such a basis.

It is my further belief that such a law would be in conflict with
the intent of the Merit System Law which vests in the Secretary of
Personnel, subject to the approval of the Governor, the responsibility
of setting salaries.

At the hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on this bill,
I opposed it as did Dr. R. Kenneth Barnes, the Deputy Secretary of the
Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning. Mr. Edward Johns also
opposed the bill at that hearing.

At the same hearing, there was a companion bill, Senate Bill 811,
which was also discussed. This bill would require the Secretary of
Budget and Fiscal Planning to report to the General Assembly through
committee as to the number, type, salaries, wages and other operating
costs of additional personnel positions authorized by the Board of
Public Works between regular legislative sessions. Dr. Barnes sup-
ported this bill and I would have no objection to its being signed.

Sincerely,

/s/ Henry G. Bosz,

Secretary of Personnel.