1210                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 362

designated by the administrative judge of the Circuit Court for
Prince George's County, and any employees of the Probation Depart-
ment of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City who were principally
engaged in parole and probation supervision and who are designated
by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Bench, shall be transferred to the
State Division of Parole and Probation, if they have been employed
for at least six months prior to July 1, 1972 1973, AND THE DIVI-
SION ON AND AFTER JULY 1, 1973 SHALL ASSUME ALL
OF THE DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS PREVIOUSLY ASSIGNED
TO THE EMPLOYEES OF PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY DES-
IGNATED UNDER THIS SUBSECTION AND ALL OF THE
DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS PREVIOUSLY ASSIGNED TO THE
PROBATION DEPARTMENT OF THE SUPREME BENCH OF
BALTIMORE CITY, INCLUDING THE DISPOSITION OF
MATTERS PENDING ON THAT DATE.

(b)    Those employees who are transferred shall become classified
employees of the State, subject to the provisions of the State Merit
System law under this Article and shall be placed in that position
which is comparable or most closely compares with their former
position, without further examination or qualification, and without
diminution or loss of any benefits to which entitled prior to July 1,
1972. They shall be credited with the years of service rendered in
Prince George's County or Baltimore City for purposes of determin-
ing compensation rates, including longevity steps, and the basic rates
for annual leave and sick leave.

(c)    Those employees who are transferred shall become members
of the State employees pension system under Article 73B of this Code
and shall transfer all contributions as provided in Section 32A of
Article 73B.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That Section 12-62 of the Code
of Public Local Laws of Prince George's County (1963 Edition, being
Article 17 of the Code of Public Local Laws of Maryland), title
"Prince George's County," subtitle "12. Circuit Court," sub-heading
"Probation and Parole," be and it is hereby repealed.

12-62.

[The County Commissioners of Prince George's County shall, in
the month of July, 1959, and every two years thereafter, appoint one
or more probation and parole officers to serve within the geographical
limits of Prince George's County, under the direction of the State
Department of Parole and Probation, for parole and probation purpo-
ses of the several Courts and Trial Magistrates of the County author-
ized to grant suspension of sentence. Before entering upon their dut-
ies, the parole and probation officers shall take oath before the Clerk of
the Circuit Court of the County that they will diligently, or without
partiality or prejudice, discharge the duties of office and such officers
shall receive as compensation from the Board of County Commis-
sioners the same annual remuneration as applies, in like classification
of employment, within the State Merit System. The Board of County
Commissioners are also authorized and empowered to pay operating
expenses of such officers in such amounts as may be approved by the
Board from time to time.

Such parole officer shall meet the requirements and qualifications
of a probation officer of the Department of Parole and Probation, and