MARVIN MANDEL, Governor                            1419

and 1973 Supplement) be and it is hereby repealed and
re—enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

Article 78 — Public Service Commission Law
54B.

(c) The Public Service Commission shall [take
cognizance of the mandate by the General Assembly to]
impose [the] AN ENVIRONMENTAL surcharge per kilowatt hour
of electric energy generated within Maryland [by
authorizing] AND SHALL AUTHORIZE the electric companies
to add the full amount of the surcharge to customers8
bills. TO THE EXTENT THAT THE SURCHARGE IS NOT COLLECTED
FROM CUSTOMERS, THE SURCHARGE SHALL BE DEEMED A COST OF
GENERATION AND SHALL BE ALLOWED AND COMPUTED AS SUCH,
TOGETHER WITH OTHER ALLOWABLE EXPENSES, FOR RATE-MAKING
PURPOSES. Revenues from the surcharge [so required to be
made by electric companies and] SHALL BE collected by
the Comptroller [shall be] AND placed into the special
fund known as the Environmental Trust Fund. [Commencing
with 1972, the] THE Secretary of Natural Resources [will
each year] ANNUALLY SHALL coordinate the preparation of a
budget required to carry out the provisions of [this act]
THE POWER PLANT SITING AND RESEARCH PROGRAM, AS SET FORTH
IN THE NATURAL RESOURCES ARTICLE, Upon approval of the
[annual State] budget[,] by the General Assembly [of the
State of Maryland], the Public Service Commission shall
establish the amount of the surcharge per kilowatt hour
for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1972, and for each
subsequent fiscal year [thereafter, but in no event shall
it]. THE SURCHARGE MAY NOT continue beyond 1985 nor
[shall] MAY it ever exceed 0.3 mill per kilowatt hour.
[Prior to January 1, 1972, after consultation with the
electric companies, the] THE Comptroller shall
[establish] MAINTAIN the method of collection of the
surcharge from the companies [, provided that such] AND
THE collections shall accrue to the ["]Fund. THE
DEPARTMENT SHALL CREDIT AGAINST THE AMOUNT REQUIRED TO BE
PAID INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST FUND BY EACH ELECTRIC
COMPANY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO 1-1/2% OF THE TOTAL SURCHARGE

ATTRIBUTED TO EACH COMPANY ON THE BASIS OF THE

ELECTRICITY GENERATED WITHIN MARYLAND. [" In no event

shall the utilities be required to pay into the fund a
greater amount than that which has been collected less 1
1/2% for expenses incurred in the collection thereof. ]

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, [[That this
Act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
health and safety and having been passed by a yea and nay
vote supported by three—fifths of all the members elected
to each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, the