HARRY HUGHES, Governor

1073

GENERAL REVISOR'S NOTE TO ARTICLE:

Departmental organization and positions:

Throughout this article, references to current
departments, units, and positions are substituted for
obsolete references to entities that have been abolished or
otherwise ceased to exist.

In some instances, a statutory provision or uncodified
section of law provided that references to an abolished
agency meant the successor. See, e.g., former Article 43B,
§ 2, which defined "Authority" to mean the Drug Abuse
Administration, and thus effected the transfer of duties,
functions, and powers from the former Drug Abuse Authority
to its successor.

However, some of these former provisions relating to
successor agencies were inconsistent. For example, former
Article 43, § 1H provided that, after July 1, 1969,
references to the State Board of Health, Department of
Mental Hygiene, Mental Hygiene Advisory Board, and State
Board of Health and Mental Hygiene mean the Secretary. This
former provision did not reflect Ch. 746, § 10, Acts of
1976, which reorganized the Department of Mental Hygiene as
the Mental Hygiene Administration and provided that
references to the former Department mean its successor. The
1976 Act also created a new Mental Hygiene Advisory Board.
Therefore, former Article 43, § 1H was partially obsolete.

In this article, reference to the Secretary is
substituted for the obsolete references to the State Board
of Health, State Board of Mental Hygiene, and their
successors, the State Board of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Therefore, former Article 43, § 1H is deleted as
unnecessary.

Former Article 43, §§ 5 and 39, which provided for the
Director of the State Board of Health, who was,
concurrently, Director of the Department of Health, also is
deleted as obsolete.

Finally, in the instance of the Commissioner of Health
and Department of Health, e.g., the position and unit were
abolished by a cessation of funding, since 1975. References
to the former position of Commissioner are deleted
throughout this article and, if necessary to preserve a duty
conferred on the former Commissioner, reference to the
Secretary is substituted. See, e.g., revisor's notes to §§
2-105 and 18-102 of this article. Former Article 43, §§ 1D
and 32, which created the position and specified duties as
to the Department of Health, are deleted as obsolete.

Authority of Secretary: