HARRY HUGHES, Governor

2619

send to each public service company affected a statement
setting forth the amount due and payable by, or the amount
standing to the credit of, the public service company. Any
amount owing by any public service company shall be paid not
later than 30 days following the date the statement is
received. Any amount standing to the credit of any public
service company shall be refunded by the Commission or, at
the option of the public service company, applied as a
credit against any succeeding payment due. The total amount
which may be charged to any public service company under
authority of this section for any State fiscal year may not
exceed 0.17 percent of the public service company's gross
operating revenues derived from intrastate utility
operations in the last preceding calendar year, or other
twelve-month period as determined by the chairman for the
operations of the Commission other than that of the office
of people's counsel plus a maximum of [0.03] 0.08 percent of
these revenues for the operations of the office of the
people's counsel PERCENTAGE OF THESE REVENUES FOR THE
OPERATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNSEL OF 0.03
PERCENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1983 AND OF 0.08.0.05 PERCENT FOR
SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS BEGINNING WITH FISCAL YEAR 1984. THE
PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN REVENUES ALLOTTED TO THE PEOPLE'S
COUNSEL SHALL COME FROM MONEYS IN THE MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL
TRUST PREVIOUSLY ALLOTTED TO THE MARYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICE, AND THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE MAY NOT RESULT IN AN
INCREASED SURCHARGE NOR IN ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET
REQUESTS.

Article - Natural Resources

3-302.

(c) The Secretary shall administer the Fund. The Fund
is subject to the provisions for financial management and
budgeting established by the Department of Budget and Fiscal
Planning. The moneys in the Fund shall be used to carry out
the provisions of this subtitle as provided for in the
budget[ , except that 10 percent of all moneys accruing to
the Fund after FROM July 1, 1978 , THROUGH JUNE 30, 1983
shall be used to supplement funds necessary to carry out the
duties of the People's Counsel of the Public Service
Commission. The People's Counsel shall submit an annual
budget of necessary supplemental funds to the Department to
be incorporated in the Department's budget ]. For the
purposes of this subtitle, the Secretary may execute
appropriate contracts with any State or federal agency,
research organization, industry, or academic institution to
conduct the necessary research, construct or acquire, or
both, real property including physical predictive models,
laboratories, buildings, land, and appurtenances, or support
the technological development of extraordinary systems
related to power plants designed to minimize environmental
impact. He may utilize available expertise in any other
State unit in the development, execution, and management of