4904

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 912

(1978 Volume and 1981 Supplement)

Preamble

WHEREAS, The General Assembly in its 1979 Session
determined that public accessibility to documents produced
by governmental bodies must be improved; and

WHEREAS, Resolution 19 was approved on May 1, 1979,
urging the Governor to establish a Task Force to study this
matter; and

WHEREAS, The Governor's Task Force on Documents in its
October 1981 Report has found existing practices for the
identification, collection, distribution, and retention of
State documents to be woefully inadequate; and

WHEREAS, The Task Force has developed recommendations
in the form of draft legislation for the establishment of a
basic system designed to improve the public's access to
State documents; now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That section(s) of the Annotated Code of Maryland
read(s) as follows:

Article 40 - General Assembly

51.

[(d) Each State agency or official shall provide to
the Department of Legislative Reference a list of all
reports and publications issued by them which are either
required by law or intended by them for distribution to the
General Assembly. The Department shall compile and maintain
a list of all these reports and publications and shall
periodically forward these lists to the members of the
General Assembly for the purpose of furnishing them a
reference source from which they may request reports and
publications from the Department of Legislative Reference.
In addition, the Department shall preserve, catalogue, and
index all reports and publications filed with or submitted

to the Department by the various State agencies and

officials in compliance with either the requirements of § 53
of this article or the requirements of numerous sections
elsewhere in the Code; and may select, preserve, catalogue,

and index other reports and publications it deems

necessary.]

(D) THE DEPARTMENT OF LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SHALL
PROVIDE A LIST OF ALL STATE PUBLICATIONS AS SET FORTH IN THE
EDUCATION ARTICLE, § 23-208(B)(3) AND SHALL PERIODICALLY
FORWARD THE LIST TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR
THE PURPOSE OF FURNISHING A REFERENCE SOURCE FROM WHICH