984

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 11

The Commission to Revise the Annotated Code notes, for
the consideration of the General Assembly, that it is
unclear whether the notice requirement of former Art.
15A, § 2(a) applied to "every State agency whose
expenses are paid out of fees collected". The former
law did not seem to require any notice to the
Comptroller if a "State agency whose expenses are paid
out of fees collected" does not receive an
appropriation for operating expenses. Compare this
revised section, which continues the ambiguity of the
former law on whether officers and units "whose
expenses are paid out of fees collected" do receive
appropriation, with the provisions of § 6-213 of this
article, which requires that all fees collected by a
unit of the State government be deposited in the State
Treasury. An appropriation to the unit would then be
necessary before any funds to its credit could be
disbursed from the State Treasury.

7-302. GENERAL REQUIREMENT FOR REVERSION.

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY LAW, AT THE END OF A FISCAL
YEAR, THE UNSPENT BALANCE OF EACH APPROPRIATION THAT WAS MADE FOR
THAT FISCAL YEAR TO AN OFFICER OR UNIT OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT OR
TO AN INSTITUTION REVERTS TO THE GENERAL FUND OF THE STATE.

REVISOR'S NOTE: This section is new language derived
without substantive change from the second sentence of
former Art. 15A, § 2(a), except for the parenthetical
clauses in that sentence.

The introductory language of this section, "[e]xcept
as otherwise provided by law," is added as a general
reference to provisions that exempt certain
appropriations or the appropriations of certain units.
In light of this addition, the reference to "each
appropriation" is substituted for the former,
narrower, reference to "such appropriation" -- i.e.,
"an appropriation for operating expenses". While the
former, limited reference distinguished appropriations
for capital expenses, the distinction is unnecessary
since, under § 7-305 of this subtitle, appropriations
for capital expenditures do not revert. However, the
substituted language reflects that some appropriations
for operating expenses also do not revert.

The substituted language also encompasses "fees" that
an officer or unit of the State government collects.
See revisor's note to § 7-301 of this subtitle.

The term "General Fund" is substituted for the former
reference to the "general treasury", to conform to
references elsewhere in this article.