WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                       Ch. 2

Also in subsection (f) of this section, the former
requirement that "these salaries ... be subject to
Article III, § 35 of the Constitution" is deleted as
erroneous since Md. Constitution, Art. III, § 35 does
not apply to offices of terms over 4 years.

The fourth sentence of former Art. 81, § 224, which
allowed 2 judges to be residents of the State "at
large", is deleted as unnecessary in light of the
revision of subsection (a)(3) of this section.

The second clause of the seventh sentence of former
Art. 81, § 224, which specified the clerk who is to
administer the oath, is deleted as surplusage and, to
the extent that the former clause suggested that a
deputy clerk could not administer the oath as
otherwise authorized by Art. 70, § 7 of the Code, as
misleading.                                                                           

The third clause of the seventh sentence of former
Art. 81, § 224, which required the Governor to send
the commission to the appropriate clerk, is deleted as
inconsistent with SG § 7-105(a)(2), which imposes this
and ancillary duties on the Secretary of State.

The eleventh sentence of former Art. 81, § 224, which
made appointment of a successor "subject to the
limitations and qualifications contained in this
section", is deleted as surplusage.

The Tax - General Article Review Committee notes, for
the consideration of the General Assembly, that the
geographic definitions of Eastern Shore and Western
Shore are vague. Historically, the Eastern Shore
comprised all counties east of the Chesapeake Bay and
the Western Shore comprised all counties west of the
Bay. The phrase "counties of the Western Shore" has
been interpreted unofficially by an assistant attorney
general to mean "all counties lying west of the
Chesapeake Bay, excluding Baltimore City". One
problem with these definitions is that Cecil County is
bisected by the Chesapeake Bay and, thus, does not
fall under either definition. Another problem with the
term "counties of the Western Shore" is that it
connotatively excludes the western counties of the
State which do not border on a shore. Although
"Western Shore" accurately designated one of the 2
population centers of the State when the term was
adopted in the eighteenth century, the population of
the State has shifted westward since that time.
Adopting geographic areas that reflect more current
population distribution would provide more equitable
representation. The General Assembly may wish to
substitute alternate language. For example, commonly

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