ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR., Governor                             Ch. 202

(B)    To assist in the implementation of this section, the secretary of each
principal department of the Executive Branch of State government, the Chancellor of
the University System of Maryland, presidents of other public higher education
institutions, and heads of independent agencies with more than 10 authorized
positions, shall submit to the Governor a reorganization, reengineering, and position
reduction plan not later than May October 15, 2003. These plans shall provide for the
continued performance of the core missions of the departments and for a reduction of
not less than 2.5 percent in the total number of regular and contractual positions
authorized in Section 1 of this Act and for reductions of not more than 6 percent of
such positions.

(C)    The Governor shall submit to the Board of Public Works not later than
June November 15, 2003, a schedule for aligning the authorizations in Section 1 of
this Act to the levels established in paragraph (A) of this section, and shall take such
actions as necessary to implement any necessary reductions. This schedule may only
alter position authorizations for agencies of the Executive Branch.
(D) In implementing this section the Governor shall take into account:

(1)     the abundance of vacant positions resulting from the hiring freeze;

(2)     opportunities for improved efficiency through the elimination of
unnecessary layers of administration and consolidation of administrative units; and

(3)     the need to maintain high quality services for vulnerable populations
and promote public safety.

(E)     Operation of this section shall also cause a reduction in general fund
appropriations to the agencies of the Executive Branch of not less than $20,000,000
$24,913,000. This reduction shall consist of at least $20,000,000 in general funds and
$4,913,000 in special funds in the Maryland Department of Transportation. This
reduction may be allocated to any object or subobject of expenditure.

(F)     The Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management shall provide
to the budget committees a list of abolished positions by eight-digit budget code on or
before July December 1, 2003.

SECTION 43. 42. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That:

(1)     a reduction of $61,900 is made in this budget for Office of Administrative
Hearings' (OAH) services (Comptroller object 0172);

(2)     the Governor shall develop a schedule for allocating this reduction across
the various State departments and agencies that utilize OAH's services and across all
funds appropriated for the purpose of conducting administrative hearings based upon
the percentage of cases referred to OAH by these departments and agencies; and

(3)     the reduction under this section shall equal at least the amounts indicated
for the budgetary fund types listed:

Fund                              Amount

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