EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS
Between 1969 and 1972, the General
Assembly created twelve principal depart-
ments which combined by function the sev-
eral hundred agencies, boards, and commis-
sions which then comprised the Executive
Branch of the State government. These
twelve departments are those of Health and
Mental Hygiene, Budget and Fiscal Plan-
ning, Natural Resources, State Planning,
Human Resources (formerly Employment
and Social Services), General Services,
Personnel, Public Safety and Correctional
Services, Licensing and Regulation, Trans-
portation, Economic and Community De-
velopment, and Agriculture. A number of
agencies were not assigned to a department
but have remained independent because of
their function.
The head of each Department is the
Secretary who is appointed by the Governor
and subject to Senate confirmation. Each
Secretary serves at the Governor's pleasure
and is a member of his cabinet Each Sec-
retary carries out the Governor's policies
regarding the particular department and is
responsible for the Department's operation.
The Secretary is also responsible for the
Department's budget, the promulgation of
rules and regulations, planning activities,
and the appointment of the required ad-
visory boards. The salary of each Secretary
is $42,300 per year, except for the Sec-
retary of Transportation who receives
$47,300.
With the approval of the Governor, each
Secretary appoints a Deputy Secretary who
has duties prescribed by law or delegated
by the Secretary. The Deputy Secretary
serves at the pleasure of the Secretary and
receives a salary of $36,200 a year, except
for the Deputy Secretary of Transportation
who receives $40,400. Each Department
has a Deputy Secretary, except for the De-
partment of Public Safety and Correctional
Services which has two Deputy Secretaries.
A Department may also have an As-
sistant Secretary who is appointed by the
Secretary. Each Assistant Secretary has
duties as may be assigned by law. The
Secretary also has such staff assistants, |
professional consultants and employees as
provided in the budget. These assistants
and consultants serve at the pleasure of the
Secretary, but other employees are under
the merit system. The appointment or re-
moval of personnel by agencies within the
Department is generally subject to the ap-
proval of the Secretary, who may delegate
this responsibility to agency heads.
In several of the departments, when ap-
pointments are to be made by the Secretary
with the approval of the Governor, the
appointee serves at the Secretary's pleasure.
The Secretary may not, however, remove
the appointee without the Governor's
approval.
The Secretary may create advisory boards
and determine their size, composition and
purposes Each Secretary has a seal for his
office.
The Attorney General is the legal advisor
to each Department and assigns Assistant
Attorneys General to each. In the depart-
ment, one Assistant Attorney General is
designated as Counsel to the Department to
render legal aid, advice and counsel as re-
quired by the Secretary and the Department.
Each act establishing a department listed
the agencies, boards and commissions and
other units contained in the new depart-
ment. The act also stated that the depart-
ment might be expanded to include other
agencies or units as provided by law.
Chapter 415 of the Acts of 1970 per-
mitted the executive reorganization program
to be adapted to changing needs and pro-
grams by giving the Governor the authority
to assign agencies which are not included
in a department to one of the principal de-
partments, either at the time the department
was created or thereafter. Non-statutory
commissions may be placed in the appro-
priate cabinet department by executive
order.
Chapter 77, Acts of 1969 established the
first of these cabinet-level departments by
the creation of the Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene This department con-
solidated into a single organization all
agencies concerned with health and the |
