1900, ch. 740, sec. 143 B. 200. Any person applying for the same and paying to the insurance commissioner the sum of one hundred dollars for the use of the State, and an additional sum of one dollar as a fee to the said commissioner for issuing said license, may obtain a license for carrying on the business of an insurance broker, and no license shall be issued to permit more than one person or the members of a bona fide copartnership to act thereunder; provided, that any person or firm residing in any of the counties of the State may, upon payment of a fee of twenty-five dollars, obtain a license to act as broker as to risks situated in the county only within which he or they may reside; and if such license be granted for a portion of any year, a ratable sum shall be charged therefor up to the first day of May next succeeding. 1894, ch. 377. 1900, ch. 740, sec. 143 c. 201. Any person who shall use or exercise the business or occupation of an insurance broker without having procured a license therefor, as required by sections 199 and 200 of this article, shall be subject to a penalty of five hundred dollars for each offense, one-half for the use of the State, and the other half to the informer. Ibid. sec 143 D. 202. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of the city of Baltimore and the sheriff of each county throughout the State to furnish the insurance commissioner, prior to the first day of May in each and every year thereafter, the names of all persons conducting the business of "Insurance Broker" within the respective jurisdiction of each of said sheriffs, for which he shall receive a fee of fifty cents for each license issued by the insurance commissioner. Fire Marshal. 1894, ch. 248, sec. 1. 203. The governor shall, by and with the advice and consent. of the Senate, biennially appoint an officer to be known as the State fire marshal, who shall hold his office until his successor shall have been duly appointed and qualified; he shall be a citizen of the State, and be subject to removal for cause at any time by the governor; and in the event of the death, resignation, refusal to act or removal of said officer during a recess of the legislature, the governor shall appoint some one to fill said office for the unexpired term; and before entering upon the discharge of his duties said officer shall take and subscribe before the clerk of the superior court of Baltimore city the oath or affirmation required by the sixth (6th) section of article one (1) of the constitution, and shall also give bond to the State of Maryland in the penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000), conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office. 1894, ch. 248, sec. 2. 204. It shall be the duty of the said fire marshal to examine into the causes, circumstances and orgin of all fires occurring within the State to which his attention may be called and which in his judgment require examination; and in making said examination the said fire marshal may, when in his judgment said proceedings are necessary, take the testimony on oath of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts, or to have the means of knowledge in relation to the matters herein required to be examined and enquired into, and cause said testimony to be reduced to writing; and when in his judgment such examination discloses that the fire was of incendiary origin, he may cause the supposed incendiary to be arrested and charged with the crime; and shall transmit a copy of the testimony so taken to the State's attorney for the county or city wherein said fire occurred; and upon request of the owner or insurer of any property destroyed or injured by fire, the said fire marshal shall make a written report to the person requesting the same of the result of the examination made. by him regarding said property; and said fire marshal shall annually report to the governor the result of all examinations made by him. Ibid. sec. 3. 205. The fire marshal shall have power to subpoena witnesses, and to compel their attendance before him to testify in relation to any matter which is by law a subject of inquiry and investigation by him, and shall also have power to cause to be produced before him such papers as he may require in making such examinations; he is authorized to administer oaths and affirmations to persons appearing as witnesses before him; and false swearing in any matter or proceeding aforesaid shall be deemed perjury and shall be punishable as such; and he shall have authority at all times of the day or night, in the performance of the duties imposed upon him, to enter upon and examine any building or premises where any fire shall have occurred, or which at the time may be burning, and also the power to enter upon at any time any building adjacent to that in which the fire occurred should he deem it necessary to the proper discharge of his duties. 1894, ch. 248, sec. 4. 206. The entire expense of his office shall not exceed fiftyfive hundred dollars ($5,500) a year, which shall be paid out of moneys paid into the State treasury by or for the insurance companies doing business in this State; and immediately upon the qualification of the fire marshal, as provided in section 203, the treasurer shall, upon the warrant of the comptroller, pay to the said fire marshal the sum of twenty-seven hundred and fifty dollars ($2,750), and a like sum at the expiration of each succeeding period of six months, and out of the moneys thus received by him, he shall pay himself a salary of twentyfive hundred dollars ($2,500) per annum, payable in monthly instalments; and he shall provide himself a clerk at a salary not exceeding twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) a year, also payable monthly; he shall also be allowed out of said moneys a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) a year for office rent, and may employ from time to time such other clerical and other assistants, and provide himself with such means of conveyance as in his judgment the necessities of the office may require; and when in the proper discharge of his duties he is compelled to go outside the limits of the city of Baltimore, he shall be allowed his traveling, hotel and other necessary expenses; he shall also provide himself with such office fixtures and appliances as the needs of his office may require; and at the end of each year, accounting from the date of his qualification as fire marshal, he shall make to the comptroller, under oath, a full report of the receipts and disbursements received and made by him during the preceding year, and shall at the same time pay into the State treasury any balance of said sum of fifty-five hundred dollars ($5,500) that may then remain unexpended; and he shall keep or cause to be kept full and accurate accounts of the finances of his office, and shall also keep or cause to be kept an accurate record of his official acts. Ibid. sec. 5. 207. The said fire marshal shall have an office in the city of Baltimore, but in making examinations as to fires occurring outside of the city of Baltimore, he shall, when in his judg ment the proper discharge of his duties require it, visit the county town or city where such fires occurred. 1894, ch. 248, sec. 6. 208. The fire marshal shall, at the request of the board of fire commissioners of the city of Baltimore or the county commissioners of any county, or the municipal authorities of any incorporated city or town in this State, make to them a written report of the examination made by him regarding any fire happening within their respective jurisdictions. Ibid. sec. 7. 209. It shall be the duty of each fire insurance company or association doing business in this State, within ten days after the adjustment of any loss sustained by it, to report to the fire marshal, upon blanks by him furnished, such information regarding the amount of insurance, the value of the property insured and the amount of claim as adjusted, as in the judgment of said fire marshal it is necessary for him to know. Fraternal Beneficiary Societies, Orders or Associations. 1894, ch. 295, sec. 143 E. 210. A fraternal beneficiary association is hereby declared to be a corporation, society or voluntary association, formed or organized and carried on for the sole benefit of its members and their beneficiaries, and not for profit. Each such association shall have a lodge system, with ritualistic form of work and a representative form of government, and shall make provision. only for the payment of benefits in case of sickness, disability or death of its members, subject to their compliance with its constitution and laws. The fund from which the payment of such benefits shall be made and the fund from which the expenses of such association shall be defrayed shall be derived from fees, assessments and dues collected from its members. Payments of death benefits may be made only to the widow, children, grandchildren, mother, father, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin, next of kin who would be distributees of the member's personal estate if he died intestate, to an affianced husband or affianced wife of the member, or to persons dependent upon the member for food, lodging, clothing or education, and to none other; provided, that payment can only be made to a beneficiary by reason of dependency when it is established by documentary proof to the satisfaction of the executive officers of such association that the fact of such dependency, as herein provided, existed at the member's death, and no benefit certificate shall issue designating a beneficiary by way of dependency, unless such dependency shall be fully set forth, in writing, and established by documentary proof to the satisfaction of said executive officers, prior to the issuance thereof. A benefit shall not be assignable except to the beneficiaries above specified, and then only by the consent of such association, attested by its seal and the signature of its supreme secretary and its supreme executive officer; but the member may surrender his benefit certificate and have a new one issued to any one or more of the beneficiaries, as above specified, in the manner provided by the constitution and laws of such association. Such associations shall be governed by the provisions of section 210 to section 223, both inclusive, of this article, and shall be exempt from the provisions of the insurance laws of this State, and no law hereafter passed shall apply to them unless they be. expressly designated therein; provided, that any corporations or associations, orders or societies, operating on the lodge system and having ritualistic work in their lodges, councils or societies, whose business it is, in whole or in part, to pay, at the expiration of a fixed period of not less than five years, a sum not exceeding the maximum amount named in their certificates, or paying dividend, withdrawal, surrender or old age benefits, or paying such certificates at the expiration of life expectancy, may conduct their business in this State under the provisions governing fraternal beneficiary societies, orders or associations, with this exception, that no such corporation or association shall be permitted to begin, do or continue business in this State, until it shall have first deposited with the insurance commissioner of this State, the sum of ten thousand dollars in dividend-bearing securities, satisfactory to said commissioner, as a guarantee for the payment of certificates issued by it, which deposit shall be constantly maintained at that amount; provided, however, that any such corporation or association organized under the laws of any other State, which may have, under the laws of the State of which it is a citizen, a deposit of equal value for the purpose herein mentioned, shall, upon proof of the existence of such deposit, not be required to make the same with the insurance commissioner of this State. Barton v. Fraternal Alliance, 85 Md. 31. Inter. Frat. Alliance v. State, 86 Md. 560. Dale v. Brombly, 96 Md. 678. |