Gov. Parris N. Glendening plans to appoint Prince George's County labor commissioner Frank W. Stegman, one of the officials who created the county's controversial early pension plan, as state secretary of labor, licensing and regulation, sources said yesterday.
Mr. Stegman, 49, would take over the state Department of Licensing and Regulation, which would receive a new name and new oversight duties under a Glendening proposal before the General Assembly.
Mr. Glendening was expected to announce the appointment this afternoon. The nomination requires confirmation by the Senate.
For the last 10 days, Mr. Stegman has been in the middle of a controversy over the supplemental county pension plan he helped craft beginning in 1990. A key provision of the plan allowed Mr. Glendening and three of his top aides to collect early pensions and higher-than-usual severance benefits when they left their jobs in Prince George's County government.
The governor and the three aides -- all of whom followed him to take high-ranking jobs in Maryland government -- decided to forgo the early pensions and extra benefits after they were made public in newspaper accounts.
Mr. Stegman refused to discuss the appointment last night, saying, "I think we normally let the governor make those announcements."
Mr. Glendening appointed Mr. Stegman Prince George's County labor commissioner in 1983. Mr. Stegman, who lives in Ellicott City, is an attorney who practiced labor law before going to work for the county.
As labor commissioner, Mr. Stegman has been responsible for negotiating contracts with the county's unions.
In many cases, the contracts include benefits that are more generous than those of any other county in the state.
Karl Granzow Jr., head of the Prince George's County firefighters union, said Mr. Stegman was "firm but fair."
"He's a pretty good fellow to work with," Mr. Granzow said. "There's no fluff. He's just straight on. I think he'd be a good asset for the state."
Vowing to strengthen the state's efforts to encourage business growth, Mr. Glendening proposed last month moving employment and training functions handled by the state economic development department into a new Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
The new department would maintain oversight of a variety of state industries, ranging from horse racing to cosmetology to banking. The agency also will oversee the state's occupational safety and health office.
Mr. Stegman, as Prince George's labor commissioner, served on the three-member board of trustees that oversaw the county's supplemental pension plan. Unlike other Prince George's officials who have moved with Mr. Glendening to state service, Mr. Stegman does not qualify for the early pension benefits because he has not worked the required 15 years for the county.