COMPARISON OF CONSTITUTIONS

	CONSTITUTION OF 1867	PROPOSED CONSTITUTION OF 1968
	ARTICLE XI-A. LOCAL LEGISLATION.
	Section 1. On demand of the Mayor of	See Section 3.22, General Application of
	Baltimore and City Council of the City of	Laws, p. 31, for prohibition of the passage
	Baltimore, or on petition bearing the sig-	of local laws by the General Assembly.
	natures of not less than 20% of the registered voters of said city or any county (Pro-	Section 7.01. Establishment of Counties.
	vided, however, that in any case 10,000 signatures shall be sufficient to complete	County shall mean Baltimore City, each of the twenty- three existing counties, and other
	a petition), the Board of Election Super-	counties established pursuant to this Consti-
	visors of said city or county shall provide	tution. The General Assembly may provide
	at the next general or congressional election,	by law for the establishment, merger, or dis-
	occurring after such demand or the filing	solution of counties, *or for the alteration of
	of such petition, for the election of a charter	their boundaries. No such law shall become
	board of eleven registered voters of said	effective until submitted to the voters of
	city or five registered voters in any such	each county affected and approved by a ma-
	counties. Nominations for members for	jority of those voting on the question in
	said charter board may be made not less	each county affected.
	than forty days prior to said election by the Mayor of Baltimore and City Council of the	Section 7.02. Structure of County Govern- ments.
	City of Baltimore of the County Commis- sioners of such county, or not less than	Each county shall have a written instru-
	twenty days prior to said election by petition bearing the signatures written in their own handwriting (and not by their mark) of not less than 5% of the registered	ment of government which establishes its governmental structure. An instrument of government shall be submitted to the voters of the county and shall be adopted only if
	voters of the said City of Baltimore or said	approved by a majority of those voting on
	county; provided, that in any case two	the proposal.
	thousand signatures of registered voters shall be sufficient to complete any such nominat-	Section 7.03. Change of Structure of County Governments.
	ing petition, and if not more than eleven registered voters of the City of Baltimore or not more than five registered voters in any such county are so nominated their names shall not be printed on the ballot, but said eleven registered voters in the City of Baltimore or five in such county shall con-	An amendment to an instrument of gov- ernment may be proposed to the voters of a county by its governing body or by petition of the voters in the county as prescribed in the instrument of government. An amend- ment also may be proposed by other means
	stitute said charter board from and after	prescribed either in the instrument of gov-
	the date of said election. At said election the ballot shall contain the names of said	ernment or by the General Assembly by law. An amendment shall be adopted only if ap-
	nominees in alphabetical order without any	proved by a majority of those voting on the
	indication of the source of their nomination,	proposal.
	and shall also be so arranged as to permit	Section 7.04. Powers of Counties.
	the voter to vote for or against the creation
	of said charter board, but the vote cast against said creation shall not be held to bar the voter from expressing his choice among the nominees for said board, and if the majority of the votes cast for and against the creation of said charter board shall be against said creation the election of the members of said charter board shall be void; but if such majority shall be in favor of the creation of said charter board, then and in that event the eleven nominees of the City of Baltimore or five nominees	A county may exercise any power, other than the judicial power, or perform any function unless that power or function has been denied to the county by the Constitu- tion or by its instrument of government, or has been transferred exclusively to another governmental unit, or has been denied to the county by the General Assembly by law. A county may exercise only those taxing powers granted to it by the General Assembly by law but shall retain taxing powers granted to it prior to the effective date of this Constitu-
	in the county receiving the largest number of votes shall constitute the charter board,	tion, unless any of those powers are subse- quently denied to it by law.
	and said charter board, or a majority

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