have been filed with the Secretary of the State a petition
to refer to a vote of the people any law or part of a law
capable of referendum, as in this Article provided, the
same shall be referred by the Secretary of State to such
vote, and shall not become a law or take effect until thirty
days after its approval by a majority of the electors voting
thereon at the next ensuing election held throughout the
State for Members of the House of Representatives of the
United States. An emergency law shall remain in force
notwithstanding such petition, but shall stand repealed
thirty days after having been rejected by a majority of
the qualified electors voting thereon; provided, however,
that no measure creating or abolishing any office, or chang-
ing the salary, term or duty of any officer, or granting any
franchise or special privilege, or creating any vested right
or interest, shall be enacted as an emergency law. No law
making any appropriation for maintaining the State Gov-
ernment, or for maintaining or aiding any public institu-
tion, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the
same purpose, shall be subject to rejection or repeal under
this Section. The increase in any such appropriation for
maintaining or aiding any public institution shall only take
effect as in the case of other laws, and such increase or
any part thereof specified in the petition, may be referred
to a vote of the people upon petition.

SEC. 3. (a) The referendum petition against an Act
or part of an Act passed by the General Assembly, shall be
sufficient if signed by ten thousand qualified voters of the
State of Maryland, of whom not more than half shall be
residents of Baltimore City, or of any one County; provided
that any Public Local Law, for any one County or the City
of Baltimore, shall be referred by the Secretary of State
only to the people of said County or City of Baltimore, upon
a referendum petition of ten per cent of the qualified voters
of said County or City of Baltimore as the case may be,
calculated upon the whole number of votes cast therein re-
spectively for Governor at the last preceding Gubernatorial
election.

(b) If more than one-half, but less than the full num-
ber of signatures required to complete any referendum pe-
tition against any law passed by the General Assembly, be
filed with Secretary of State before the first day of
June, the time for the law to take effect, and for filing the
remainder of signatures to complete the petition shall be
extended to the thirtieth day of the same month, with like
effect.