Article XI-A
shall constitute the charter board, and said char-
ter board, or a majority thereof, shall prepare
within twelve months from the date of said elec-
tion a charter or form of government for said city
or such county and present the same to the May-
or of Baltimore or President of the Board of
County Commissioners of such county, who shall
publish the same in at least two newspapers of
general circulation published in the City of
Baltimore or County within thirty days after it
shall be reported to him. Such charter shall be
submitted to the voters of said City or County at
the next general or Congressional election after
the report of said charter to said Mayor of
Baltimore or President of the Board of County
Commissioners; and if a majority of the votes
cast for and against the adoption of said charter
shall be in favor of such adoption, the said char-
ter from and after the thirtieth day from the date
of such election shall become the law of said City
or County, subject only to the Constitution and
Public General Laws of this State, and any public
local laws inconsistent with the provisions of said
charter and any former charter of the City of
Baltimore or County shall be thereby repealed.
SEC. IA.'^ The procedure provided in this
section for adoption of a charter may be used in
any county in lieu of the procedures provided in
Section 1 of this Article, and a charter adopted
pursuant to this section has the effect of a charter
adopted in accordance with the provisions of Sec-
tion 1. The board of county commissioners of any
county at any time may appoint a charter board.
Said charter board shall be registered voters and
shall consist of an uneven number of members,
not fewer than five or more than nine. The board
of county commissioners shall appoint a charter
board within thirty days after receiving a petition
signed by five percent of the registered voters of
the county or by ten thousand voters of the coun-
ty, whichever is the lesser number. If additional
charter board members are nominated by
petitions signed by three percent of the registered
voters of the county or by two thousand regis-
tered voters, whichever is the lesser number, de-
livered to the board of county commissioners
within sixty days after the charter board is
appointed, the board of county commissioners
shall call a special election not less than thirty or
more than ninety days after receiving petitions,
unless a regular election falls within the designat-
ed period. The appointees of the board of county
commissioners and those nominated by petitions
shall be placed on the ballot in alphabetical order
without party designation. The voters may cast
'" This section added by Chapter 786, Acts of 1969, ratified
November 3,1970.

Constitution of Maryland/831
votes for, and elect a number of nominees equal
to the number of charter board members original-
ly selected by the board of county commissioners,
and those so elected are the charter board. The
charter board, within twelve months from the
date of its appointment, or if there was an elec-
tion for some of its members, within twelve
months from the date of the election, shall pres-
ent a proposed charter for the county to the
board of county commissioners, which shall pub-
lish it at least twice in one or more newspapers of
general circulation in the county within thirty
days after it is presented. The charter shall be
submitted to the voters of the county at a special
or regular election held not earlier than thirty
days or later than ninety days after publication of
the charter. If a majority of the votes cast for and
against the adoption of the charter are in favor of
its adoption, the charter shall become effective as
the charter of the county on the thirtieth day af-
ter the election or such later date as shall be
specified in the charter.
SEC. 2.'" The General Assembly shall by
public general law provide a grant of express
powers for such County or Counties as may
thereafter form a charter under the provisions of
this Article. Such express powers granted to the
Counties and the powers heretofore granted to
the City of Baltimore, as set forth in Article 4,
Section 6, Public Local Laws of Maryland, shall
not be enlarged or extended by any charter
formed under the provisions of this Article, but
such powers may be extended, modified, amended
or repealed by the General Assembly.
SEC. 3.'^ Every charter so formed shall pro-
vide for an elective legislative body in which shall
be vested the lawmaking power of said City or
County. Such legislative body in the City of
Baltimore shall be known as the City Council of
the City of Baltimore, and in any county shall be
known as the County Council of the County. The
chief executive officer, if any such charter shall
provide for the election of such executive officer,
or the presiding officer of said legislative body, if
such charter shall not provide for the election of
a chief executive officer, shall be known in the
City of Baltimore as Mayor of Baltimore, and in
any County as the President or Chairman of the
County Council of the County, and all references
in the Constitution and laws of this State to the
Mayor of Baltimore and City Council of the City
of Baltimore or to the County Commissioners of
'" Thus amended by Chapter 681, Acts of 1977, ratified No-
vember 7,1978.
'* Thus amended by Chapter 371, Acts of 1972, ratified No-
vember 7,1972.