832/Maryland Manual
the Counties, shall be construed to refer to the May-
or of Baltimore and City Council of the City of
Baltimore and to the President or Chairman and
County Council herein provided for whenever such
construction would be reasonable. From and after
the adoption of a charter by the City of Baltimore,
or any County of this State, as hereinbefore provid-
ed, the Mayor of Baltimore and City Council of the
City of Baltimore or the County Council of said
County, subject to the Constitution and Public
General Laws of this State, shall have full power to
enact local laws of said City or County including
the power to repeal or amend local laws of said City
or County enacted by the General Assembly, upon
all matters covered by the express powers granted
as above provided; provided that nothing herein
contained shall be construed to authorize or em-
power the County Council of any County in this
State to enact laws or regulations for any incorpo-
rated town, village, or municipality in said County,
on any matter covered by the powers granted to
said town, village, or municipality by the Act incor-
porating it, or any subsequent Act or Acts amenda-
tory thereto. Provided, however, that the charters
for the various Counties shall specify the number of
days, not to exceed forty-five, which may but need
not be consecutive, that the County Council of the
Counties may sit in each year for the purpose of
enacting legislation for such Counties, and all legis-
lation shall be enacted at the times so designated for
that purpose in the charter, and the title or a sum-
mary of all laws and ordinances proposed shall be
published once a week for two successive weeks pri-
or to enactment followed by publication once after
enactment in at least one newspaper of general cir-
culation in the county, so that the taxpayers and
citizens may have notice thereof. The validity of
emergency legislation shall not be affected if
enacted prior to the completion of advertising
thereof. "These provisions concerning publication
shall not apply to Baltimore City. All such local
laws enacted by the Mayor of Baltimore and City
Council of the City of Baltimore or the Council of
the Counties as hereinbefore provided, shall be sub-
ject to the same rules of interpretation as those now
applicable to the Public Local Laws of this State,
except that in case of any conflict between said local
law and any Public General Law now or hereafter
enacted the Public General Law shall control.
SEC. 3A.^ The charter for the government of
Baltimore, Prince George's and Howard counties
under the provisions of this Article, either as
adopted, or by amendment, may provide ior the
election of members of the county council by the
voters of councilmanic districts therein established,
'" Thus amended by Chapter 682, Acts of 1977, ratified Novem-
ber 7, 1978

Article XI-A
or by the voters of the entire county, or by a combi-
nation of these methods of election.
SEC. 4. From and after the adoption of a charter
under the provisions of this Article by the City of
Baltimore or any County of this State, no public lo-
cal law shall be enacted by the General Assembly
for said City or County on any subject covered by
the express powers granted as above provided. Any
law so drawn as to apply to two or more of the geo-
graphical sub-divisions of this State shall not be
deemed a Local Law, within the meaning of this
Act. The term "geographical sub-division" herein
used shall be taken to mean the City of Baltimore or
any of the Counties of this State.
SEC. 5.^ Amendments to any charter adopted
by the City of Baltimore or by any County of this
State under the provisions of this Article may be
proposed by a resolution of the Mayor of Baltimore
and the City Council of the City of Baltimore, or the
Council of the County, or by a petition signed by
not less than 20% of the registered voters of the City
or County, provided, however, that in any case
10,000 signatures shall be sufficient to complete a
petition. A petition shall be filed with the Mayor of
Baltimore or the President of the County Council.
An amendment so proposed shall be submitted to
the voters of the City or County at the next general
or congressional election occurring after the pas-
sage of the resolution or the filing of the petition. If
at the election the majority of the votes cast for and
against the amendment shall be in favor thereof, the
amendment shall be adopted and become a part of
the charter of the City or County from and after the
thirtieth day after said election. The amendments
shall be published by the Mayor of Baltimore or
President of the County Council once a week for
five successive weeks prior to the election in at least
one newspaper published in said City or County.
SEC. 6. The power heretofore conferred upon the
General Assembly to prescribe the number, com-
pensation, powers and duties of the County
Commissioners in each county, and the power to
make changes in Sections 1 to 6 inclusive, Article XI
of this Constitution, when expressly granted as here-
inbefore provided, are hereby transferred to the
voters of each County and the voters of City of
Baltimore, respectively, provided that said powers
so transferred shall be exercised only by the adoption
or amendment of a charter as hereinbefore provided;
and provided further that this Article shall not be
construed to authorize the exercise of any powers in
excess of those conferred by the Legislature upon
said Counties or City as this Article sets forth.
"' Thus amended by Chapter 681, Acts of 1977, ratified No-
vember 7,1978.