704/Maryland Manual

All land or property needed, or taken by the exercise of the
power of eminent domain, by the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore for any of the aforementioned purposes or in connec-
tion with the exercise of any of the powers which may be granted
to the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore pursuant to this
Article is hereby declared to be needed or taken for a public use.

SEC. 2.¹⁸⁹ The General Assembly of Maryland may grant to
the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore any and all additional
power and authority necessary or proper to carry into full force
and effect any and all of the specified powers which the General
Assembly is authorized to grant to the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore pursuant to this Article and to fully accomplish any
and all of the purposes and objects contemplated by the
provisions of this Article, provided such additional power or
authority is not inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this
Article or with any other provision or provisions of the Constitu-
tion of Maryland. The General Assembly may place such other
and further restrictions or limitations on the exercise of any of the
powers which it may grant to the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore under the provisions of this Article as it may deem
proper and expedient.

SEC. 3.¹⁹⁰ Provided, however, that no public local law enacted
under the provisions and authority of this Article shall be enacted
or construed to authorize the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore to exercise or apply any of the powers or authority in
this Article enumerated within the territorial limits of Howard
County.

ARTICLE XI-E.'⁹¹
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.

SECTION 1. Except as provided elsewhere in this Article, the
General Assembly shall not pass any law relating to the
incorporation, organization, government, or affairs of those
municipal corporations which are not authorized by Article 11-A
of the Constitution to have a charter form of government which
will be special or local in its terms or in its effect, but the General
Assembly shall act in relation to the incorporation, organization,
government, or affairs of any such municipal corporation only by
general laws which shall in their terms and in their effect apply
alike to all municipal corporations in one or more of the classes
provided for in Section 2 of this Article. It shall be the duty of the
General Assembly to provide by law the method by which new
municipal corporations shall be formed.

SEC. 2. The General Assembly, by law, shall classify all such
municipal corporations by grouping them into not more than four
classes based on populations as determined by the most recent
census made under the authority of the United States or the State
of Maryland. No more than one such grouping of municipal
corporations into four (or fewer) classes shall be in effect at any
time, and the enactment of any such grouping of municipal
corporations into four (or fewer) classes shall repeal any such
grouping of municipal corporations into four (or fewer) classes
then in effect. Municipal corporations shall be classified only as
provided in this section and not otherwise.

SEC. 3. Any such municipal corporation, now existing or
hereafter created, shall have the power and authority, (a) to
amend or repeal an existing charter or local laws relating to the
incorporation, organization, government, or affairs of said munic-
ipal corporation heretofore enacted by the General Assembly of
Maryland, and (b) to adopt a new charter, and to amend or repeal
any charter adopted under the provisions of this Article.

SEC. 4. The adoption of a new charter, the amendment of any
charter or local laws, or the repeal of any part of a charter or local

"'Amended by Chapter 754, Acts of 1953, ratified Nov. 2, 1954.
'"Added by Chapter 754, Acts of 1953, ratified Nov. 2, 1954.
'"Added by Chapter 53, Acts of 1954, ratified Nov. 2, 1954.

Article XI-F

laws shall be proposed either by a resolution of the legislative
body of any such municipal corporation or by a petition

containing the signatures nfflt lea^t five per cent of the registered

voters of a municipal corporation and filed with the legislative
body of said municipal corporation. The General Assembly shall
amplify the provisions of this section by general law in any
manner not inconsistent with this Article.

SEC. 5. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Article,
the General Assembly may enact, amend, or repeal local laws
placing a maximum limit on the rate at which property taxes may
be imposed by any such municipal corporation and regulating the
maximum amount of debt which may be incurred by any
municipal corporation. However, no such local law shall become
effective in regard to a municipal corporation until and unless it
shall have been approved at a regular or special municipal
election by a majority of the voters of that municipal corporation
voting on the question. No such municipal corporation shall levy
any type of tax, license fee, franchise tax or fee which was not in
effect in such municipal corporation on January 1, 1954, unless it
shall receive the express authorization of the General Assembly
for such purpose, by a general law which in its terms and its effect
applies alike to all municipal corporations in one or more of the
classes provided for in Section 2 of this Article. All charter
provisions enacted under the authority of Section 3 of this Article
shall be subject to any local laws enacted by the General
Assembly and approved by the municipal voters under the
provisions of this section.

SEC. 6. All charter provisions, or amendments thereto, adopt-
ed under the provisions of this Article, shall be subject to all
applicable laws enacted by the General Assembly; except that any
local laws, or amendments thereto, relating to the incorporation,
organization, government, or affairs of any municipal corporation
and enacted before this Article becomes effective, shall be subject
to any charter provisions, or amendments thereto, adopted under
the provisions of this Article. Any local law, or amendments
thereto, relating to the incorporation, organization, government,
or affairs of any municipal corporation and in effect at the time
this Article becomes effective, shall be subject to any applicable
State law enacted after this Article becomes effective. All laws
enacted by the General Assembly and in effect at the time this
Article becomes effective, shall remain in effect until amended or
repealed in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed to authorize any
municipal corporation by any amendment or addition to its
charter, to permit any act which is prohibited by the laws of this
State concerning the observance of the Sabbath Day or the
manufacture, licensing or sale of alcoholic beverages.

ARTICLE XI-F.¹⁹²
HOME RULE FOR CODE COUNTIES.

SECTION 1. For the purposes of this Article, (I) "code
county" means a county which is not a charter county under
Article 11 A of this Constitution and has adopted the optional
powers of home rule provided under this Article; and (2) "public
local law" means a law applicable to the incorporation, organiza-
tion, or government of a code county and contained in the
county's code of public local laws; but this latter term specifically
does not include (i) the charters of municipal corporations under
Article HE of this Constitution, (ii) the laws or charters of
counties under Article 11A of this Constitution, (iii) laws,
whether or not Statewide in application, in the code of public
general laws, (iv) laws which apply to more than one county, and
(v) ordinances and resolutions of the county government enacted
under public local laws.

SEC. 2. The governing body of any county, by a vote of at least
two-thirds of the members elected thereto, may propose by
resolution that the county become a code county and be governed

'"Added by Chapter 493, Acts of 1965, ratified Nov. 8, 1966.