by the provisions of this Article. Upon the adoption of such a
resolution, it shall be certified to the Board of Supervisors of
Elections in the county, which Board (pursuant to the election
laws of the State) shall submit to the voters of the county at the
next ensuing general election the question whether the resolution
shall be approved or rejected. If in the referendum a majority of
those persons voting on this question vote for the resolution, the
resolution is approved, and the county shall become a code
county under the provisions of this Article, on the thirtieth day
after the election. If in the referendum a majority of those persons
voting on this question vote against the resolution, the resolution
is rejected, and of no further effect.

Provided that if at the next ensuing general election there shall
be submitted to the voters of the county a proposed charter under
Article 11 A of this Constitution, the proposed charter only shall
be submitted to the voters at that next ensuing general election. If
the proposed charter is adopted by the voters, this particular
resolution to become a code county shall not be submitted to the
voters and shall have no further effect. If the proposed charter is
rejected by the voters, the code question under this Article shall
be submitted to the voters at the general election two years later,
and no charter question under Article 11A shall be submitted to
the voters at that general election.

SEC. 3. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, a code
county may enact, amend, or repeal a public local law of that
county, following the procedure in this Article.

SEC. 4. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the
General Assembly shall not enact, amend, or repeal a public local
law which is special or local in its terms or effect within a code
county. The General Assembly may enact, amend, or repeal
public local laws applicable to code counties only by general
enactments which in term and effect apply alike to all code
counties in one or more of the classes provided for in Section 5 of
this Article.

SEC. 5. The General Assembly, by law, shall classify all code
counties by grouping them into not more than four classes based
either upon population as determined in the most recent Federal
or State census or upon such other criteria as determined by the
General Assembly to be appropriate. Not more than one such
grouping of code counties into four (or fewer) classes may be in
effect at any one time, and the enactment of any grouping of code
counties into four (or fewer) classes repeals any other such
grouping then in effect. Code counties may be classified only as
provided in this section.

SEC. 6. A code county may enact, amend, or repeal a public
local law of that county by a resolution of the board of county
commissioners. The General Assembly may amplify the provi-
sions of this section by general law in any manner not inconsistent
with this Article.

SEC. 7. Any action of a code county in the enactment,
amendment, or repeal of a public local law is subject to a
referendum of the voters in the county, as in this section
provided. The enactment, amendment, or repeal shall be effective
unless a petition of the registered voters of the county requires
that it be submitted to a referendum of the voters in the county.
The General Assembly shall amplify the provisions of this section
by general law in any manner not inconsistent with this Article,
except that in any event the number of signatures required on
such a petition shall not be fewer than five percentum (5%) of the
voters in a county registered for county and State elections.

SEC. 8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article,
the General Assembly has exclusive power to enact, amend, or
repeal any local law for a code county which (1) authorizes or
places a maximum limit upon the rate of property taxes which
may be imposed by the code county; or (2) authorizes or regulates
the maximum amount of indebtedness which may be incurred by
the code county. Public local laws enacted by the General

Constitution of Maryland/705

Assembly under this section prevail over any public local laws
enacted by the code county under other sections in this Article.

SEC. 9. A code county shall not levy any type of tax, license
fee, franchise tax, or fee which was not in effect or authorized in
the code county at the time it came under the provisions of this
Article, until an express authorization of the General Assembly
has been enacted for this purpose by a general law which in its
terms and effect applies alike to all code counties in one or more
of the classes provided for in Section 5 of this Article.

SEC. 10. All laws enacted by the General Assembly and in
effect when this Article was added to the Constitution shall
remain in effect until amended or repealed under this Constitu-
tion. Every public local law enacted, amended, or repealed by a
county under the provisions of this Article prevails over the
previous public local law, except to the extent it is subject to an
applicable law enacted by the General Assembly.

ARTICLE XI-G."³

CITY OF BALTIMORE—REHABILITATION AND
IMPROVEMENT LOANS.

I.¹''⁴ The General Assembly of Maryland, by public local law,
may authorize the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore:

(a) To make or contract to make financial loans to any person
or other legal entity to be used for redevelopment or improvement
of buildings or structures located within the boundaries of
Baltimore City, which buildings or structures are to be used or
occupied for residential purposes.

(b) To guarantee or insure financial loans made by third parties
to any person or other legal entity to be used for or in connection
with the rehabilitation, renovation or improvement of buildings
or structures located within the boundaries of Baltimore City,
which buildings or structures are to be used or occupied for
residential purposes.

(c) To make or contract to make financial loans to any person
or other legal entity to be used for or in connection with the
purchase or acquisition of leasehold or fee simple interests in
buildings or structures, and for construction, reconstruction,
erection, development, rehabilitation, renovation, redevelopment
or improvement of buildings or structures, located within the
boundaries of Baltimore City, which buildings or structures are to
be used or occupied for commercial purposes.

(d) To guarantee or insure financial loans made by third parties
to any person or other legal entity to be used for or in connection
with the purchase or acquistion of leasehold or fee simple
interests in buildings or structures, and for construction, recon-
struction, erection, development, rehabilitation, renovation, rede-
velopment or improvement of buildings or structures, located
within the boundaries of Baltimore City, which buildings or
structures are to be used or occupied for commercial purposes.

(e) Any and all financial loans made by the Mayor and City
Council of Baltimore; any and all guarantees or insurance
commitments made by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore
in connection with any of said loans; and any and all money used
or expended by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore in
connection with said loans, guarantees, or insurance commit-
ments, pursuant to the power and authority hereinabove vested in
the municipality, and any and all acts performed by the Mayor
and City Council of Baltimore in connection with any powers
which may be granted to the Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore pursuant to this Article, are all hereby declared to be
needed, contracted for, expended or exercised for a public use.

"•'Added by Chapter 375, Acts of 1972, ratified Nov. 7, 1972.
"••Amended by Chapter 133, Acts of 1974, ratified Nov. 5, 1974;
Chapter 610, Acts of 1980, ratified Nov. 4, 1980.