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 re-
cent census made under the authority of the United States or the
State of Maryland. No more than one such grouping of munici-
pal 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 mu-
nicipal 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 lo-
cal laws shall be proposed either by a resolution of the legislative
body of any such municipal corporation or by a petition contain-
ing the signatures of at least 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 regulat-
ing 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 elec-
tion 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 ap-
plicable 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 corpora-
tion and enacted before this Article becomes effective, shall be
subject to any charter provisions, or amendments thereto, adopt-
ed under the provisions of this Article. Any local law, or amend-
ments thereto, relating to the incorporation, organization, gov-
ernment, 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

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

Constitution. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to au-
thorize any municipal corporation by any amendment or addi-
tion 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, (1) "code coun-
ty" means a county which is not a charter county under Article
11A 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, organization,
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 Ar-
ticle HE of this Constitution, (ii) the laws or charters of coun-
ties under Article 11 A of this Constitution, (Hi) 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) ordi-
nances 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 gov-
erned 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 elec-
tion laws of the State) shall submit to the voters of the county at
the next ensuing general election the question whether the reso-
lution shall be approved or rejected. If in the referendum a ma-
jority of those persons voting on this question vote for the reso-
lution, 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 11A of this Constitution, the proposed charter on-
ly 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 sub-
mitted to the voters and shall have no further effect. If the pro-
posed charter is rejected by the voters, the code question under
this Article shall be submitted to the voters at the general elec-
tion two years later, and no charter question under Article HA
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 Gen-
eral 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 en-
actments which in term and effect apply alike to all code coun-
ties in one or more of the classes provided for in Section 5 of
this Article.

SEC. 5. The Genera] 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