1660 . LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 688

CHAPTER 688
(Senate Bill 412)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Sec-
tions 5 and 7 of Article 44C of the Annotated Code of
Maryland (1947 Supplement), title "Housing Rent Con-
trol", and to add a new section to said Article, to be
known as Section 5A and to follow immediately after
Section 5, extending the provisions of said Article to
June 1, 1951, including Washington County in the pro-
visions of said Article, and limiting the scope of local
regulation.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That a new section be and it is hereby added to Article
44C of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1947 Supple-
ment), title "Housing Rent Control", to be known as Sec-
tion 5A and to follow immediately after Section 5 of said
Article, and that Sections 4, 5 and 7 of said Article be and
they are hereby. repealed and re-enacted, with amend-
ments, and all to read as follows:

4. The Mayor and City Council of any city or the
County Commissioners of any county may, by ordinance
or resolution, provide that the federal rules and regula-
tions fixing rents, controls and other conditions applicable
to housing accommodations, including practices relating
to changes in form or quality, within its jurisdiction shall
be continued until such time as the Mayor and City Council
or County Commissioners may be able to provide its own
regulations and controls. In the event that Congress
enacts legislation authorizing the states or their political
sub-divisions to provide for additional rent control regu-
lations, then the Mayor and City Council or County Com-
missioners shall have the power to provide by ordinance
or resolution any additional regulations for rent control
within their respective jurisdictions, subject to the limita-
tions hereinafter set forth.

5. The provisions of this Article shall continue in,
effect only until June 1, 1951, and any ordinance or reso-
lution adopted under this Article shall cease to have any
effect and shall thereupon become null and void.

5A. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this
Article, no ordinance or resolution authorized herein shall
apply to any housing accommodations which are not sub-
ject to federal rent control at the time any federal rent
control law expires or is otherwise terminated; nor shall