134                               Laws of Maryland                       [Ch. 141

and from time to time to amend, supplement or abrogate a building
code and a housing code or either of such codes; and relating gen-
erally to the procedure for adopting any such code, to its contents
and subject matter and for its application.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 3 (s) of Article 25 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1960 Supplement), title "County Commissioners", sub-title "General
Provisions", be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with
amendments, to read as follows:

3.

(s) (1) [And in] In Harford County, the County Commissioners
may provide and prescribe regulations for the issuance of [building
and] plumbing permits, to be required before [any building may be
constructed or improved, and before] any sanitary systems, plumbing
and fixtures may be installed within said county, and provide any fee
or charges for any such permits, and the enforcement thereof. The
County Commissioners are authorized to charge reasonable fees for
the issuance of zoning certificates or permits for construction of
improvements to real property. The County Commissioners of Har-
ford County shall also have the power to adopt a plumbing code to
regulate the construction of water, sewer, drainage, and sanitary
facilities with power to designate and employ the necessary personnel
to enforce said plumbing code and to provide criminal penalties for
violation thereof. In the event the authority to adopt a plumbing code
is exercised, the County Commissioners shall appoint an advisory
plumbing board, with four year terms of office, consisting of a medical
doctor, a plumber, and one other person to assist in the drafting and
promulgation of said plumbing code and its enforcement.

(2) The County Commissioners of Harford County may adopt, and
from time to time may amend, supplement or abrogate, a building
code and a housing code, or either of such codes. The building code,
if adopted, shall provide and prescribe regulations for the issuance
of building permits to be required prior to the construction or im-
provement of any building; and any such code shall prescribe stands
ards of construction, maintenance, and repair, covering structural
safety, fire prevention requirements, light and ventilation, and proper
means of ingress and egress. The housing code, if adopted, shall pro-
vide and prescribe regulations and standards for human habitation,
covering sanitation, density of occupancy, open space requirements,
rodent infestation, and human standards of occupancy.

A building code and a housing code, if either is adopted, and all
regulations thereunder, shall be designed to assure and protect the
public health, safety, comfort, and moral and economic welfare. They
may include provisions for enforcement, including the appointment
and maintenance of inspectors and including penalties for a violation
of either a code or the regulations thereunder.

Any such code may incorporate by reference a portion or all, if
applicable, of either a building code or a housing code, as the case
may be, issued or proposed and made available for general circulation
by any governmental agency or by any trade or professional associa-
tion; but any subsequent amendment to or change in whatever is
adopted by reference shall not be effective in Harford County until
and unless it is specifically incorporated therein by action of the
Board of County Commissioners.