1226                             LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 594

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 3 (a) and (s) of Article 25 of the Annotated Code
of Maryland (1966 Replacement Volume), title "County Commis-
sioners," subtitle "General Provisions," be and they are hereby re-
pealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

3.

(a) The county commissioners of each county in this State, ex-
cept Worcester, [Allegany, except as specifically provided in sub-
section (s),] Prince George's, Washington (except as hereinbelow
provided), Somerset, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Cecil, Howard and
Queen Anne's (except as specifically provided in subsection (f))
counties, in addition to, but not in substitution of, the powers which
have been or may hereafter be granted them, shall have the following
express powers:

(s) (1) In Harford, Frederick [,] and Kent [and Allegany]
counties, the county commissioners may provide and prescribe reg-
ulations for the issuance of plumbing permits, to be required 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 author-
ized to charge reasonable fees for the issuance of zoning certificates
or permits for construction of improvements to real property. The
county commissioners of Harford [,] and Frederick [and Al-
legany] counties 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, con-
sisting 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, Frederick [,] and
Kent [and Allegany] counties 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 per-
mits to be required prior to the construction or improvement of
any buildings; and any such code shall prescribe standards of con-
struction, maintenance, and repair, covering structural safety, fire
prevention requirements, lights and ventilation, and proper means
of ingress and egress. The housing code, if adopted, shall provide
and prescribe regulations and standards for human habitation, cov-
ering 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 appoint-
ment and maintenance of inspectors and including penalties for a
violation of either a code of 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