46                               LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 48

CHAPTER 48
(House Bill 152)

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Section 3(s)
(2) of Article 25 of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1966 Re-
placement Volume and 1967 Supplement), title "County Commis-
sioners," subtitle "General Provisions," amending the laws per-
taining to county commissioners in order to correct erroneous
wording therein.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 3(s) (2) of Article 25 of the Annotated Code of Mary-
land (1966 Replacement Volume and 1967 Supplement), title "County
Commissioners," subtitle "General Provisions," be and it is hereby
repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, to read as follows:

3.

(s) (2) The county commissioners of Harford, Frederick and
Kent counties may adopt, and from time to time may amend, sup-
plement or abrogate, a building code and a housing code, or either
of such codes. The building code, if adopted, shall provide and pre-
scribe regulations for the issuance of building permits to be re-
quired prior to the construction or improvement of any buildings;
and any such code shall prescribe standards of construction, main-
tenance, and repair, covering structural safety, fire prevention re-
quirements, 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, 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 appoint-
ment and maintenance of inspectors and including penalties for a
violation of either a code [of] 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 cir-
culation by any governmental agency or by any trade or professional
association; but any subsequent amendment to or change in what-
ever is adopted by reference shall not be effective in Harford, Fred-
erick and Kent counties until and unless it is specifically incorpo-
rated therein by action of the board of county commissioners.

All buildings on a farm and on any premises devoted solely to
agricultural pursuits are exempt from the provisions and the ap-
plication of both building and housing [code] codes.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1968.

Approved March 22, 1968.