HARRY HUGHES, Governor

5079

of his ownership of the house." However, the word "home"
has been defined as "[a] house in one respect, but in a
proper sense including [es] not only the house, but the
entire surroundings and appurtenances enjoyed with the
house." Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 564 (3rd ed. 1969).

In testing the conformity of the title of a bill to the
constitutional mandate of Article III, Section 29 of the
Maryland Constitution, the courts are disposed to uphold
rather than strike down the enactment. Since every
presumption favors its validity, it cannot be voided unless
clearly in contravention of the Constitution; a reasonable
doubt in its favor being sufficient to sustain it. Atkinson
v. Sapperstein, 191 Md. 301 (1948); Madison National Bank v.
Newrath, 261 Md. 321 (1971). Therefore, in light of this
standard of review and of the definition of "home," we
conclude that the tile is not so affirmatively misleading so
as to be defective.

Third, the bill in § 9-201 requires that the bylaws or
declaration of covenants of the association must provide for
the assessment of specified charges and that the assessment
is a lien. However, in §§ 9-202(B)(2) and 9-203(A) the bill
refers only to the bylaws.

Fourth, the bill does not define "homeowner's
association". Homeowner's associations, unlike condominium
regimes, are a product of the common law and are not
regulated by statute. The absence of a definition could
result in the provisions of the bill applying to any
incorporated voluntary community association and other types
of organizations. Moreover, unlike the provisions of the
Horizontal Property Act, Real Property Article, § 11-101 et
seq., there is no restriction whatsoever placed upon what
can be included within the assessments. Finally, unlike the
declaration of covenants, the bylaws of an organization
often provide for amendment by a small minority of the
membership. Thus, there could be a majority of existing
property owners who have not consented to the imposition of
various charges or to the lien provisions and who oppose
them. By contrast, in the Horizontal Property Act, either
when the regime is created or when a person purchases the
unit, notice of the assessments authorized by statute are in
the bylaws and in the declaration which must be recorded in
the land records. §§ 11-102 and 11-104. Moreover, the
bylaws cannot be amended by less than the "affirmative vote
of unit owners having 66 2/3 percent or more of the votes."
§ ll-104(e)(l).

Very truly yours,
Stephen H. Sachs
Attorney General