PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor
Article 25B - Home Rule for Code Counties

10.

(h) Any public local law enacted by the board of county commissioners of a
code county shall take effect forty-five days after it is enacted, unless by a provision
of the public local law it is to take effect at a later date, If a public local law is passed
as an emergency bill or if a bill is declared by at least a four-fifths vote of the total
membership of the board of county commissioners or two thirds where total board
membership is three members to be an emergency bill affecting the public health,
safety, or welfare of the county, the law shall take effect from the date of its passage.
The term "emergency bill" shall not include one abolishing or creating any office,
changing any salary, term, or duty of any officer, granting any franchise or special
privilege or creating any vested right or interest.

(1) The citizens of a code county, by petition, may submit to the
registered voters of the county any public local law or portion thereof enacted under
this subtitle. The submission shall be:

(I) [at] AT the next regular congressional election [and] OR, IN
ACCORDANCE WITH A RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AT
A SPECIAL ELECTION;

(II) [in] IN accordance with requirements as to time, notice, and
form in Article 33 of this Code[, and shall be for]; AND

(III) FOR adoption or rejection by a majority of those voting on the

question.

(2) The referendum petition shall be filed with the board of supervisors
of elections within forty days after a bill is enacted and shall contain the signatures of
at least ten per centum of the registered voters of the county. If more than one half
but less than the full number of signatures required to complete any referendum
petition against a public local law are filed within forty days from the date it is
enacted, the time for the public local law to take effect and the time for filing the
remainder of signatures to complete the petition shall be extended for an additional
forty days, with like effect.

(3) A petition may consist of several papers, but each paper shall contain
the full text of the public local law or part of the public local law petitioned to
referendum, and there shall be attached to each paper an affidavit of the person
procuring the signatures thereon that, to his personal knowledge, each signature
thereon is genuine and bona fide, and that to the best of his knowledge, information,
and belief the signers are registered voters of the State of Maryland and of the code
county, as set opposite their names. The board of supervisors of elections shall verify
the registration of the petitioners.

(4) If the petition is filed with the board of supervisors of elections in
compliance with all provisions of law, the public local law shall not take effect until
thirty days after its approval by a majority of the registered voters voting on the
question. An emergency bill shall remain in force from its effective date