Article XI-A

board shall be against said creation the election of the
members of said charter board shall be void; but if such
majority shall be in favor of the creation of said charter
board, then and in that event the eleven nominees of
the City of Baltimore or five nominees in the County
receiving the largest number of votes shall constitute
the charter board, and said charter board, or a majority
thereof, shall prepare within twelve months from the
date of said election a charter or form of government
for said city or such county and present the same to the
Mayor of Baltimore or President of the Board of Coun-
ty Commissioners of such county, who shall publish the
same in at least two newspapers of general circulation
published in the City of Baltimore or County within
thirty days after it shall be reported to him. Such char-
ter shall be submitted to the voters of said City or
County at the next general or Congressional election af-
ter the report of said charter to said Mayor of
Baltimore or President of the Board of County Com-
missioners; and if a majority of the votes cast for and
against the adoption of said charter shall be in favor of
such adoption, the said charter from and after the thir-
tieth day from the date of such election shall become
the law of said City or County, subject only to the
Constitution and Public General Laws of this State, and
any public local laws inconsistent with the provisions of
said charter and any former charter of the City of
Baltimore or County shall be thereby repealed.

SEC. 1A.¹⁷⁵ The procedure provided in this section
for adoption of a charter may be used in any county in
lieu of the procedures provided in Section 1 of this Arti-
cle, and a charter adopted pursuant to this section has
the effect of a charter adopted in accordance with the
provisions of Section 1. The board of county commis-
sioners of any county at any time may appoint a char-
ter board. Said charter board shall be registered voters
and shall consist of an uneven number of members, not
fewer than five or more than nine. The board of county
commissioners shall appoint a charter board within
thirty days after receiving a petition signed by five per-
cent of the registered voters of the county or by ten
thousand voters of the county, whichever is the lesser
number. If additional charter board members are nomi-
nated by petitions signed by three percent of the regis-
tered voters of the county or by two thousand regis-
tered voters, whichever is the lesser number, delivered
to the board of county commissioners within sixty days
after the charter board is appointed, the board of coun-
ty commissioners shall call a special election not less
than thirty or more than ninety days after receiving pe-
titions, unless a regular election falls within the desig-
nated period. The appointees of the board of county
commissioners and those nominated by petitions shall
be placed on the ballot in alphabetical order without
party designation. The voters may cast votes for, and
elect a number of nominees equal to the number of
charter board members originally selected by the board
of county commissioners, and those so elected are the
charter board. The charter board, within twelve months
from the date of its appointment, or if there was an
election for some of its members, within twelve months
from the date of the election, shall present a proposed

i⁷⁵ Added by Chapter 786, Acts of 1969, ratified Nov. 3, 1970.

Constitution of Mary land/82 3

charter for the county to the board of county commis-
sioners, which shall publish it at least twice in one or
more newspapers of general circulation in the county
within thirty days after it is presented. The charter shall
be submitted to the voters of the county at a special or
regular election held not earlier than thirty days or later
than ninety days after^ publication of the charter. If a
majority of the votes cast for and against the adoption
of the charter are in favor of its adoption, the charter
shall become effective as the charter of the county on
the thirtieth day after the election or such later date as
shall be specified in the charter.

SEC. 2.¹⁷⁶ The General Assembly shall by public
general law provide a grant of express powers for such
County or Counties as may thereafter form a charter
under the provisions of this Article. Such express pow-
ers granted to the Counties and the powers heretofore
granted to the City of Baltimore, as set forth in Article
4, Section 6, Public Local Laws of Maryland, shall not
be enlarged or extended by any charter formed under
the provisions of this Article, but such powers may be
extended, modified, amended or repealed by the Gener-
al Assembly.

SEC. 3.¹⁷⁷ Every charter so formed shall provide for
an elective legislative body in which shall be vested the
lawmaking power of said City or County. Such legisla-
tive body in the City of Baltimore shall be known as
the City Council of the City of Baltimore, and in any
county shall be known as the County Council of the
County. The chief executive officer, if any such charter
shall provide for the election of such executive officer,
or the presiding officer of said legislative body, if such
charter shall not provide for the election of a chief exec-
utive officer, shall be known in the City of Baltimore as
Mayor of Baltimore, and in any County as the Presi-
dent or Chairman of the County Council of the County,
and all references in the Constitution and laws of this
State to the Mayor of Baltimore and City Council of
the City of Baltimore or to the County Commissioners
of the Counties, shall be construed to refer to the May-
or of Baltimore and City Council of the City of
Baltimore and to the President or Chairman and Coun-
ty Council herein provided for whenever such construc-
tion would be reasonable. From and after the adoption
of a charter by the City of Baltimore, or any County of
this State, as hereinbefore provided, the Mayor of
Baltimore and City Council of the City of Baltimore or
the County Council of said County, subject to the Con-
stitution and Public General Laws of this State, shall
have full power to enact local laws of said City or
County including the power to repeal or amend local
laws of said City or County enacted by the General As-
sembly, upon all matters covered by the express powers
granted as above provided; provided that nothing herein
contained shall be construed to authorize or empower
the County Council of any County in this State to enact
laws or regulations for any incorporated town, village,
or municipality in said County, on any matter covered
by the powers granted to said town, village, or munici-