nominated by petitions signed by three percent of the registered
voters of the county or by two thousand registered voters,
whichever is the lesser number, delivered to the board of county
commissioners within sixty days after the charter board is ap-
pointed, the board of county commissioners shall call a special
election not less than thirty or more than ninety days after re-
ceiving petitions, unless a regular election falls within the desig-
nated period. The appointees of the board of county commis-
sioners and those nominated by petitions shall be placed on the
ballot in alphabetical order without party designation. The vot-
ers 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 elec-
tion, shall present a proposed charter for the county to the
board of county commissioners, 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. The General Assembly shall by public general
law provide a grant of express powers for such County or Coun-
ties as may thereafter form a charter under the provisions of this
Article. Such express powers 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modified, amended or repealed by the General Assembly.

SEC. 3. Every charter so formed shall provide for an elec-
tive legislative body in which shall be vested the lawmaking
power of said City or County. Such legislative 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 executive officer, shall be
known in the City of Baltimore as Mayor of Baltimore, and in
any County as the President 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 Coun-
ties, shall be construed to refer to the Mayor of Baltimore and
City Council of the City of Baltimore and to the President or
Chairman and County Council herein provided for whenever
such construction 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 Constitution 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 lo-
cal laws of said City or County enacted by the General Assem-
bly, 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 incor-
porated town, village, or municipality in said County, on any
matter covered by the powers granted to said town, village, or
municipality by the Act incorporating it, or any subsequent Act
or Acts amendatory thereto. Provided, however, that the char-
ters for the various Counties shall specify the number of days,
not to exceed forty-five, which may but need not be consecutive,
that the County Council of the Counties may sit in each year for
the purpose of enacting legislation for such Counties, and all leg-
islation shall be enacted at the times so designated for that pur-
pose in the charter, and the title or a summary of all laws and
ordinances proposed shall be published once a week for two suc-
cessive weeks prior to enactment followed by publication once
after enactment in at least one newspaper of general circulation
in the county, so that the taxpayers and citizens may have notice
thereof. The validity of emergency legislation shall not be affect-
ed if enacted prior to the completion of advertising thereof.
These provisions concerning publication shall not apply to Balti-
more City. All such local laws enacted by the Mayor of Balti-
more and City Council of the City of Baltimore or the Council
of the Counties as hereinbefore provided, shall be subject to the
same rules of interpretation as those now applicable to the Pub-
lic Local Laws of this State, except that in case of any conflict
between said local law and any Public General Law now or
hereafter enacted the Public General Law shall control.

1 TO

SEC. 3A. The charter for the government of any county
governed by the provisions of this Article may provide for the
election of members of the county council by the voters of coun-
cilmanic districts therein established, or by the voters of the en-
tire county, or by a combination of these methods of election.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, the
charter for the government of Harford County under the provi-
sions of this Article, either as adopted, or by amendment, shall
provide for the election of members of the county council by the
voters of the entire county.

SEC. 4. From and after the adoption of a charter under the
provisions of this Article by the City of Baltimore or any Coun-
ty of this State, no public local law shall be enacted by the Gen-
eral Assembly for said City or County on any subject covered by
the express powers granted as above provided. Any law so
drawn as to apply to two or more of the geographical sub-divi-
sions of this State shall not be deemed a Local Law, within the
meaning of this Act. The term "geographical sub-division" here-
in used shall be taken to mean the City of Baltimore or any of
the Counties of this State.

179
SEC. 5. Amendments to any charter adopted by the City

of Baltimore or by any County of this State under the provisions
of this Article may be proposed by a resolution of the Mayor of
Baltimore and the City Council of the City of Baltimore, or the
Council of the County, or by a petition signed by not less than
20% of the registered voters of the City or County, provided,
however, that in any case 10,000 signatures shall be sufficient to
complete a petition. A petition shall be filed with the Mayor of
Baltimore or the President of the County Council. An amend-
ment so proposed shall be submitted to the voters of the City or
County at the next general or congressional election occurring
after the passage of the resolution or the filing of the petition. If
at the election the majority of the votes cast for and against the
amendment shall be in favor thereof, the amendment shall be
adopted and become a part of the charter of the City or County
from and after the thirtieth day after said election. The amend-
ments shall be published by the Mayor of Baltimore or President