of any of the powers which it may grant to the Mayor and
City Council of Baltimore under the provisions of this
Article as it may deem proper and expedient.

SEC. 3.19* Provided, however, that no public local law
enacted under the provisions and authority of this Article
shall be enacted or construed to authorize the Mayor and
City Council of Baltimore to exercise or apply any of the
powers or authority in this Article enumerated within the
territorial limits of Howard County.

ARTICLE XI-E.19S
MUNICIEAL CORPORATIONS.

SECTION 1. Except as provided elsewhere in this
Article, the General Assembly shall not pass any law relating
to the incorporation, organization, government, or affairs
of those municipal corporations which are not authorized
by Article 11-A of the Constitution to have a charter form
of government which will be special or local in its terms or
in its effect, but the General Assembly shall act in relation
to the incorporation, organization, government, or affairs
of any such municipal corporation only by general laws
which shall in their terms and in their effect apply alike to
all municipal corporations in one or more of the classes
provided for in Section 2 of this Article. It shall be the duty
of the General Assembly to provide by law the method by
which new municipal corporations shall be formed.

SEC. 2. The General Assembly, by law, shall classify
all such municipal corporations by grouping them into not
more than four classes based on populations as determined
by the most recent census made under the authority of the
United States or the State of Maryland. No more than one
such grouping of municipal corporations into four (or
fewer) classes shall be in effect at any time, and the
enactment of any such grouping of municipal corporations
into four (or fewer) classes shall repeal any such grouping
of municipal corporations into four (or fewer) classes then
in effect. Municipal 05^^00^ shall be classified only as
provided in this section and not otherwise.

SEC. 3. Any such municipal co^raDon, now existing
or hereafter created, shall have the power and authority, (a)
to amend or repeal an existing charter or local laws relating
to the incoiporation, organization, government, or affairs
of said municipal corpo^ation heretofore enacted by the
General Assembly of Maryland, and (b) to adopt a new
charter, and to amend or repeal any charter adopted under
the provisions of this Article.

SEC. 4. The adoption of a new charter, the amendment
of any charter or local laws, or the repeal of any part of a
charter or local laws shall be pressed either by a resolution
of the legislative body of any such municipal corporation
or by a petition containing the signatures of at least five per
cent of the registered voters of a municipal corooration and
filed with the legislative body of said municipal corpora-
tion. The General Assembly snail amplify the provisions of
this section by general law in any manner not inconsistent
with this Article.

SEC. S. Notwithstanding any other provision in this
Article, the General Assembly may enact, amend, or repeal
local laws placing a maximum limit on the rate at which
property taxes may be imposed by any such municipal
corpo^ation and regulating the maximum amount of debt
which may be incurred by any municipal 0)^1:300^

194 Added by Chapter 754, Acts of 1953, ratified Nov. 2,1954.
195 Added by Chapter 53, Acts of 1954, ratified Nov. 2,1954.
196 Added by Chapter 193, Acts of 1965, ratified Nov. 8,1966.

Constitution of Maryland/669

However, no such local law shall become effective in regard
to a municipal corporation until and unless it shall have
been approved at a regular or special municipal election by
a majority of the voters of that municipal coloration
voting on the question. No such municipal corporation
shall levy any type of tax, license fee, franchise tax or fee
which was not in effect in such municipal corporation on
January 1,1954, unless it shall receive the express authori-
zation of the General Assembly for such purpose, by a
general law which in its terms and its effect applies alike to
all municipal corporations in one or more of the classes
provided for in Section 2 of this Article. All charter provis-
ions enacted under the authority of Section 3 of this Article
shall be subject to any local laws enacted by the General
Assembly and approved by the municipal voters under the
provisions of this section.

SEC. 6. All charter provisions, or amendments thereto,
adopted under the provisions of this Article, shall be subject
to all applicable laws enacted by the General Assembly;
except that any local laws, or amendments thereto, relating
to the incorporation, organization, government, or affairs
of any municipal corporation and enacted before this Arti-
cle becomes effective, shall be subject to any charter pro-
visions, or amendments thereto, adopted under the
provisions of this Article. Any local law, or amendments
thereto, relating to the incorporation, organization, gov-
ernment, or affairs of any municipal corporation and in
effect at the time this Article becomes effective, shall be
subject to any applicable State law enacted after this Article
becomes effective. All laws enacted by the General Assem-
bly and in effect at the time this Article becomes effective,
shall remain in effect until amended or repealed in accor-
dance with the provisions of this Constitution. Nothing in
this Article shall be construed to authorize any municipal
corpo^ation by any amendment or addition to its charter,
to permit any act which is prohibited by the laws of this
State concerning the observance of the Sabbath Day or the
manufacture, licensing or sale of alcoholic beverages.

ARTICLE XI-F.196
HOME RULE FOR CODE COUNTIES.

SECTION 1. For the purposes of this Article, (1)
"code county" means a county which is not a charter county
under Article 11A of this Constitution and has adopted the
optional powers of home rule provided under this Article;
and (2) public local law" means a law applicable to the
incorporation, organization, or government of a code
county and contained in the county's code of public local
laws; but this latter term specifically does not include (i)
the charters of municipal coroorations under Article HE
of this Constitution, (ii) the laws or charters of counties
under Article HA of this Constitution, (iii) laws, whether
or not Statewide in application, in the code of public
general laws, (iv) laws which apply to more than one
county, and (v) ordinances and resolutions of the county
government enacted under public local laws.

SEC. 2. The governing body of any county, by a vote
of at least two-thirds of the members elected thereto, may
propose by resolution that the county become a code
county ana be governed by the provisions of this Article.
Upon the adoption of such a resolution, it shall be certified
to the Board of Supervisors of Elections in the county,
which Board (pursuant to the election laws of the State)