xt70zp3vwp80 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70zp3vwp80/data/mets.xml Maryland United States Works Progress Administration 1937 Other contributors include: Robert C. Lowe (Robert Chapin) 1907- and David S. Lander under the supervision of A. Ross Eckler; 13 pages, 27 cm; This bulletin is one of a series presenting state constitutional provisions affecting public welfare; Includes bibliographical references; UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Program libraries; Call number Y 3. W 89/2:36/M 36 books English Washington D.C.: Works Progress Administration This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Maryland Works Progress Administration Publications Analysis of Constitutional Provisions Affecting Public Welfare in the State of Maryland text Analysis of Constitutional Provisions Affecting Public Welfare in the State of Maryland 1937 1937 2015 true xt70zp3vwp80 section xt70zp3vwp80 ° I .P’f'(~ ; ,2; 
WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
HARRY I.. HOPKINS, ADMINISTRATOR
CORRINGTON GILL, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
H0wAR¤ B. Mvsns, Dnnecron
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, Dnvnsnou OF S0cnAL ResaARcu
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I; • I
 A ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
AFFECTING PUBLIC WELFARE IN THE STATE OF
• MARYLAND
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PREPARED BY
ROBERT C. L0wE AND DAv|0 S. LANOER
LEGAL RESEARCH SECTION
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
A. Ross ECKLER, COORDINATOR OF SPECIAL INQUIRIES •
Dnvnsnou OF SOCIAL RESEARCH
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PREFACE
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This bulletin is one of a series presenting
State constitutional provisions affecting public wel-
• fare, prepared to supplement the State by State digests
of public welfare laws so as to provide in abstract
form the basis for the public welfare services of the
several States.
The provisions quoted are those concerned
• directly with public welfare administration and such
others as may substantially affect a public welfare
program, even though only indirectly related. It would
be impossible to consider within the limits of this
study every remotely connected constitutional provi-
• sion. The indirectly related provisions included,
therefore, have been restricted to those concerning S
· finance, legislation, and the methods of constitutional
amendment.
An attempt has been made, bya careful selec-
• tion of the most recent cases decided by the highest
courts of the States, to indicate wherever possible how
these provisions have been construed. These cases are
included in footnotes appended to the constitutional
provisions shown.
, It is hoped that these abstracts will be
useful to those interested in public welfare questions
in indicating how State and local public welfare admin-
istration may be affected by constitutional powers and
limitations.
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CONTENTS
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Incidence of Responsibility for Welfare Program ........ .. ........ 1
4 Financial Powers and Limitations ................... ... .... . ...... 1
I ° Taxation and Assessments ...... . ........... .. ........ ... ..... 1
` EX€mpt,j.OHS....•..••••••.••.•••••.·..••••••.••••••·•••••.•••• 3
Borrowing and Use of Credit ......... .. ..................... . 4
g Other Income ........... ..... ......... . ........... . .......... 6
Appropriations and Expenditures .............. ....... ........ 6
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Provisions Affecting Legislation ............ . .................... 7
· Constitutional Amendment or Revision .................. ...... .... . 12
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I Maryland
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ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AFFECTING
PUBLIC WELFARE IN MARYLAND1
• I. Incidence of Responsibility for Welfare Program
· The office of ”State Pension Commissioner" is hereby abolished;
and the Legislature shall pass no law creating such office, or establishing
any general pension system within this State.2
II. Financial Powers and Limitations
• A. Taxation and Assessments
(1) state
(a) That the levying of taxes by the poll is grievous
and oppressive and ought to be prohibited; that paupers ought not to be
, assessed for the support of the government; that the General Assembly
shall, by uniform rules, prov ide for separate assessment of land and classi-
· fication and sub—classifications of improvements on land and personal
property, as it may deem proper; and all taxes thereafter provided to be
levied by the State for the support of the general State Government, and
· by the counties andby the City of Baltimore for their respective purposes,
shall be uniform as to land within the taxing district, and uniform within
the class or sub——class of improvements on land and personal property which
the respective taxing powers may have directed to be subjected to the tax
levy; yet fines, duties or taxes may properly and justly be imposed, or
• .
1Const1tut1on(1867),.as comp1led and publ1shed by the Secretary of State 1n the Mary-
land Manual (1955); w1th all amendments to May 1, 1957.
The police power of the State ”was formerly concerned w1th the protection of the
public health, morals, and safety. By our own recent dec1s1ons 1t is now recognized
as extending to the general welfare. * * * An exert1on of the police power by the
Legislature should not be held to be void 1f there are any cons1derat1ons related
° to the publ1c welfare by which 1t can be supported.” A statute requiring any dealer
1n trad1ng stamps to pay a l1cense fee was held to be aproper exercise of the pollce
power. State vs. J. N. Seney Company, 107 A. 189, 195 (1919).
2Const1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 59.
This section was lnserted 1n the Const1tut1on with exclus1ve reference to m1l1—
tary pensions and was not 1ntended to include other pensions of an entirely d1ffer—
ent character, not then in existence and unknown to the members of the convention.
• Hence *Mothers' Rel1ef” statutes of 1929 and 1951, granting pens10ns to mothers of
· dependent children, were held not to violate this sectlon. Mayor and Clty Council of
Balt1more C1ty vs. Fuget, 164 Md. 555, 165 A. 618 (1955).
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2 Maryland
II. Financial Powers and Limitations-Continued
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A. Taxation and Assessments——Continued
(1) State——Continued
laid with a political view for the good. government and benefit of the
com unity.3
•
(b) That no aid, charge, tax, burthen or fees ought
to he rated, or levied, under any· pretense, without the consent of the
Legislature.4 •
(c) The Legislature, at its first session after the
ratification of this Constitution, shall provide by law for State and
municipal taxation upon the revenues accruing from business done in the
State by all foreign corporations.5
(d) The General Assembly, at its first session after •
the adoption of this Constitution, shall, by law, establish throughout
the State a thorough and efficient system of free public schools; and
shall provide by taxation, or otherwise, for their maintenance.6 A
(2) Counties and Other Local Unitsv
•
(a) See paragraph (b), &b0V€·
3Constltut1on, Declaration of Rights, Art. 15, as amended 1915.
lt was heldthat underthls sectlonpoll taxesare proh1b1ted,paupers exempted from
assesnment, and property taxes must be uniform, but that "lt was not the purpose of ·
the framers of EUG Constltutlon to prohibit any other species of taxation, but to
leave the Leglslature the power to impose such other taxes as the necessities of the
government mlght requlre.” A tax on collateral inheritances was therefore valid.
Tyson vs. State, 28 Md. 577 (1868).
ln holding a gross receipts tax on railroad companies valid under this section,
LHP Supreme Court stated that while ”All taxes levied upon property, should be equal
and unlfnrm accordlng to its actual value. * * * But * * #, it was not the _
purpone of LUG framers of the Constltutlon, nor of the people who adopted lt, to re- •
ntrlnt or llmlt thc Legislature in the exercise of the power of taxation * * * it
wlll harlly bu contended, that an lncome tax is a direct tax on property within the
WVlh]Ui of thc Rlll of R1ghts." State vs. P. w. & B. Railroad Company, 45 Md. 561
(UW 'rl' rj).
fn~ unlformlty requirement of this section applies only to property taxes; it
lnn:xn· relatlon to automoblle license fees which may be classified so long as the
cllnnlflcatlon ls reasonable. A statute differentiating between commercial and pri-
vale v~nlolen and commercial vehicles using pneumatic tires from those using solid •
tlres, for purposes of llcense fees, was held valid. Samuel Bevard Manuro Products
.n. HIHQHMAU, 175 A. 40 (1934).
Wnder thls sectlon the prlnclpaltifunlformlty of property taxation is satisfied
by mlxlna locll taxation equal and uniform within the taxing district. McGraw vs.
H~rrynln, 13A Md. 247, 104 A. 540 (1918).
4Vounlliullon, Declaration of Rights, Art. 14. »
JVounl‘lul1rn, Art. lll, Sec. 58. · V
h`~uullt tion, Art. Vlll, Sec. l. (
/"Yh¤ county Uommlssloners are a governing body with limited powers. They can exer-
·l»~ lrly the luthorlty with whichthey have been expressly,or as a reasonable lmpll- ’
ulziny. inv»;1el by luw.” County Commissioners of Frederick County vs. Page, 163 Md.
ole, ls; l. lsv (lass).
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Maryland 3
II. Financial Powers and Limitations——Continued
•
A. Taxation and Assessments——Continued
(2) Counties and Other Local Units——Continued
(b) See page l,paragraph GU, and page 2, Footncte 3.
(c) The personal property of residents of this State
’ shall be subject to taxation in the county· or city where the resident
bona fide resides for the greater part of the year For which the tax may
• or shall be levied, and not elsewhere, except goods and chattels perma-
nently located, which shall be taxed in the city or county where they are
so located, but the General Assembly may by law provide for the taxation
of mortgages upon property in this State andthedebts secured thereby in
the county or city where such property is situated.8
, (d) See page 2, paragraph (c).
B. Exemptions
No provision.9
Under the Code of Public General Laws, Art. XXV, Sec. 7, which declares that
• county commissioners shall levy all needful taxes on the assessable property within
the county liable to taxation, itwas held that the county commissioners had power to
levy a tax for the purpose of erecting a fireproof vault for the preservation of the
· records of the clerk of the court. B. F`. Smith Fireproof Construction Company vs.
Munroe, 97 Md. 570, 55 A- 515 (1905).
8Constitution, Art. III, Sec. .51.
The object of this section ls that personal property shall be taxed once but not
· more than once. The ordinary situs of personal property for purposes of taxation is
the residence of the owner, but this section makes an exception where personal prop-
erty is permanently located in some other city or county, and provides that such prop-
erty Shdll be taxable at the place of its location. A merchant·s stock in trade was
held to be personal property Hpermanently located¤ within the meaning of this section,
and as such was taxable in the city where located. Hopkins vs. Baker, 78 Md. 370,
28 A. 284 (1894).
The last clause of this section was held to settle any question is to the power
• of the Legislature to tax mortgage debts at the situs of the property. A statute
taxing the interest on real estate mortgages, whether the owner of the mort,xa_r;e was
a resident or a nonresident, washeld valid. Allen vs. National Bank of Camden. N. J.,
92 Md. 509, 48 A. 78 (1901).
¤The original section was first incorporated in the Constitution of this state
by the constitutional convention of 1867, for the purpose of preventing individuals,
whose places of business were in Baltimore City or in one of the counties, and who so
resided for the greater part of the year, from escaping taxation by that city or county
, on their personalty, through establishment of a residence for taxation in the city or
county where they resided for but a short period of the year.•· McLand vs. Judges of
Appeal Tax Court, 156 Md. 15s, 145 A. ess, 659 (1928).
9**The state has full power to exempt any class of property as it may deem best accord-
. ing to its views of public policy. It cannot now be questioned that a state may clas-
sify property in all proper reasonable ways, provided the discrlminations made are
based upon sound reasons of public policy, and are not arbitrary or host1le.¤ william
• S. wllkens Company vs. Mayor, etc., o1’C1ty of Balt1more,105Md. 295, GBA. LC2 (1906).
•*It is well settled that the Legislature may, without contravening either the
federal or state constitution, exempt certain species of property from taxation, when
it does not amount to an arbitrary d1scr1m1nat1on.·• A tax assessment statute, pro-
vldlng for the deduction from the capital stock of domestic fire insurance companies
of the amount of mortgages on land within the State held by them, was held not to be
· an arbitrary discrimination, and so did not violate the Federal or State Constitution.
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4 Maryland
II. Financial Powers and Limitations—Continued
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C. Borrowing and Use of Credit
(1) State
No debt shall be hereafter contracted by the General
Assembly unless such debt shall be authorized by a law providing for the
collection of an annual tax or taxes sufficient to pay the interest on •
such debt as it falls due, and also to discharge the principal thereof
within fifteen years from the time of contracting the same; and the taxes
laid for this purpose shall not be repealed or applied to any other ob- · p
ject until the said debt and interest thereon shall be fully discharged.
The credit of the State shall not in any manner be given, or loaned to,
or in aid of any individual association or corporation; nor shall the
General Assembly have the power in any mode to involve the State in the
construction of works of internal improvement, nor in granting any aid ’
thereto, which shall involve the faith or credit of the State; nor make
any appropriation therefor, except in aid of the construction of works _
of internal improvement in the counties of St. Mary's, Charles and Cal- '
vert, which have had no direct advantage from such works as have been
heretofore aided by the State; and provided that such aid, advances or ,
appropriations shall not exceed in the aggregate the sum of five hundred
thousand dollars. And they shall not use or appropriate the proceeds of
the internal improvement companies, or of the State tax, now levied, or ·
which may hereafter be levied, to pay off the public debt to any other
purposes until the interest and debt are fully paid or the sinking fund
shall be equal to the amount of the outstanding debt; but the General .
Assembly may, without laying atax, borrow an amount never to exceed fifty
thousand dollars to meet temporary deficiencies in the Treasury, and may
contract debts to any amount that may be necessary for the defence of the
State. And provided further that nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to prohibit the raising of funds for the purpose of aiding or com- •
pensating in such manner or way as the General Assembly of the State shall
deem proper, those citizens of the State who have served, with honor,
their country and State in time of war; provided, however, that such ac-
tion ot` the General Assembly shall be effective only when submitted to
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Mayor, etc., of Baltlmore vs. German-Amerlcan Flre Insurance Company, 152 Md. 580,
106 A. 980 (1918).
TUE unlformlty clause of Art. XV of the Declaration of Rights (see p. 1. par.
(a)). constitutes no bar to the right of the Legislature to exempt property from tax-
ation, when that exemptlon ls not an arbitrary dlscrlmlnatlon ln favor of a particu-
lar class. Unless the dlscrlmlnatlon be arbltrary, the wisdom of the exemption ls
wlthln the dlscretlon of the Legislature. A statute which taxed the mortgage bonds of •
corporutlons, but exempted the mortgage debts of lndlvlduals was held not to provide
for an arbitrary and unreasonable dlscrlmlnatlon, on the ground that there was a valid
dlstlnctlon between corporate and lndlvldual debt for purposes of taxation. Simpson
vs. Elopklns, 82 Md. 478, 53 A. 714 (1896).
lax exemptlons contained ln legislative acts must be strictly construed. Mayor,
etc., vs. Havre de Grace and Perryville Bridge Company, 125 A. 704 (1924).
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‘ Maryland 5
II. Financial Powers and Limitations-—Continued
•
C. Borrowing and Use of Credit-Continued
(1) State-Continued
and approvedby a vote of the people of the State at the General Election
next following the enactment of such legislation.1O
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(2) Counties
· No county of this State shall contract any debt, or
obligation in the construction of any railroad, canal, or other work of
internal improvement, nor give, or loan its credit to or in aid of any
association, or corporation, unless authorized by an Act of the General
Assembly, which shall be published for two months before the next elec-
tion for members of the House of Delegates in the newspapers published
• in such county, and shall also be approved by a majority of all the mem-
bers elected to each House of the General Assembly, at its next session
after said election.11 I
(3) Other Local Units
, From and. after the adoption of this Constitution, no
debt (except as hereinafter excepted), shall be created by the Mayor and
· City Council of Baltimore; nor shall the credit of the Mayor and City
Council of Baltimore be given or loaned to, or in aid of any individual,
association, or corporation;nor·shall the Mayor and City Council of Bal-
timore have the power to involve the City of Baltimore in the construc-
  ·
tion of works of internal improvement, nor in granting any aid thereto,
which shall involve the faith and credit of thecity, nor make any appro-
priation therefor, unless such debt or credit be authorized by an Act of
the General Assembly of Maryland, and by an ordinance of the Mayor and
City Council of Baltimore, submitted to the legal voters of the City of
• Baltimore, at such time and place as may be fixed by said ordinance, and
approved by a. majority of the votes cast at such time and place; such
1OConst1tutlon, Art. III, Sec. 34, as amended 1924.
The "lnternal 1mprovements" contemplated by the framers of the Constitution
were activities of private compan1es,such as railroads and canals. It was not meant
* to include the ordinary and necessary activities of the State. Therefore, the con-
struction of State roads was held not to come wlthln the scope of thls section.
Bonsal vs. Yellott, 100 Md. 481, 60 A. 593 (1905).
The construction of a drainage and sewerage system was held not to be a ¤work
of internal 1mprovement•; such works being internal lmprovements in one sense, but
not the type of”1nternal 1mprovements¤ lntended to be included within this section.
Welch vs. Coglan, 126 Md. 1, 94 A. 384 (1915).
• 11Const1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 54.
The*works of internal improvement" contemplated by the framers of this section
were private enterprises, such as railroads and canals. It was not meant to include
the ordinary and necessary actlvltles of the governmentalunlts of the State. There-
fore,1t was held that a county might borrow for the purpose of building roads with-
out complying with this section. Bonsal vs. Yellot, 100 Md. 503, 60 A. 593 (1905).
Q See p. 5, footnote 9.
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6 Maryland
II. Financial Powers and Limitations—Continued
•
C. Borrowing and Use of Credit—Continued
(3) Other Local Units-Continued
ordinance shall provide for the discharge of any such debt or credit with—
in the period of forty (40) years from the time of contracting the same;
but the Mayor and City Council may, temporarily, borrow any amount of •
money to meet any deficiency in the City Treasury, and may borrow any
amount at any time to provide for any emergency arising from the neces- l
•
sity of maintaining the police, or preserving the health, safety and san-
itary condition of the city, and may make due and proper arrangements and
agreements for the renewal and extension, in whole or in part, of any and
all debts and obligations created according to law before the adoption
of this Constitution.12
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D. Other Income
The General Assembly shall have power to receive from the .
United States any grant or donation of land, money or securities for any
purpose designated by the United States, and shall administer or distrib— •
ute the same according to the conditions of the said grant.13
E. Appropriations and Expenditures ·
(l) No money shall be drawn from the Treasury of the State
by any order or resolution, nor except in accordance with an appropriation •
by law; and every such law shall distinctly specify the sum appropriated
and object to which it shall be applied; provided, that nothing herein
contained shall prevent the General Assembly from placing a contingent  ;__
fund at the disposal of the Executive,· who shall report to the General A
Assembly at each session the amount expended, and the purposes to which • X
it was applied.14 * "F *· 1
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12Const1tut1on, Art. XI. Sec. 7, as amended 1954. ‘
Subject to the exceptions set forth 1n this section, no debt can be created or
credit lnvolved on behalf of Baltlmore City unless lt 1s first authorized by an act
of the General Assembly and approved by a majority of the legal voters after the •
submlsslon of the question to them by a city ordinance. Stanley vs. Mayor and City (
Council of Clty of Baltimore, 146 Md. 277, 126 A. 151 (1924); Johnson vs. Mayor and ·
City Council of Baltimore, 148 A. 209 (1950).
where a statute passed by the General Assembly and an ordinance authorizing a
bond issue by Baltimore Clty did not specify the rate of interest to be charged, 1t
was held that the city could properly delegate the flxlng of the rate of lnterest
to the finance commissioners. Douty vs. Mayor and City Council of Baitlmore, 155
Mo. 125, 141 A. 499 (1928). •
If the ordinance submitted to the voters of Baltimore City specifies the rate
of Interest, however, the Mayor and C1ty Council cannot validly change such rate.
Thom vs. Mayor and Clty Council of Baltimore, 154 Md. 275, 141 A. 125 (1928).
1`°Const1tut1on, Art III, Sec. 46.
14Const1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 52. ·
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· Maryland 7
II. Financial Powers and Limitations——Continued
•
E. Appropriations and Expenditures——Continued
(2) The General Assembly shall not appropriate any money
out of the Treasury except in accordance with the following provisions:
P Sub-Section A: Every appropriation bill shall be ei-
, ther a BudgetBill, or a Supplementary Appropriation Bill, as hereinafter
. mentioned. * * *
Sub—Section C: * * * Neither House shall consider
• other appropriations until the BudgetBill has been finally acted upon by
both Houses, * * *: (1) Every such appropriation shall be embodied
in a separate bill limited to some single work,object or purpose therein
stated and. called herein a Supplementary Appropriation Bill; (2) Each
Supplementary Appropriation Bill shall provide the revenue necessary to
• paythe appropriation thereby madeby a tax,direct or indirect,15 * * *.
III. Provisions Affecting Legislation
A. Regular Sessions of Legislature
(1) The General Assemblyshall meet on the first Wednesday
• of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, for a regular session, and
shall not meet again for a regular session until the first Wednesday of
· January, nineteen hundred and twenty-seven, and the General Assembly shall
meet on the same day in every second year thereafter andat no other time
unless convened by proclamation of the Governor.16
• (2) The General Assembly may continue its session so long
as in its judgment the public interest may require, for a period. not
longer than ninety days;17 * * *.
(3) * * * If`the Budget Billshall not have been finally
acted upon by the Legislature three days before the expiration of its
• regular session, the Governor may, and it shall be his duty to issue a
proclamation extending the session for such further period as may,in his
judgment, be necessary for the passage of such bill; but no other matter
than such bill shall be considered during such extended session except a
provision for the cost thereof.1B * * *
° B. Special Sessions of Legislature
(1) The Governor shall convene the legislature, or the
Senate alone, on extraordinary occasions;19 * * *
• 15Const1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 52.
16C0nst1tut1on, Art. XVII, Sec. 6, adopted 1922.
17ConstItutIon, Art. III, Sec. 15.
18ConstitutIon, Art. III, Sec. 52, Sub-Sec. D.
· 19Constitut1on, Art. II, Sec. 16.
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8 Maryland
III. Provisions Affecting Legislation—Continued H ·
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B. Special Sessions of Legislature—Continued
(2) *9* * * When the General Assembly shall be convened
by proclamation of the Governor, the session shall not continue longer
than thirty days,zO * ’·" "*.
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C. Powers of Initiative and Referendum j
(1) The people reserve to themselves power known as The •
Referendum, by petition to have submitted to the registered voters of the
State, to approve or reject at the polls, any Act, or part of any Act of
the General Assembly, * * *.
The provisions of this Article shall be self-executing;
provided that additional legislation in furtherance thereof and not in
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conflict therewith may be enacted.21 A
(2) * *¥‘ * No law making any appropriation or maintain- A
ing the State Government, or for maintaining or aiding any public insti-
tution, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the same purpose,
shall be subject to rejection or repeal under this section. The increase
in any such appropriation for maintaining or aiding any public institution •
shall only take effect as in the case of other laws, and such increase
or any part thereof specified in the petition, may be referred to a vote ·
of the people upon petition.22
(3) The referendum petition against an Act or part of an
Act * * °?° shall be sufficient if signed by ten thousand qualified ·
voters of the State of Maryland, of whom not more thanhalf shall be resi-
dents of Baltimore City, or of any one county; provided that any Public
Local Law for any one county or the City of Baltimore shall be referred
by the Secretary of State only to the people of said county or City of
Baltimore, upon a referendum petition of ten per cent of the qualified •
voters of said county or City of Baltimore.23 * * *
UO<‘on::t1tut1on, Art. 11I,` Sec. 15. A
mronstltutlon, Art. XVI, Sec. 1 (a) and (b), adopted 1915. •
:)‘TConst1tut1on, Art. XVI, Sec. 2, adopted 1915.
The exceptions from the referendum of appropriations “forma1nta1n1ng the State
·1ov·.—rnment¤ lnclude more than those absolutely necessary to keep the government op-
eratlnpr. They lnclude appropriations for the agencies of government of which the
titlte Roads Comm1ss1on 1s one of the most lmportant. Maintaining the government
nnalns prov1d1ng money to enable it to perform 1ts duties. So it was held that a
statute lncreaslng the gasoline tax to provide for the construction of lateral roads
tame wlthln th1s exception and was not subject to the referendum. wlnebrenner vs. •
Salmon. 142 A. *726 (1928).
""Uonst1tut1on, Art. XVI, Sec. 5 (a), adopted 1915.
Publlc local laws affecting a political subdivision of the State other than
htltltnore Qlty or one of the counties were heldnot within the operation of this ar-
tlole. So :1 statute designatlng a portion of Baltimore County as a metropolitan · ‘
•

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Maryland 9
III. Provisions Affecting Legislation-—-Continued
•
D. Legislative Enactment
(1) No law enacted by the General Assembly shall take effect
until the first day of June next after the session at which it may be
passed, unless it contain a section declaring such law an emergency law
, and necessary forthe immediate preservation of the public health or safe-
ty, and passed upon a yea and nay vote supported by three-fifths of all
the members elected to each of the two Houses of the General Assembly;
° provided, however, that said period of suspension may be extended as pro-
vided in Section 3 (b) hereof. If before said first day ofJune there shall
have been filed with the Secretary of the State a petition to refer to a
vote of the people any law or part of a law capable of referendum, as in
this Article provided, the same shall be referred by the Secretary of State
• to such vote, and shall not become a law or take effect until thirty days
` after its approval by a majority of the electors voting thereon at the
next ensuing election held throughout the State for Members of the House
of Representatives of the United States. An emergency law shall remain
in force notwithstanding such petition, but shall stand repealed thirty
• days after having been rejected by a majority of the qualified electors
voting thereon; provided, however, that no measure creating or abolishing
any office, or changing the salary, term of duty of any officer, or grant-
· ing any franchise or special privilege, or creating any vested right or
interest, shall be enacted as an emergency law.24 * * *
• (2) No law passed by the General Assembly shall take effect
until the first day of June next after the session at which it may be
passed unless it be otherwise expressly declared therein.25
district for the purpose of provldlng adequate water supply, sewerage, and storm water
drainage system was held not subject to the referendum and could therefore be made
• effective immediately according to the terms of Art. III, Sec. 51. Dlneen vs. Rider,
152 Hd. 343. 136 A. 754 (1927). See par. (2), above.
24Const1tut1on, Art. XVI, Sec. 2, adopted 1915.
Sec. 3 (b) provides that 1f there ls flled before the first day of June more
than 0ne—half but less than the full number of slgnatures required for a referendum
petition, the time for the law to take effect and for filing the requ1s1te number of
signatures shall be extended until June 50th.
This provision does not apply to the types of laws which are not subject to the
• referendum (see p. s, C, par. (2), and footnotes zz and 2:5). As to laws not subject
to the referendum, Art. III, Sec. 51 applles (see par. (2), above). This result was
held to follow from the fact that this Drovision concerning the effective date of
statutes was contained in the referendum amendment passed 1n 1915, and so its opera-
tion was intended to be limited to measures which were subject to the referendum.
Dineen vs. Rider, 152 Md. 543, 156 A. 754 (1927).
25C0nst1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 31
, Since the adoption of Lhé referendum amendment in 1915 this section has been
held to apply only to measures which are not subject to the referendum. Dineen vs.
Rider. 152 Nd. 545, 156 A. 754 (1927). See p. 8, C, par. (1) and Dar. (1). above.
The effectlve date of a statute not within the referendum provision of the Con-
stitution may be flxed by the Leglslature w1thout a declarat1on of emergency, and
does not require passage by a three—f1fths vote. Culp vs. Commissioners of Chester-
· town, 154 hd. ezo, 141 A. 410 (1928)- See par. (1). above-
•

 •
10 Maryland
III. Provisions Affecting Legislation-Continued
•
D. Leglslative Enactment·-Continued
(3) * * * no blll shall originate ln elther House during
the last ten days of the session, unless two-thirds of the members elected
thereto shall so determine by yeas and nays; nor shall any bill become a
law until it be read on three different days of the session in each House,
•
unless two-thirds of the members elected to the House where such bill is
pendlng shall so determine by yeas and nays, and no blll shall be read a
third time until it shall have been actually engrossed or printed for a •
third readlng.26
(4) No bill shall become a law unless it be passed in each
House by a majority of the whole number of members elected and on its final
passage the yeas and nays be recorded; nor shall any resolution requiring
the action of both Houses be passed except in the same manner.27 •
(5) * * * every law enacted by the General Assembly
shall embrace but one subject, and that shall be described in its title;
and no law, nor section of law, shall be revised or amended by reference _
to its title or section only; nor shall any law be construed by reason of
its title to grant powers or confer rights which are not expressly con- •
tained in the body of the Act;2B * * *.
(6) The General Assembly shall not pass local or special ·
laws in any of the following enumerated cases, viz.: For * * * re-
funding money paid into the State Treasury, or releasing persons from
their debts or obligations to the State, unless recommended by the Governor ,
or officers of the Treasury Department. And the General Assembly shall
pass no special law for any case for which provision has been made by an
existing general law.29 * * *
z6Constltutlon, Art. III, Sec. 27, as amended 1913.
z7Const1tut1on, Art. III, Sec. 28. °
where there was no record at all of what, lf any, vote was taken on a blll by
the Senate, the blll was held vold, this section belng mandatory