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[quote=Anonymous]NP - This thread is off the rails crazy, but I shouldn't be surprised. For those of you who are so lacking in understanding of Maryland's government, here are some references to get you started. Before proposing random ideas based on how you think things work, or how they worked where you came from, how about educating yourself about how things actually work HERE? That is of course assuming you are actually interested in advocating effectively for change. If really all you want to do is stir up a sh!tstorm of complaining, then DCUM is definitely your place.  :roll:

The Constitution of Maryland: http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/const.html
An overview of the government organization: http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/govern.html
Constitution section XI-A pertaining to Local Legislation (allows adoption of a county charter) (1915): http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/11aar.html
Constitution section XI-E pertaining to Municipal Corporations (1954): http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/11ear.html
Constitution section XI-F pertaining to Code Counties (1966): http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/11far.html

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Maryland#Local_government

[quote]At the local level, Maryland is notable among U.S. states for having a relatively small number of local governments. Maryland is also unique among Northeastern states in that it has fairly strong county governments. In most Northeastern states, counties are administrative divisions with little (and in the case of New England, almost nonexistent) authority, and most local government is at the town or city level. This is not true for Maryland's 23 counties, some of which have substantial authority. There are three forms of county government available to the state's counties. ...

[b]Commissioner Counties[/b]
In 1827, the General Assembly authorized elected boards of county commissioners for each county. Counties governed by commissioners have no authority to act in local matters without the express prior consent of the General Assembly. In the areas where they do have authority to legislate, that authority is narrowly construed. The Constitution adopted in 1867 kept the power to pass public local laws vested in the General Assembly, which gave a lot of control over county government to county delegations in the General Assembly. As a result of this, the General Assembly spends considerable time dealing with local issues, ordinances, and expenditures. ...

[b]Charter Counties[/b]
Due partly to the large amount of time spent by the state legislature on local matters, the Maryland Constitution was amended in 1915 to allow counties the option of operating under a charter form of government, with substantial home rule power. To adopt this form of government, the voters of the county must approve the charter which their charter board drafts. ...

[b]Code Home Rule Counties[/b]
Due to the reluctance of many counties to adopt a charter form of government, despite wanting a measure of home rule, the Maryland Constitution was again amended in 1966 to create a third class of county government, the "code county" status. If two thirds of a county's commissioners adopt a resolution that the county become a code county and a majority of the voters approve of the resolution, the county becomes a code county. In a code county, the county commissioners have home-rule powers, and may enact legislation in the areas of the "express powers" of the charter counties. In addition, the commissioners retain all the powers of commissioners in commissioner counties. However, there is no charter, and the limits on indebtedness are stricter. The General Assembly can only legislate for the code counties as a class. ... [/quote]

Basically, as the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) time became more bogged down with local issues, they pushed more responsibility down to the local level, with the counties being the primary organizational level. In 1954 they stopped incorporating cities and towns - existing ones remained and kept whatever local authority they had, but new cities are not incorporated. The (MGA) can create special taxing districts for a specific purpose, as outlined in the particular legislation, but I think after 1966, they even stopped that. Everything is county level now.

And here is another link with a nice summary of the various levels of organization for commissions and authorities that oversee different things, including the schools. https://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/gc0212md.pdf

*phew*[/quote]

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