G en. 95] 95 CO UNTI ES E LEC TI ONS

– C H AR T E R H OM E R ULE C OUNTI ES

– C OM MISS I ONER C OUNTI ES

– F E WER E LECT I ONS A MEND M ENT

– A PP LICATI ON OF F E WER E LECT I ONS A M E N D M E NT T O C EC IL C OUN T Y G OVERNING B ODY I F C OUN T Y A DOPTS C HARTER H OM E R ULE

A pr i l 20, 2010

M s
. Joyc e Bow l

s bey C ha i rm an , C eci lC ou nty C ha rt er B oa rd O n be h a l f

o f t h e Ce c i l Cou n t yCha r t e rBoa r d , y o u have re q u e ste d o u r o p in io n c o n c e rn in g th e ter m s o f o f f ice o f a C o u n ty E xecut i ve and m ember s of a C ount y C ounci l t hatw oul d be cr eat ed b ya p ro sp e c tiv e c h a rte r. T h e C h a rte r B o a rd ’s q u e stio n s e a c h p e rta in t o t he ext entt o w hi ch A r t i cl e X V I I o f t he M ary l and C ons t i tut i on, know n as t he Q uadr enni al E l ect i ons A rt icl e orFew erE l ect i ons A m en d m en t, w o u ld co n str ain th e sc h ed u li n g o f e lecti o n s u n d er a ch arter. In pa rt icular, the C h arter B o ard is interested in the an sw ers t o the foll ow i ng qu est i on s: 1 – M ayt he stag g ere d t er m s of off i ce thatnow appl yt o t he C e c il C o u n ty C o m m iss io n e rs a lso b e a p p lied to m e m b e rs o f a C e c il C o u n tyC o u n c il u p o n a d o p tio n o f a c h a rte r f

o rm o f g o v e rn m e n t? 2 – A l t ernat i vel y , m ay t he new chart er di s pens e w i t h s t agger ed t erm s of of

fi ce fo r C ou ntyC ou ncil m em bers? 3

– M ay a C eci l C ount ychart erpr ovi de fort he el ect i on of a C o u n tyE x ec u ti v e in 2 0 1 2 an d ev eryfo u r y ea rs t h ere af ter? 4 – I f t he St at e C ons t i tut i on w oul d notper m i toff- y ear el ect i ons of a Count yE xecut i ve, m aya char t er pr ovi de for t he i ni t i al e le c tio n o f a C o u n ty E x e c u tiv e in 2 0 1 2 a s a tr a n s itio n a l m e a s u re , a su b seq u en t el ec ti o n in 2 0 1 4 , an d fu ture e lecti o n s ev eryfo u r y e ars there af ter?9 6 [95 O p . A tt’ y

In compliance with our

policies conc erningopinion requests from 1 local g overnme nts, you have provided the analy sis of the Charter Boa rd’s counsel in two l et t er s. L etter of J oyce B owlsbey to Attorney

Gene ral Doug las F. G ansler (January 10, 2 010); L etter of Victor K. Tervala , E s qu i re, to Assistant Attorney Gene ral Rober

t N. McDonald ( Ap ril 5, 2010). We have revie wed the information you have provided. We agree with the conclusions of your counsel and elaborate in this opinion on the r e a s o n s why. F o r th e re a so n s s e t f

o rth b e lo w , it i s o u r o p in io n th a t:

1 1 – A C eci l C ount ychart er m ay pr ovi de for s t agger ed t er m s for m e m b e rs o f

a C o u n tyC o u n c il. 2 – O n t he otherhand, a C ount ychart er m ays uppl antt he curr entl ocal l aw and di s pens e w i t h s t agger ed t er m s form ember s of a C o u n tyC o u n c il. 3 – A C eci l C ount ychart erm aypr ovi de fort he elec ti o n of a C o u n tyE x ec u ti v e in 2 0 1 2 an d ev eryfo u r y ea rs t h ere af ter. 4 – A l t er nat i vel y , a C ount ychart erm aypr ovi de fort he i ni t i al e lec tio n o f

a C o u n tyE x e c u tiv e in 2 0 1 2 , a s u b se q u e n t ele c tio n in 2 0 1 4 , a n d f

u tu re e le c tio n s e v e ry f

o u r ye a rs th e re a f

te r. I Backg r ound C eci l C ount yi s curr ent l ygoverned bya fi ve- m ember B oar d of C o u n ty C o m m iss io n e rs. P u b lic L o c a l L a w s o f C e c il C o u n ty ( “PL L ”) , § 1 5 -1. T he C ount yC om m i s s i oner s ar e ea ch el ect ed at l ar ge, al t ho u g h eac h C om m i s s i oneri s r equi r ed t o r es i de i n a di ffe r entdi s t r i ct

. PL L §15- 2. A and B

. T he t er m s of t he fi ve C o m m iss io n e rs a re sta g g e re d – tw o C o m m iss io n e rs a re e lec ted in t he y ear of t he pr es i dent i al el ect i on, w hi l e t hr ee ar e el ect ed in t he y e a ro f t h e g u b e r n a t o r i a l e l e c t i o n . P L L § 1 5

- 2

. D. T he s t agger ed t er m s of t he C om m i s s i oner s ar e per m i t t ed byan e x c e p tio n to th e g e n e ra l ru le o f A rticle X V II o f

th e S tate C ons t i tut i on. T he Few er E l ect i ons A m endment gener al l yr equi r es that all S tat e an d co u n ty o ff icers b e elec ted ev eryfo u r y ea rs as p art o f th e gu b ern atorial elec ti o n . M ary land C o n sti tuti o n , A rt icl e X V II, § 2 . H o w e v e r, th e re is a n e x c e p tio n in th e C o n stitu tio n f o r C e c il C o u n t y:G en. 95] 97 Sect i ons 1, 2, 3, and 5 of [t he Few erE l ect i ons A m endment ] do notappl yorr efe r to .

. . t he B o a rd o f

C o u n tyC o m m iss io n e rs f o r C e c il C o u n ty. M ary l and C ons t i tut i on, A rt i cl e X V I I , §7( 2)

. T hi s exce pt i on w as pas s ed byt he Legi s l atur e i n 199 9 an d rati fi ed byt he vot er s i n t he 2000 el ect i on. C hapt er119, L aw s o f M ary l and 1999. U pon r at i fi cat i on, compani on l egi s l at i on cr eat i ng s t agger ed t er m s fort he C om m i s s i oner s beca m e ef fec t i ve. C hapt er380, L aw s of M ary l and 1 9 9 9 , l at eram ended by C h a p te r 9 5 , L a w s o f M a r yl a n d 2 0 0 2 , and c o d ifi e d in P L L § 1 5 -2 .D

. II

A n a ly sis T w o of t he C har t erB oar d’ s ques t i ons conce r n el ect i on of t he me mb e r s o f

a p r o s p e c t i v e Co u n ty Co u n c i l u n d e r a n e w c h a r t e r ; t wo ques t i ons conce r n el ect i on of a pr os pect i ve C ount yE xecut i ve. A . Co u n ty C o u n c il T he C har t erB oar d has as ked w hethert he s t agger ed t er m s t hat curr ent l yappl yt o t he C eci l C ount yC om m i s s i oner s m aybe appl i ed to the m ember s of a ne w C ount yC ounci l cr eat ed undera cha r t er. T hi s ques t i on i s r eadi l yans w er ed byr efe r ence t o a pr ovi s i on of t he M a ry la n d C o n stitu tio n th a t co n c e rn s th e a d o p tio n o f h o m e ru le c h a rte rs b yc o u n ties . T h a t se c tio n p ro v id e s, in re lev a n t p a rt:

E verychart ers o for m ed s hal l pr ovi de foran el ect i ve l egi s l at i ve bodyi n w hi ch sh al l be v e s te d th e la w -m a k in g p o w e r o f s a i d

... Cou n t y . Su c h l e g i s l a t i v e b o d y . . . i n any c o u n tysh a ll b e k n o w n a s th e C o u n tyC o u n c il o f th e C o u n ty

. T h e c h ief

e x e c u tiv e o f

f ice r, if any s uch char t er s hal l pr ovi de forthe el ect i on of s uch exe cut i ve off

i cer , ort he pr es i di ng offi cerof s ai d l egi s l at i ve body , i f s uch cha r t er shal l notpr ovi de fort he el ect i on of a c hi ef exec ut i ve off

i cer , s hal l be know n . . . as the P re sid e n t o r C h a irm a n o f th e C o u n tyC o u n c il of t he C ount y , and al lr ef er ence s i n the C ons t i t uti o n a n d l aw s of this St at e t o .
. . the C o u n ty C o m m iss io n e rs o f th e C o u n ties , sh a ll9 8 [95 O p . A tt’ y

I f the voter s of Cecil C ounty were to adopt cha rter homerule, the 2 County Council could formally

repe al the inconsi s t en tpublic local law prov isi on s und e r a

uth ority de ri ve d dir e c tly from Artic leXI -Aof theState Constitution. See City of An na po lisv . A nn eArun de l Co un ty , 347 Md. 1, 15, 698 A.2d 523 (1997).

be cons tr ued t o r ef

ert o
. . . the Pres i dent

or C h a irm a n a n d

C o u n ty C o u n c il h e re in pr ovi ded f

orw henev ers uch cons t r uct i on w o u ldb e r e a s o n a b le

.... M a ryla n d C o n s titu tio n , A rt ic le X I- A , § 3 (e m p h a s is a d d e d ). U n d er this sec ti o n , the re fe ren ce to the C o u n tyC o m m issi o n ers of C eci l C ount yi n A r t i cl e X V I I , §7( 2) – t he exc ept i on t o t he Few er E lec tio n s A m e n d m e n t – w o u ld b e c o n stru e d to a p p ly to a C e c il C o u n tyC ounci l cr eat ed bya new chart er , i f s uch a c ons t ruct i on w o u ld b e re a so n a b le. In o u r v ie w , itw o u ld b e re a so n a b le to co n stru e this ex ce p ti o n , w h ich t h e G en era l A ssem b ly an d the v o ters of t he St at e have author i zed f ort he curr ent governi ng bodyof t he C o u n ty , to ap p ly to the n ew g o v ern ing b o d y cre ated w h en the v o ters adoptcha rt er h o m e rul e. N ot hi ng i n t he l egi s l at i ve hi s t or yof t he exce pt i on s ugges t s ot herw i s e. T h e C h a rte r B o a rd h a s a lso a sk e d w h e th e r a n e w c h a rte r c o u ld di s pens e w i t h s t agger ed t er m s . T he C ec il C o unt yexce pt i on i n t he F ew er Elect i on s A m end m ent of t he S t at e C on st i tuti on authori zes, butdoes notm andat e, t he el ect i on of t he C ount ygoverni ng bodyon a sta g g e r e d sc h e d u le. T h e c u rre n t sta g g e re d ter m s f o r C o u n ty C om m i s s i oner s ar e s etfor t h i n a publ i c l ocal l aw t hatw as enac t ed byt he G ener al A s s embl ycoi nci dentw i t h t he cons t i tut i onal exce pt i on. H ow ever , gi ven the l ack of anypubl i c gene r al l aw gover ni ng t he t er m s of C eci l C ount y ’ s governi ng body , t he pr opos ed chart erm aydevi at e fr om t he curr entl ocal l aw . Speci fi cat i on of t he t er m s of t he l ocal governi ng bodycl ear l yr el at e t o t he “f or m and s t ructur e” of

l ocal governm entand ar e thus appr opr i at el ypar tof a c h a r t e r. S e e Sa v e O u r S tre e ts v . Mitch e ll , 357 M d. 237, 248, 743 A .2 d 7 4 8 (2 0 0 0 ); C heeks v. C edlai r C orp . , 287 M d. 595, 606- 7, 415 A

. 2d 255 ( 1980)

. A ccor di ngl y , a new chart ercoul d change t he stag g ering o f term s, o r eli m inate italt o g ethe r. 2 B . Count

y E xecuti ve T he C har t erB oar d has as ked w hethert he exc ept i on t o t he F ew er E lecti o n s A m en d m en t f o r t h e C ec il C o u n tyC o m m issi o n ersG en. 95] 99

w o u ld ex tend to a C o u n tyE x ec u ti v e c rea ted u n d er a n ew ch arter. M or e part i cul ar l y , t he C har t erB oar d w i s hes t o know w hethert he c h a rte r c o u ld p r o v id e f o r th e C o u n tyE x e c u tiv e to b e e lec ted in pr es i dent i al el ect i on y ear s – i

. e. , 2 0 1 2 , an d ev ery fo u r y e a rs t h e r e a f t e r . As i n d i c a t e d i n t h e p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n , u n d e rAr t i c l e XI

- A, § 3 , o f th e S tat e C o n sti tuti o n , ref ere n ce s to C o u n tyC o m m issi o n ers i n t he St at e C ons t i tut i on ar e t o be cons t rued t o ref er to a chi ef e x e c u tiv e o f

f ice r of a c o u n tyu n d e r a c h a rte r, as w e ll as to a c o u n ty c o u n c i l , i f

s u c h a c o n s t ru c t i o n wo u l d b e r e a s o n a b l e . I n o u rv i e w, s uch a c ons t ruct i on w oul d be r eas o n abl e fort he s ame r eas ons s et f o rt h a b o v e w ith re s p e c t to th e p ro s p e c tiv e C o u n ty C o u n c il. I n t he al t ernat i ve, t he C har t erB oar d as ks w hethera cha r t er m aypr ovi de fort he i ni t i al el ect i on of a Co u n ty E x ec ut i ve i n 2012 ( pr es i dent i al el ect i on y ear ) as a t r ans i t i onal m eas ur e, a s ubs equent el ect i on i n 2014 ( gu b ern ator i al el ect i on y ear ) , and futur e el ect i ons e v e ryf o u r y e a rs th e re a f

te r . E v e n if

o u r c o n c lu sio n a b o v e is i ncorr ect and a Count yE xecut i ve w oul d be s ubj ectt o t he Few er E l ect i ons A m endment , t he cha r t erm ays t i l l pr ovi de fort hi s s cena r i o. T h e c h a rte r, in e f

f e c t, w o u ld p ro v id e f

o r a sp e c ial e lec tio n w ith re sp e c t to th e C o u n tyE x e c u tiv e ’s in iti a l term . T h e C o u rt o f A p p e a ls has h eld that a cha r t erm aypr ovi de fors uch an i ni t i al s peci al e le c tio n a s p a rt o f

th e tr a n s itio n t o c h a r t e r h o m e ru le

. See C o u n ty C om m is s i oners f

orMont gom er y C ount y v. Super vis ors of

E l ect i ons , 192 M d. 196, 63 A

. 2d 735 ( 1949) ( new M ont gom eryC ount ychart er c o u ld p ro v id e f

o r a n in iti a l sp e c ial e lec tio n f o r th e n e w C o u n ty C ounci l i n an off

- y ears hor t l y aft eradopt i on of t he cha r t erand su b seq u en t reg u lar e lecti o n s in the y ea rs sp ec ifi ed b yA rt icl e X V II o f th e S ta te C o n s titu tio n ). III C oncl usi on In su m , itis o u r o p in io n th a t: 1 – A C eci l C ount y chart er m ay pr ovi de for s t agger ed t er m s for m e m b e rs o f

a C o u n tyC o u n c il.

2 – O n t he otherhand, a C ount ychart erm aysu p p l antt he curr ent l ocal l aw and di s pens e w i t h s t agger ed t er m s form ember s of a C o u n tyC o u n c il.1 0 0 [95 O p . A tt’ y 3 – A C eci l C ount ychart er m ay p rov i de fort he el ect i on of a C o u n tyE x ec u ti v e in 2 0 1 2 an d ev eryfo u r y ea rs t h ere af ter. 4 – A l t ernat i vel y , a C ount y chart er m ay pr ovi de for t he i ni t i al e lec tio n o f

a C o u n tyE x e c u tiv e in 2 0 1 2 , a s u b se q u e n t ele c tio n in 2 0 1 4 , a n d f

u tu re e le c tio n s e v e ry f

o u r ye a rs th e re a f

te r.

D ougl as F. G ans l er A t t or ney G ener al R o b e rt N . M c D o n a ld C hi ef C ouns el O pi ni ons and A dvi ce*

*A s s ist antA t t or neyG ener al W i l l i am R

. V ar ga contr i but ed s i gni fi cant l yt o t he pr epar at i on of t hi s opi ni on.