Balt. City. Bd. of Elections v. May. & City of Balt.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed the injunction barring the Baby Bonus Amendment from the ballot because the amendment was not proper charter material under the Home Rule Amendment. By mandating payments of at least $1,000 to specified Baltimore City residents and leaving the City only procedural implementation choices, it deprived the City Council of meaningful discretion over an area reserved for local legislation and encroached on the City's police and general welfare powers. The Court declined to overrule the governing charter-material precedent and held that the invalid payment provision could not be severed.