Balt. City BOE v. Mayor & City Cncl. of Balt

Circuit Court for Baltimore City

Case No. C-24-CV-24-001320 IN THE SUPREME COURT Argued: August 28, 2024

OF MARYLAND No. 34 September Term, 2023 ______________________________________

BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, ET AL. v. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, ET AL.

______________________________________ Fader, C.J., Watts, Booth, Biran, Gould, Eaves, Killough, JJ. ______________________________________ PER CURIAM ORDER ______________________________________ Pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials

Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. Filed: August 29, 2024 Digitally signed by Kisha Taylor-Wallace DN: cn=Kisha Taylor-Wallace c=US Kisha l=Annapolis o=Court of Appeals, Maryland State

Taylor-Wallace [email protected] Reason: I am the author of this document Location: Date: 2024-08-29 13:15-04:00

Gregory Hilton, Clerk *

IN THE

BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF *

ELECTIONS, ET AL. SUPREME COURT * v. OF MARYLAND *

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF No. 34

BALTIMORE, ET AL. *

September Term, 2023 *

PER CURIAM ORDER

Upon consideration of the filings by the Baltimore City Board of Elections and Maryland Child Alliance, et al., the appellants, 1 and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, et al., the appellees, 2 and oral argument conducted on August 28, 2024, Whereas, Maryland Child Alliance is the organizational sponsor of a petition to amend the Charter of Baltimore City by establishing the Baby Bonus Fund (the “Baby Bonus Amendment”); and

Whereas, the Election Director of the Baltimore City Board of Elections determined that the petition did not seek an enactment that was unconstitutional or a result otherwise prohibited by law pursuant to § 6-206(c)(5)(ii) of the Election Law Article and certified the question for the November 2024 general election ballot; and Whereas, on July 11, 2024, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, together with the Director and Deputy Director of the City’s Department of Finance, brought suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City pursuant to § 6-209(a)(1)(ii) of the Election Law Article, seeking: (1) judicial review of the Baltimore City Board of Elections’s certification of the question for placement on the ballot; (2) a writ of mandamus compelling the defendants to perform their statutory duties; (3) a declaratory judgment that the Baby Bonus Amendment is unconstitutional under Article XI-A, § 3, of the Constitution of Maryland; and (4) an injunction barring the question from appearing on the ballot; and Whereas, on July 12, 2024, Maryland Child Alliance moved to intervene as a defendant; and

Whereas, on July 18, 2024, the circuit court granted Maryland Child Alliance’s unopposed motion to intervene; and

Whereas, on July 23, 2024, the Baltimore City Board of Elections filed a motion to dismiss or alternatively for summary judgment on the question of whether the Baby Bonus Amendment violates Article XI-A, § 3, of the Constitution of Maryland; and Whereas, on the same day, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and Maryland Child Alliance filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the same question, and Maryland Child Alliance filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore lacked standing; and

Whereas, on August 9, 2024, after a hearing, the circuit court issued an order denying Maryland Child Alliance’s motion to dismiss and the Baltimore City Board of Elections’s motion for summary judgment and granting the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore’s motion for summary judgment; and

Whereas, in the same order, the circuit court enjoined the Baltimore City Board of Elections from placing the Baby Bonus Amendment on the ballot and entered a memorandum opinion and order in which it declared that the Baby Bonus Amendment violated Article XI-A, § 3, of the Constitution of Maryland because it is not proper charter material; and

Whereas, on August 12, 2024, the Baltimore City Board of Elections and Maryland Child Alliance separately noted a direct appeal from the circuit court’s judgment to this Court pursuant to § 6-209(a)(3)(ii) of the Election Law Article; and Whereas, on August 28, 2024, this Court held oral argument, Now, therefore, for reasons to be stated later in an opinion to be filed, it is this 29th day of August, 2024, by the Supreme Court of Maryland,

ORDERED, that the Order issued by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on August 9, 2024 is hereby AFFIRMED. The circuit court correctly determined that the Baby Bonus Amendment violates Article XI-A, § 3, of the Constitution of Maryland because it is not proper “charter material.” See Cheeks v. Cedlair Corp., 287 Md. 595, 608 (1980). Accordingly, it cannot be presented on the November 2024 general election ballot. Costs are to be paid by the appellants and the mandate shall issue forthwith.

/s/ Matthew J. Fader Chief Justice