lief, veto overrides (i.e., “Kirwan” education reforms and funding), sports betting (approved by the voters in the last election), and police reform. Of course, as they say, “all politics is local,” and Maryland horse people
can be affected by actions at an even more local level, i.e., the counties. To the extent our resources permit, the MHC Government Relations Committee can work at the county level as well as the state level. Mary- land has 24 local jurisdictions, each of which operates under one of three different forms of governance. Te three forms are code counties, code home rule counties, and charter counties.
CODE: Code counties are governed by a board of elected county com- missioners, which in turn appoints a County Administrator to run day- to-day operations. Code counties have limited legislative authority, and the State General Assembly has the full power to legislate for the county. In code counties, the county delegations to the General Assembly (i.e., the elected Delegates and Senators for that county) play an especially important role in setting county law. Te six code counties are Calvert, Carroll, Garret, St. Mary’s, Somerset, and Washington.
CODE HOME RULE: Six counties have adopted “code home rule.” Code home rule counties are also governed by boards of elected county commissioners and a board-appointed county administrator, but they have broader legislative authority than code counties. Te General As- sembly cannot make local law in a specific code home rule county; in- stead the General Assembly can make laws that applies generally to all code home rule counties only. Te six “code home rule” counties are Allegany, Caroline, Charles, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Worcester.
CHARTER: Charter counties, of which there are 12, have an elected county council as well as an elected executive. Nine of them elect a council and a separate executive, two of them elect a council that also acts as the executive, and Baltimore City has an elected city council and mayor. Charter counties have the broadest authority over local law of the three forms of governance. Te General Assembly can legislate only in the specific, and narrow, areas expressly set out in the county’s char- ter. Te 12 charter counties are Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Balti- more City, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Talbot, and Wicomico.
Te Government Relations Committee adapts its processes to each of the three different forms of local governance. To the extent our resources permit, we monitor the county councils of the charter counties quite closely, as many of them have broad jurisdiction over land use, agricul- ture, open space issues, and, recently, the pandemic response. We moni- tor the boards of commissioners in code home rule counties for local zoning and animal control issues. And in code counties, we monitor the local bills introduced in the General Assembly by the county delegations (as we do for all counties). We encourage all our members to familiarize themselves with their county’s form of government and its leaders and processes, and to be MHC’s eyes and ears on the ground, to assist us in monitoring developments at the local level. With your help, we can en- sure that our members get the information they need, in a timely manner, to have an impact on local decisions that affect our lives, our horses, our businesses and our farms.
join.mdhorsecouncil.org
SALTBOX CONSULTING
METS prides itself on offering judgment-free, transparent assistance to Maryland horse owners. There are many reasons a horse may find itself in need of transition. This graph shows the reasons behind all assistance requests METS has received in 2020.
Reasons for Assistance Requests
legal advice for the life sciences industry Kimberly K. Egan, Esq. | Founder
kim.saltbox@
gmail.com | 443-931-7662
Are you a policy wonk; politics junkie: or just interested in learning more about how your government works and how you can make a difference?
www.mdequinetransition.org https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/mets
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580
MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL
Join us on the MHC PAC Board! Minimal time commitment (less than 10 hours a year). Help us decide how to wield our financial clout in Annapolis. Interested?
Contact us at
admin@mdhorsecouncil.org THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | JANUARY 2021 | 21
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