Notes and Highlights from the Spring Law Institute

By Frank Johnson
Deputy City Attorney, City of Gaithersburg

The State and Local Government Law Section’s signature legal education program was held virtually this year on Friday, June 2, and included four presentations by eight practitioners, one judge, and one delegate. The presentations included counseling the executive, a General Assembly update, a discussion on the legalization of cannabis, and finally an appellate roundup considering both U.S. Supreme Court and Maryland appellate cases.

The first presentation focused on serving as legal counsel to elected chief executives, and included James Benjamin, County Attorney for Baltimore County; Lynn Board, City Attorney for Gaithersburg; and Chris Mincher, who served as Chief Legal Counsel to Governor Hogan (and is also a member of the Section Council). The three first outlined the scope of their work, with Chris Mincher noting he focused on the Governor, while James Benjamin noted he advises not just the County Executive but also the County Council and all departments, as does Lynn Board for the City of Gaithersburg.

James and Lynn as broader local advisors agreed they had to be aware of the possibility of a conflict, such as would result by advising one department, for example, to the detriment of another, but emphasized the importance of limiting their role to legal advice and not policy issues, leaving policy to other branches and elected officials. Chris Mincher said that in working closely with a decision maker, such as the Governor, there can be an assumption that this includes offering an element of policy advice as well, but found himself focusing on presenting legal advice as there were many others focused on policy. If the issue was regarding judicial branch, his office may have had some policy involvement, but mostly the focus was on legal matters.

The second presentation was a General Assembly update, offered by Jerome Spencer, General Counsel for the Charles County Sheriff (and as a member of the Section Council also chair of the Section’s Legislative Committee) as well as Roscoe Leslie, County Attorney for Worcester County. In their presentation, they noted that 810 bills had passed during the 2023 session, but they focused only on bills passed affecting state and local government.

They identified a number of specific bills, starting with House Bill 90, which amended the Local Government Article to allow local governments to regulate invasive bamboo. Legislation amending Real Property Article Section 8-401 was also passed to clarify that, where a local government requires a rental license, the landlord must have such a license to pursue an eviction proceeding, even for those tenants who are holding over at the end of the lease term.

An amendment reducing the advertising costs for a Municipal Charter was also passed,
changing Local Government Article Section 4-304 to allow one publication and delivery of a fair summary to citizens using mail or a “regular municipal publication,” such as a quarterly or monthly newsletter. House Bill 1051 will now allow an appeal from Public Information Act Compliance Board decisions to the Circuit Court for the applicant’s county, with a right of further appeal to the Appellate Court.

Senate Bill 114 changed the Tax Property Article concerning Constant Yield Notices local governments have had to publish regarding the annual budget, specifying counties and municipalities now do not need to advertise simply because assessments went up, but only if they are increasing property tax rates. Before this change, if revenue increased even without a property tax increase, notice by publication had to be provided as though the local government was instituting a tax increase.

The discussion on the legislation approving the personal use of cannabis was provided by Delegate C.T. Wilson, who sponsored the House Bill and also serves as Chair of the House Economic Matters Committee; Jason Steinhardt, Assistant State’s Attorney for Anne Arundel County; and Heather Nelson, Assistant Attorney General advising the state Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission. Following this presentation, Judge Daniel Friedman from the Maryland Appellate Court and Dan Schweitzer, Director and Chief Counsel of the National Association of Attorneys General Center for Supreme Court Advocacy, discussed key state and federal appellate cases.