Notice and Comment Period; Publication in Register; Adoption

Baltimore City Code div. General Provisions, tit. 4, subtit. 3

in effect

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-301 Notice of proposed regulation.

§ 4-301. Notice of proposed regulation. (a) In general. After a proposed regulation has been approved by the Department of Legislative Reference, the City Solicitor, and the City Administrator, as described in § 4-205 of this title, the agency shall submit the proposed regulation to the Department of Legislative Reference for publication in the Register to solicit public comment for at least 30 days. (b) Publication of proposed regulation in Register. To have a proposed regulation published in the Register, an agency shall submit to the Department of Legislative Reference: (1) the proposed regulation; and (2) a Notice of Proposed Action in the form and containing the information required by the Department of Legislative Reference. (c) Publication on website. An agency shall publish the text of a proposed regulation on the agency’s website no later than 3 business days after the date that the proposed regulation is published in the Register. (Ord. 23-269; Ord. 20-431.)

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-302 Effect of notice.

§ 4-302. Effect of notice. Publication of the notice required by this subtitle: (1) creates a rebuttable presumption that the proposed regulation was adopted properly; and (2) is deemed to give a person who is subject to or affected by the proposed regulation notice of the contents of the proposed regulation. (Ord. 22-124; Ord. 20-431.)

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-303 COBRA Register.

§ 4-303. COBRA Register. (a) In general. There is a COBRA Register that contains regulations proposed by units of City government. (b) Publication and distribution. (1) The Department of Legislative Reference shall publish the Register once per calendar month. (2) The Department of Legislative Reference shall distribute the Register each month by: (i) posting a copy of the Register on the Department of Legislative Reference’s website; and (ii) providing a copy of the Register to: (A) each City councilmember; (B) each public library in the City; (C) the City Solicitor; and (D) the City Administrator. (c) Contents. (1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Register shall contain: (i) a publication date; (ii) the proposed regulation or regulations; and (iii) a Notice of Proposed Action for each proposed regulation. (2) Exceptions. If there are no proposed regulations during a calendar month, the Department of Legislative Reference shall distribute a copy of the Register in accordance with subsection (b)(2) of this section that contains: (i) a publication date; and (ii) a memorandum stating that no regulations were proposed during the respective calendar month. (d) Procedures. The Department of Legislative Reference shall determine procedures regarding the creation, publication, and distribution of the Register. (Ord. 23-269.)

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-304 Review by Committee.

§ 4-304. Review by Committee. (a) “Committee” defined. In this section, “Committee” means the Committee on Legislative Investigations, established by City Code Article 1, § 1-4 {“Committee on Legislative Investigations”}. (b) In general. (1) On receipt of written notification or notifications by the Chair of the Committee from at least 3 councilmembers within 15 days from the receipt of the Register described in § 4-303 {“COBRA Register”}, a 60-day period of review of the proposed regulation shall commence before the Committee. (2) A review under this section may include holding a public hearing before the Committee. (c) Scope of review. In its review under this section, the Committee shall consider whether the proposed regulation: (1) conforms with the legal authority of the agency; and (2) reasonably complies with the legislative intent of the law under which the regulation was proposed. (d) Effect of review period. (1) During the Committee’s 60-day review period, the proposed regulation may not be adopted nor may it become effective. (2) On the expiration of the 60-day period, the agency may proceed with the formal adoption of the proposed regulation as provided in this title. (Ord. 23-269; Ord. 22-124; Ord. 20-431.)

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-305 Adoption or re-publication.

§ 4-305. Adoption or re-publication. (a) Submission to City Solicitor. (1) After the notice and comment period described in § 4-301 {“Notice of proposed regulation”} of this subtitle has expired, if an agency makes changes to the text of the proposed regulation, the agency shall submit the changed proposed regulation to the City Solicitor. (2) The City Solicitor shall determine whether the change in the proposed regulation is a material change. (b) Determination of material change. If the City Solicitor determines that an agency has made a material change to the text of a proposed regulation, the agency may not adopt the proposed regulation unless it is proposed anew, re-published, and adopted in accordance with the requirements of this title. (c) No change or determination of non-material change. If, after the notice and comment period, the agency has not made a change in the proposed regulation or if the City Solicitor determines that a change in the proposed regulation is not material, the agency may adopt and implement the proposed regulation only after: (1) securing the written approval of the agency head; and (2) filing the regulation with the Director for COBRA codification. (d) Failure to adopt. If an agency fails to adopt a proposed regulation within 180 days after the date the proposed regulation was initially published in the Register, the regulation shall be deemed withdrawn and may not be adopted unless proposed anew and adopted in accordance with the requirements of this subtitle. (Ord. 23-269; Ord. 21-055; Ord. 20-431.)

Baltimore City Code, General Provisions, § 4-306 Emergency regulations.

§ 4-306. Emergency regulations. (a) “State of emergency” defined. In this section, “state of emergency” means a period of time in which: (1) a proclamation has been issued by the Governor declaring a state of emergency under Title 14, Subtitle 3 of the State Public Safety Article {“Governor’s Emergency Powers”}; (2) a proclamation has been issued by the Governor declaring a catastrophic health emergency under Title 14, Subtitle 3A of the State Public Safety Article {“Governor’s Health Emergency Powers”}; or (3) an order or proclamation has been issued by the Mayor declaring a state of emergency under § 14-111 {“Local state of emergency”} of the State Public Safety Article. (b) Temporary regulations. (1) In general. During a state of emergency, an agency may suspend the provisions of this title and adopt temporary regulations if: (i) the underlying cause of the state of emergency requires its adoption; and (ii) the public interest will be materially harmed if the regulation does not take effect immediately. (2) Effective date. Any temporary regulation adopted under this section is effective on: (i) approval by the City Solicitor for form and legal sufficiency; (ii) approval by the Department of Legislative Reference for form and use of plain language; (iii) signature by the agency; and (iv) filing with the director. (3) Expiration. (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, any temporary regulation adopted under this section expires and no longer has legal effect on the 90th day after the state of emergency has been lifted. (ii) If, within the 90 days after a state of emergency has been lifted, an agency submits a temporary regulation to the City Solicitor and the Department of Legislative Reference as set forth in § 4-205 {“Submission before publication”} and § 4-301 {“Notice of proposed regulation”} of this title and otherwise follows the notice and publication procedures set forth in this title to adopt that regulation as permanent, the regulation does not expire as stated in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. (Ord 23-269; Ord. 22-124; Ord. 20-431.)

Source: City of Baltimore Department of Legislative Reference, City of Baltimore Law Library (codes.baltimorecity.gov; Open Law Library bulk XML)URL: https://codes.baltimorecity.gov/us/md/cities/baltimore/code/general/4/3Fetched: 10/25/2026