Frederick v. Baltimore City BOE

488 Md. 534

• Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland
• Decided: August 29, 2024
• Docket: 35pc/23
• Status: Published

Opinion

Circuit Court for Baltimore City Case No. C-24-CV-24-001361 IN THE SUPREME COURT Argued: August 28, 2024 OF MARYLAND

No. 35

September Term, 2023

______________________________________

BENEDICT J. FREDERICK, III, ET AL.

v.

BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, ET AL.

Fader, C.J., Booth, Biran, Gould, Eaves, Killough, Glenn T. Harrell, Jr. (Senior Justice, Specially Assigned),

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

Kisha DN: cn=Kisha Taylor-Wallace c=US l=Annapolis o=Court of Appeals, Maryland State e=kisha.taylor-wallace@mdcourts.gov

Taylor-Wallace Reason: I am the author of this document Location: Date: 2024-08-29 12:34-04:00

Gregory Hilton, Clerk * IN THE BENEDICT J. FREDERICK, III, ET * AL. SUPREME COURT * v. OF MARYLAND * BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF No. 35 ELECTIONS, ET AL. * September Term, 2023 *

PER CURIAM ORDER

Upon consideration of the filings by Benedict J. Frederick, III, et al., the appellants, 1

and the Baltimore City Board of Elections, et al., the appellees, 2 and oral argument

conducted on August 28, 2024,

Whereas, Renew Baltimore submitted a petition to amend the Baltimore City

Charter to include a cap on the City’s real property tax rate beginning in fiscal year 2026;

and

Whereas, the Election Director of the Baltimore City Board of Elections denied

certification of the petition as he determined that the petition would lead to a result

prohibited by law; and

Whereas, the appellants filed a complaint on July 12, 2024 and an amended

complaint on July 18, 2024; and

1 The other named appellants are Matthew W. Wyskiel, III and Stacie Teal-Locust. 2 The other named appellees are Armstead B.C. Jones, Sr., Director of the Baltimore City Board of Elections; Scherod C. Barnes, President of the Baltimore City Board of Elections; and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. The State Board of Elections is also an appellee but has not taken a position on the merits of the dispute. Whereas, on July 26, 2024, the appellants filed an emergency petition for judicial

review or alternatively for summary judgment, the Baltimore City Board of Elections filed

a motion to dismiss or alternatively for summary judgment, and the Mayor and City

Council of Baltimore filed a motion for summary judgment; and

Whereas, the parties participated in a hearing on August 8, 2024, before the circuit

court; and

Whereas, on August 9, 2024, after a hearing, the circuit court signed orders granting

summary judgment in favor of the Baltimore City Board of Elections and the Mayor and

City Council of Baltimore and denying the appellants’ motion for summary judgment; and

Whereas, the appellants 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 Orders signed by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City on

August 9, 2024 granting summary judgment in favor of the Baltimore City Board of

Elections and the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore and denying the appellants’ motion

for summary judgment are hereby AFFIRMED. The circuit court correctly determined

that the proposed charter amendment impermissibly sets the property tax rate in a manner

inconsistent with § 6-302(a) of the Tax Property Article and, therefore, cannot be presented

2 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