Maryland’s political subdivisions consist of 23 counties, Baltimore City, and 157 incorporated municipalities, and the powers each one holds depend on which constitutional framework it operates under.1Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland Counties Counties fall into three tiers of legislative independence. Baltimore City functions as both a city and a county. Municipalities sit inside counties and carry their own charter authority. Everything else — tax rates, zoning, licensing, whether a local ordinance can even be passed without asking Annapolis first — flows from that basic structure.
The Three County Forms
Maryland counties are grouped by how much legislative authority they hold on their own: charter, code home rule, and commission.
Charter Counties
Eleven counties have ratified charters under Article XI-A of the Maryland Constitution, the Home Rule Amendment: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Talbot, and Wicomico.1Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland Counties A charter county can enact, amend, and repeal local laws on its own, so long as those laws do not conflict with the state constitution or public general laws.2Justia. Maryland Constitution Article XI-A Section 1 – Local Legislation This is the broadest local authority available in Maryland, and most of the state’s population lives under it.
Code Home Rule Counties
Six counties operate under code home rule: Allegany, Caroline, Charles, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Worcester.1Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland Counties They are still governed by boards of county commissioners, but the code designation gives them broader legislative reach than a pure commission county and limits the General Assembly’s ability to pass local legislation affecting them. Their legislative scope is narrower than a charter county’s, and the range of subjects they can regulate independently is more limited.
Commission Counties
The remaining six counties operate under the traditional commission form: Calvert, Carroll, Garrett, St. Mary’s, Somerset, and Washington.1Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland Counties In these counties, the board of commissioners serves as both the legislative and executive branch. Because they have not adopted home rule, the General Assembly retains substantially more control over their local affairs. Significant policy changes often require a state-level public local law rather than a locally passed ordinance, so a commission county has less flexibility to respond to local concerns without going through Annapolis.
Baltimore City
Baltimore City has a legal position unlike any other jurisdiction in the state. Incorporated in 1796 as a municipality within Baltimore County, it separated from the county in 1851 and has functioned as a county-equivalent jurisdiction ever since.3Maryland Manual On-Line. Baltimore, Maryland – Government The U.S. Census Bureau classifies it as an independent city that “functions governmentally at the place level but is also considered a county equivalent.”4U.S. Census Bureau. Guide to State and Local Census Geography – Maryland
In practice, this means the city runs its own school system, court system, and police department the way a county would, while also keeping the municipal structure of a mayor and city council. Its charter derives from the same Article XI-A that empowers charter counties, giving it home rule authority equivalent to the largest suburban counties.
Municipalities
Maryland’s 157 municipalities range from tiny towns of a few dozen residents to mid-sized cities like Annapolis and Rockville.5Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland Towns and Cities – Municipalities Their authority comes from Article XI-E of the Maryland Constitution, which prohibits the General Assembly from passing special or local legislation affecting individual municipalities. The legislature must instead act through general laws that apply equally to all municipalities within designated classes.6Justia. Maryland Constitution Article XI-E Section 1 – Municipal Corporations
Under Article XI-E, municipalities can amend or repeal existing charters, adopt new ones, and enact local ordinances on matters like zoning, infrastructure, and local taxation.7Maryland State Archives. Maryland Constitution Article XI-E – Municipal Corporations No municipal ordinance can conflict with the state constitution or public general laws. Where a municipality pushes past that limit, state law controls. Municipalities also exist inside counties, so residents are subject to both county and municipal authority on overlapping issues like land use and public safety.
Special Taxing Districts
Beyond counties and municipalities, Maryland authorizes special taxing districts that serve targeted functions within specific geographic areas. They are created by state law or local ordinance and levy their own property assessments to fund services the broader county does not provide uniformly.
The variety is wide. Montgomery County operates urban districts in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton, and Friendship Heights, along with parking lot districts and development districts. Anne Arundel County authorizes community benefit districts, shore erosion control districts, and waterways improvement districts. Frederick County can establish special districts to fund fire, rescue, and ambulance services where response criteria are not being met. Baltimore City maintains a tourism improvement district, retail business districts, and multiple community benefits district authorities.8Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Guide to Local Government Taxing Authority These districts can impose additional taxes on property owners inside their boundaries, and buyers sometimes learn about them only after closing.
Revenue Powers and the Constant Yield Rate
What a subdivision can do depends heavily on what it can pay for. Charter counties can legislate on nearly any subject not preempted by state or federal law, from zoning and building codes to public safety and local licensing. Code counties operate in a narrower sphere. Commission counties often need the General Assembly to accomplish what a charter county does on its own.
All three share the property tax, but their freedom to set rates runs through a mechanism unique to Maryland. Each year, the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation calculates a “constant yield tax rate” for every county and municipality — the rate that would produce the same total property tax revenue as the prior year after accounting for changes in assessed values, excluding new construction.9Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Tax – Property Code Section 2-205 – Constant Yield Tax Rate The Department sends this figure to each taxing authority by February 14. A county or municipality can set its rate above the constant yield figure, but doing so triggers public disclosure and hearing requirements. The rule does not cap property taxes. It forces local officials to publicly acknowledge when they are collecting more revenue, even by keeping the same nominal rate while assessments rise.
Other revenue tools include the local income tax piggyback rate on top of the state rate, transfer and recordation taxes on real estate transactions, impact fees on new development, and various user fees. The General Assembly controls which tools are available to which subdivisions, so a charter county may access revenue streams a commission county cannot.
How Subdivisions Interact With the State
The relationship between Maryland’s subdivisions and the state runs through three main channels.
Delegation and Preemption
The General Assembly shapes local power in two directions. It expands local authority through enabling legislation that grants subdivisions the power to regulate specific areas like land use, alcohol licensing, or building codes. It also preempts local action, overriding local ordinances with public general laws that apply statewide. For home rule jurisdictions, the state constitution limits how far the legislature can reach into local affairs, but state law prevails where a genuine statewide interest is at stake. The Supreme Court of Maryland (renamed from the Court of Appeals in 2022) interprets these boundaries when disputes arise.10Maryland Judiciary. About the Maryland Court System
Fiscal Transfers
State funding is the financial lifeline for many local services, especially education. Maryland’s school funding formula distributes billions annually to county school systems, and adequacy has been a recurring source of tension between local officials and the legislature. State grants also fund infrastructure, public health, and transportation. Because these funds come with conditions — compliance with state regulations, matching requirements, reporting obligations — the state has significant leverage over local priorities even in home rule jurisdictions.
Federal Obligations That Bind Every Subdivision
Maryland’s subdivisions are not only creatures of state law. Several federal statutes impose direct obligations regardless of tier or size.
ADA Title II
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to every state and local government. Subdivisions must give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all programs, services, and activities. Existing facilities must be accessible — not necessarily every building, but programs as a whole must be usable. Governments must make reasonable modifications to policies, communicate effectively with people who have hearing, vision, or speech disabilities, and allow service animals even where a no-pets policy exists.11ADA.gov. State and Local Governments The compliance burden falls hardest on smaller municipalities.
FLSA and Public Safety
Local governments are covered employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and fire and police departments get special treatment. Public safety agencies can establish work periods of 7 to 28 days rather than the standard 40-hour workweek before overtime applies. Agencies with fewer than five fire protection or law enforcement employees may be exempt from overtime requirements entirely. Law enforcement and fire personnel can also accrue up to 480 hours of compensatory time in lieu of cash overtime.12U.S. Department of Labor. State and Local Governments Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Errors here drive a large share of the wage-and-hour litigation aimed at Maryland local governments.
Wireless Facility Siting
Federal law preserves local zoning authority over cell towers and wireless infrastructure but sets hard limits. Under 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7), a local government cannot unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent wireless services, cannot effectively prohibit wireless service, and cannot regulate facility placement based on radio frequency emissions if the facility meets FCC standards. Denials must be in writing and supported by substantial evidence. If the government fails to act on a siting application in a reasonable time, the applicant can file directly in court and the case is heard on an expedited basis.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 332 – Mobile Services
Federal Grant Procurement
When a Maryland subdivision spends federal grant money, it must follow the procurement standards in 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D. These govern competitive bidding, contracting with small and minority-owned businesses, domestic purchasing preferences, and contract pricing.14eCFR. 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart D – Procurement Standards They apply regardless of how the local government normally handles purchasing. A county used to sole-sourcing local vendors can find itself out of compliance the moment federal dollars enter the picture, putting future grants at risk.
Where Legal Disputes Land
Preemption
Conflicts between local ordinances and state law generate some of the most consequential litigation in Maryland. These disputes typically arise when a home rule jurisdiction enacts a regulation that arguably exceeds its delegated authority or conflicts with a public general law. The Supreme Court of Maryland resolves them by interpreting the scope of the home rule amendments and the General Assembly’s intent.15Maryland Judiciary. Voter-Approved Constitutional Change Renames Maryland Appellate Courts
Section 1983 Liability
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, any person acting under color of state law who violates someone’s federal constitutional rights can be sued for damages.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1983 – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights The statute reaches counties and municipalities directly. A local government cannot be held liable simply because it employs someone who violated a person’s rights; the plaintiff must show the violation resulted from an official policy, a widespread custom, or a deliberate failure to train employees. These cases are expensive to defend, and adverse judgments come out of local budgets.
Eminent Domain
Maryland’s subdivisions retain the power of eminent domain, meaning they can take private property for public use with just compensation. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London held that economic development qualifies as a sufficient public purpose under the Fifth Amendment and invited states to impose stricter limits than the federal baseline. Maryland’s response has been more restrained than many states. Property owners challenging a taking should look to both state statutory limits and the specific condemnation language in the relevant jurisdiction’s charter or enabling legislation.
Municipal Bankruptcy
Chapter 9 of the federal Bankruptcy Code allows municipalities to restructure their debts, but only if state law specifically authorizes them to file. Silence in state law means a municipality cannot access bankruptcy protection at all. The filing entity must be insolvent, must file voluntarily (creditors cannot force it), and must have either negotiated in good faith with creditors or shown that negotiation is impracticable.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor Whether the option is available in Maryland turns on whether the General Assembly has opened the door, a decision made in only a minority of states.