| 1 | 1 | | |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW. |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | [Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law. |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | *hb0730* |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | HOUSE BILL 730 |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | Q7 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 3lr1981 |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | By: Delegates Fisher, Adams, Arentz, Baker, Buckel, Chisholm, Ciliberti, Ghrist, |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | Grammer, Griffith, Hartman, Hornberger, Howard, Hutchinson, Jacobs, |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | R. Long, Mangione, McComas, Miller, M. Morgan, T. Morgan, Nawrocki, |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | Otto, Rose, Schmidt, Szeliga, Tomlinson, and Wivell |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | Introduced and read first time: February 8, 2023 |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Assigned to: Ways and Means |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | A BILL ENTITLED |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | AN ACT concerning 1 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | Constitutional Amendment – Alteration of Rate of Taxation – Legislation by 2 |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | General Assembly Required 3 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | FOR the purpose of prohibiting the General Assembly from providing, by law, for the 4 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | alteration of the rate of a State tax in a certain manner; and prohibiting a certain 5 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | alteration to a rate of State tax from taking effect unless the General Assembly, by 6 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | legislation passed in a certain manner, explicitly approves the new tax rate. 7 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | BY proposing an addition to the Maryland Constitution 8 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | Article III – Legislative Department 9 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | Section 62 10 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | Preamble 11 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | WHEREAS, The motor fuel tax, among other taxes current or proposed, is indexed 12 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | to inflation, resulting in permanent and periodic tax increases without a vote by the 13 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | members of the Maryland General Assembly; and 14 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, It is the solemn responsibility of each member of the Maryland General 15 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | Assembly to have a recorded vote each time that a tax is to be increased or decreased; and 16 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | WHEREAS, It is the intent of this amendment to the Maryland Constitution to 17 |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | require the members of the Maryland General Assembly to vote each time that a tax 18 |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | increase or decrease occurs, regardless of whether the tax is indexed to inflation; now, 19 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | therefore, 20 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMB LY OF MARYLAND, 21 |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | (Three–fifths of all the members elected to each of the two Houses concurring), That it be 22 2 HOUSE BILL 730 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | proposed that the Maryland Constitution read as follows: 1 |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | Article III – Legislative Department 2 |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 62. 3 |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | (A) THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAY NOT, BY LAW, PROVIDE FOR THE 4 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | AUTOMATIC ALTERATION OF THE RA TE OF AN EXISTING STATE TAX BASED ON 5 |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | INFLATION OR FORMULA . 6 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | (B) AN INCREASE OR DECREA SE OF A RATE OF A STATE TAX, INCLUDING AN 7 |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | ALTERATION OF THE RATE OF AN EXISTING TAX BASED ON INFLATION OR FORMULA , 8 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | MAY NOT TAKE EFFECT AND SHALL BE DEEMED NULL AND VOID UNLESS THE 9 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY LEGISLATION PASSE D BY A YEA AND NAY VOTE, 10 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | EXPLICITLY APPROVES THE NEW TAX RATE. 11 |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the General Assembly 12 |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | determines that the amendment to the Maryland Constitution proposed by Section 1 of this 13 |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | Act affects multiple jurisdictions and that the provisions of Article XIV, § 1 of the Maryland 14 |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | Constitution concerning local approval of constitutional amendments do not apply. 15 |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the amendment to the 16 |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | Maryland Constitution proposed by Section 1 of this Act shall be submitted to the qualified 17 |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | voters of the State at the next general election to be held in November 2024 for adoption or 18 |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | rejection pursuant to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution. At that general election, 19 |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | the vote on the proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be by ballot, and on each 20 |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | ballot there shall be printed the words “For the Constitutional Amendment” and “Against 21 |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | the Constitutional Amendment”, as now provided by law. Immediately after the election, 22 |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | all returns shall be made to the Governor of the vote for and against the proposed 23 |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | amendment, as directed by Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution, and further 24 |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | proceedings had in accordance with Article XIV. 25 |
|---|