# § 5-507 Action by City Council.

Current through 2026-07-17. Source: City of Balt., Md., Ord. 26-129. Published by the Baltimore City Department of Legislative Reference.

## § 5-507 Action by City Council.

Balt., Md., Code art. 32, § 5-507 (2026)

(a)

  (1) The bill must be considered at a public hearing of a committee of the City Council.  Notice of the public hearing must be given in accordance with Title 5, Subtitle 6 {“Notices”} of this Code.

  (2) The committee must evaluate the bill in accordance with the standards in <cite data-path="|32|§5-508">§ 5-508 {“Approval standards”} of this subtitle</cite>.

(b) The City Council may approve, amend, or disapprove any legislative authorization.

(c)

  (1) Except as otherwise specified in this subsection, whenever a legislative authorization is amended:

    (i) another public hearing must be held on the bill as amended; and

    (ii) the requirements of this subtitle for notice and for agency reports apply to the additional hearing.

  (2) An additional hearing is not required for:

    (i) an amendment that consists only of a change in punctuation, grammar, or spelling and does not in any way alter the substance of the ordinance;

    (ii) any other amendment that does not in any way alter the substance of the ordinance;

    (iii) an amendment proposed in and approved by Committee; or

    (iv) an amendment to a comprehensive rezoning if, for at least 14 days before any vote is taken on the amendment, a description of the amendment:

      (A) has been provided to the Department of Legislative Reference and to the Department of Planning and by them made available for inspection and copying by the public; and

      (B) has been posted on the Department of Planning’s website.

(d) A bill proposing a legislative authorization is considered to have failed and the application denied if the City Council fails to act finally on the bill within 12 months from the earlier of:

  (1) the date on which the last of the required agency reports and recommendations is received; and

  (2) the last day of the agency reporting period, as set by this section.

*History: Ord. 16-581*

*History: 17-049*

*History: Ord. 18-171*