Renew Baltimore appeals to Maryland Supreme Court to get question on ballot slashing property tax

The group trying to lower Baltimore’s property tax rate has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Maryland, following a judicial decision last week that struck a related ballot proposal from the Nov. 5 ballot.

Renew Baltimore filed its appeal Tuesday to reverse a decision handed down last Friday by Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy. Handy ruled that Renew Baltimore’s petition to halve and cap Baltimore’s tax rate “would take all power and discretion from the City Council and their ability to legislate and determine the tax rate.”

Deputy elections director Abigail Goldman said the Supreme Court has previously ruled a handful of times on the legality of proposed charter amendments. She pointed to a 1980 court decision that struck down an initiative to establish rent control in Baltimore as an example.

“If you add in challenges based on other issues, like signature processing, there are even more cases,” she wrote in an email.




https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/08/14/renew-baltimore-appeals-to-maryland-supreme-court/