3 HoCo Bills Voided After Votes: Howard County Council

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The Howard County Council released a statement on Tuesday night explaining that three of its bills were no longer valid due to constraints limiting the potential life of a bill to 125 days.

The three bills that were declared no longer valid were 60-2017-, 61-2017 and 62-2017. They dealt with mulch and composting regulations, the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) and the general plan.

The council voted on the bills at its meeting on the evening of Monday, Nov. 6.

Here is the statement released Nov. 7 from the Howard County Council:

"Due to a Howard County Charter provision that limits the potential life of a bill to a maximum of 125 days, the County Council's votes last night on Council Bills 60-, 61-, and 62-2017 were not valid.

Within the limits of this Charter provision, the Council's schedule normally allows legislation to be considered in its month of introduction, tabled for a second month, and then extended for up to two additional months while following the Council's standard legislative cycle. However, the Council's legislative cycle is not based on calendar days, and given the calendar alignment of July through October, 2017, the Council's standard legislative cycle actually exceeded the Charter limit by one day.

Unfortunately, this detail was not realized until after Council Bills 60-, 61-, and 62-2017 had expired. Council Members are currently consulting with the County's Office of Law and evaluating potential next steps."

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