This week the ball was set in motion for devolution of powers to St. Mary’s County that would beat the red-tape of getting permissions from Annapolis even on minor issues.

 
 Commissioner Dan Raley – The Bay Net Photo

The proposal is the brainchild of Commissioner Dan Raley (D. Great Mills), and two other commissioners, one Republican and another Democratic, threw their full weight behind the idea at the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

Those who voiced firm support for Raley’s idea of Code Home Rule Government – a system operating in Charles County – to replace the present commissioners’ form of government were Commissioner Kenny Dement (R. Piney Point) and Commissioner Tom Mattingly (D. Leonardtown).

Only Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R. Golden Beach) expressed reservations, saying the present form of government is working quite well in St. Mary’s as it also does in Calvert County. However, Jarboe too said he would be receptive to the idea.

“So be it,” Commissioner President Jack Russell (D. St. George Island) said– three words Russell most often uses when an idea that is not his own but that has popular support comes before him– if the commissioners and people of St. Mary’s support the proposal.

But the change in the form of government, to make it more receptive and responsive to the needs of the citizens of St. Mary’s County, would have to pass a major test: a referendum in which two-thirds of the voters approve the idea.

A panel of experts on local government, nominated by the commissioners, will weigh the pluses and minuses of the new form of government and report to the Board of County Commissioners with their recommendations.

At present even minor and purely local issues have to travel all the way to the House of Delegates in Annapolis for a nod before being enacted into law, Raley explained Tuesday.

The usually silent Dement spoke with animation on the subject. Even minor decisions, like the raising of fees, have to go to Annapolis, Dement complained.

However Raley went into great detail to remove any misapprehension his suggestion has anything to do with the charter form of government.

Among the 50 states, Maryland has one the fewest number of local governments, totaling 23.

St. Mary’s presently is among counties that have commissioners form of government, under which the General Assembly is authorized to legislate for the county. The board of county commissioners exercises both executive and legislative functions; its legislative power is limited to those areas authorized by the General Assembly. The seven other counties that have this form of government are Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Garrett, Somerset, and Washington, according to the official Maryland web site.

The Code Home Rule, proposed by Raley, is not a new idea. Since 1915, counties have had the option of governing under code home rule, which enables them to exercise broad local legislative authority. The first county to adopt home rule was Kent (1970), followed by Allegany (1974), Worcester (1976), Caroline (1984), Queen Anne’s (1990).  Charles County was the latest addition in 2002.

The charter government separates the executive branch from the legislative branch. Most typically, it consists of a co