Tyma v. Montgomery County6/14/2002
A. at42.
A general law is one that pertains to two or more geographical subdivisions within the State, see Maryland Constitution, ยง 4 of Article XI-A, and "deals with the general public welfare, a subject which is of significant interest not just to any one county, but rather to more than one geographical subdivision, or even to the entire state." Cole v. Secretary of State, 249 Md. at 435, 240 A.2d at 278. A local law, on the other hand, applies to only one subdivision, see Steimel v. Bd. of Election Supervisors of Prince George's County, 278 Md. 1, 5, 357 A.2d 386, 388 (1976), and pertains only to a subject of local import. Norris v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 172 Md. 667, 192 A. 531, 537 (1937).
This Court has recognized that even a law that is local in form or the operation of which is, by it terms, confined to a single county, may be a general law, nonetheless. That is the case when such law affects the interests of the whole state. See McCrory, supra, 319 Md. at 17, 570 A.2d at 836; Cole v. Secretary of State, 249 Md. at 434, 240 A.2d at 278 ("some statutes, local in form," are "general laws, since they affect the interests of the whole state"); Gaither v. Jackson, 147 Md. 655, 664-65, 128 A. 769, 772-73 (1925) ( "a law is not necessarily a local law merely because its operation is confined ... to a single county, if it affects the interests of the whole state"). Thus, whether a law is general or local is "to be determined by the application of settled legal principles to the facts of particular cases in which the distinction may be involved." Dash v. Jackson, 170 Md. 251, 260, 183 A. 534, 537-38 (1936).
IV.
The appellants start with the premise that "Maryland law expressly prohibits recognition of same-sex and common law `marriages,' a fortiori, it expressly prohibits the granting of the rights of same-sex, common law marriage to same-sex partners of Montgomery County employees disguised as a domestic partners benefits ordinance." In support of that premise, they rely on Maryland Comm'n on Human Relations v. Greenbelt Homes, 300 Md. 75, 83-84, 475 A.2d 1192, 1197 (1984) (quoting Prince George's County v. Greenbelt Homes, 49 Md.App. 314, 319-20, 431 A.2d 745, 748 (1981)), in which this Court observed:
"Only marriage as prescribed by law can change the marital status of an individual to a new legal entity of husband and wife. The law of Maryland does not recognize common law marriages (Henderson v. Henderson, 199 Md. 449, 454, 87 A.2d 403 (1952)) or other unions of two or more persons--such as concubinage, syneisaktism, relationships of homosexuals or lesbians--as legally bestowing upon two people a legally cognizable marital status. Such relationships are simply illegitimate unions unrecognized, or in some instances condemned, by the law."
Thus, the appellants assert that the County exceeded its authority under the constitution and laws of Maryland by extending employment benefits to the domestic partners of its employees because Maryland does not recognize either same-sex or common law marriages. They argue that " he County's actions are an unlawful, back-door attempt to circumvent State law which disallows same-sex unions" and "an attempt to legitimize illegitimate relationships under Maryland law by attempting to create, in the guise of a benefits ordinance, a legal equivalency between lawful spouses and same-sex domestic partners." They further assert that the recognition of domestic partnerships, an ultra vires act, "affects the interests of the whole State as well as interests outside of the state" and, in addition, requires the expenditure of state funds. They conclude that the provision of such benefits to domestic p
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