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 Howard County
 Code of Ordinances
 HOWARD COUNTY CHARTER
 Article IV. OFFICES, DEPARTMENTS, AND BOARDS

  § 405. The Office of Law.  

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  • (a)

    The County Solicitor. The Office of Law shall be administered by the County Solicitor, who shall be a member in good standing of the Bar of the Maryland Court of Appeals for five years and shall have been actively engaged in the general practice of his or her profession in the State of Maryland for at least five years immediately prior to his or her appointment. The County Solicitor shall have been a resident of Howard County for at least the two years immediately preceding his or her appointment and shall continue to reside in the County for the duration of his or her term of office.

    (b)

    Powers and duties. The County Solicitor shall be the legal advisor of the County and of its several offices, departments, boards, commissions and other agencies. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, no office, department, board, commission, agency or branch of the County government which receives County funds shall have any authority or power to employ or retain any legal counsel other than the County Solicitor. The County Solicitor shall also be the legal advisor and legislative drafter for the Council, unless the Council shall specify otherwise by resolution. The County Solicitor shall give advice and opinions upon any legal questions affecting the interests of the County which are submitted to him or her:

    (1)

    By written request of a County Council member;

    (2)

    By written request of the Executive;

    (3)

    By written request, approved by the Executive, of the head of any office or department in the executive branch; or

    (4)

    By written request of any board, commission or agency.

    All deeds, bonds, contracts, releases, agreements, advertisement bids, and other legal papers, documents and instructions involving the interests of the County to be executed and approved by any officer of the County shall be submitted to the County Solicitor and shall be approved by him or her as to their form and legal sufficiency in compliance with the laws and conditions under which executed. The County Solicitor shall have the right of access at all times to the official records of any office, department, board, commission or agency of the County. The County solicitor shall have such additional legal duties as may be prescribed by directive of the Executive or by legislative act of the Council not inconsistent with this Charter.

    (c)

    Assistants to the County Solicitor. The County Solicitor with the approval of the Executive may appoint, subject to the provisions of Article VII of this Charter, such assistants to serve as members of the legal staff as may be required for proper performance of the duties of the Office of Law.

    (d)

    Other legal assistance. Nothing in this Charter shall be construed as preventing the Executive from engaging the services for a temporary period of any attorney or attorneys for legal work of an extraordinary nature when the work to be done is of such character or magnitude as to require legal services in addition to those provided by the Office of Law.

    (e)

    Prohibitions. Neither the County Solicitor nor any assistant in the Solicitor's office may at any time, while holding such office, practice as an attorney before the Council or any office, department, board, commission or agency of the County in any capacity other than representing the County's interests.

    (f)

    Term of office for the County Solicitor. The County Solicitor shall serve at the pleasure of the Executive and the Council for a term concurrent with the term of the Executive. The County Solicitor may be removed from office during his or her term by either:

    (i)

    The Executive with the consent of a majority of the Council; or

    (ii)

    A two-thirds vote of the entire Council.

    If the County Solicitor ceases to meet the qualifications set forth in Section 405(a) of this Charter, or is convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude, he or she shall immediately forfeit his or her office.

Editor's note

An amendment proposed by C.B. 64, 1980, approved at an election held Nov. 4, 1980, and effective Dec. 4, 1980, amended § 404 and redesignated it as § 405. An amendment proposed by C.B. 62, 1980, approved at the same election, redesignated § 405 as § 1104. An amendment to subsections (a), (b), and (f) proposed by Res. No. 126, 1996 was approved at an election held Nov. 5, 1996, and became effective Dec. 5, 1996.