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Getting rid of outdated laws

City councilman proposes to delete, alter old rules

December 05, 2008|By Annie Linskey , annie.linskey@baltsun.com

Other proposed fines include $250 for fleeing a taxi without payment, up from $50; and $1,000 plus the cost of repairs for vandalizing city property such as light poles, up from $50.

Kraft's project would not be considered a full-fledged code revision, a formal process that typically involves a task force and takes years of work. The state, for example, hopes to wrap up a four-decade effort to modernize and reorganize its code in the next few years. "It requires a lot of input and a lot of hours of study," said Avery Aisenstark, the director of the city's legislative reference office and former director of the state's code revision project. The city's code has not had a complete overhaul in decades, though updated Health and Zoning sections were adapted in 2000.

Kraft said he has plans for more changes in the works. While his first round covers mainly non-substantive or symbolic matters that most city residents won't notice, the next batch, he said, could be far weightier.

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Baltimore Sun researchers Phyllis Kisner and Paul McCardell contributed to this article.

Proposed changes

City Councilman James B. Kraft introduced legislation to modernize Baltimore's police ordinances that would:

* Repeal limitations dating from 1916 on performing "The Star-Spangled Banner."

* Repeal a ban on selling contraception to those under age 16.

* Increase fines for abandoning a taxicab without payment.

* Update language to remove words like "hogshead."

* Update rules about planes flying over city stadiums, removing references to Memorial Stadium, which was demolished in 2001.

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