A proposed ballot question in Baltimore that would pay new parents $1,000 when they have a child is unconstitutional, a judge has ruled.
Media reports that Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge John Nugent made the decision Friday.
Supporters of the proposal secured the necessary 10,000 signatures to bring the issue to voters as a ballot initiative. But Nugent found in his ruling that the bonus removes “all meaningful discretion” from the city.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott had asked to have the ballot question known as Baby bonus off the November ballot. The mayor argued that the ballot measure exceeds the citizens’ authority.
The Maryland Child Alliance, which successfully petitioned to get the question on the ballot, plans to appeal the decision to the Maryland Supreme Court.
The proposal is loosely designed after one program completed this year in Flint, Michigan, where women receive $1,500 during mid-pregnancy and $500 per month for the first year postpartum. Officials said the Flint program was the first of its kind in the United States