The group behind a measure to lower the Baltimore City real property tax rate is fighting back against a decision made by the Board of Elections last week to drop the measure from the November ballot.

On Friday, attorneys representing the group Renew Baltimore filed a complaint with the Baltimore City Circuit Court to overturn a rejection made by the Baltimore City Board of Elections Director Armstead Jones.

“Plaintiffs request that the Court expeditiously issue a declaration determining that the Petition has satisfied all legal requirements, and that it be certified and placed on the ballot in Baltimore City for the upcoming general election on November 5, 2024,” attorneys wrote in the complaint.

Jones ruled that the proposed charter amendment from the Renew Baltimore Group was unconstitutional on the grounds that state law says the power to set the tax rate rests solely with the city council.

“State law provides that the power to set a specific property tax rate in the counties and Baltimore City must remain with the County or City Council,” wrote Jones, in a letter to representation for Renew Baltimore last week. “Maryland's highest court has held that under this rule, a petition-initiated charter amendment may not set a specific property tax rate.”

But in its complaint to the circuit court, Renew Baltimore stresses that the amendment isn’t actually changing the tax rate, but rather setting a tax cap, which the group says has been upheld before by the Maryland Supreme Court (previously called the Maryland Court of Appeals).

Jones acknowledged that distinction in his initial decision and cited other court cases that he believed supported his rejection.

If the measure from Renew Baltimore makes it to the November ballot, it will ask voters if they want to see the real property tax rate cut from its current 2.24%, the highest in the state of Maryland, down to a cap at 1.2%— that would be staggered over the course of seven years.

Opponents of the measure, which include Mayor Brandon Scott and his administration, say that the decreased tax revenue would create a structural deficit in the city’s budget and cause cuts to essential city services.

Earlier this summer, the group submitted a petition with over 23,000 signatures when the law only requires 10,000 signatures.

After the circuit court makes its decision, Renew Baltimore has five days to appeal that decision before the Maryland Supreme Court.