(a)      Two or more municipal corporations situated within the same county may unite to form one municipal corporation if any part of the legal boundary of one of the municipal corporations abuts on the legal boundary of the other uniting municipal corporations. No merger shall become effective without the prior approval of the governing body of the county in which the municipal corporations are situated.

      (b)      Unification of the municipal corporations shall be initiated by the passage of a "proposal of unification" in substantially the same form by the legislative bodies of each of the uniting corporations. The proposal of unification shall include a detailed description of the boundaries of the area of proposed unification. The description shall comprise a survey of courses and distances and may also be by general landmarks and place names. The proposal of unification must be approved by each of the municipal corporations in the manner provided for the adoption of other ordinary legislation by the municipal charter or bylaws of the municipal corporation which is considering the proposal of unification. Upon approval of the proposal of unification, the municipal corporations shall prepare a unified charter.

      (c)      Each of the unifying municipal corporations shall designate the same number of representatives, which may not be less than three nor more than five, who shall meet together as a charter commission to draft a unified charter within six months of the adoption of the proposal of unification required by this section. These representatives shall adopt rules and elect officers from among their number as they feel necessary to govern their meetings and expedite the drafting of the unified charter; but none of these rules may conflict with any of the provisions and requirements of Article 23A of the Code.

      (d)      The unified charter shall provide that the unified municipal corporation receive all of the assets and unpaid debts of the individual municipal corporations.

      (e)      The unified charter may contain all the powers held by the separate municipal corporations, but if all of the corporations to be included in the unified municipal corporation do not possess planning and zoning powers, the land of those corporations not having that power shall not, for a period of five years following the effective date of the unified charter, be placed in a zoning classification which permits a land use substantially different from the use for such land specified in the current and duly adopted master plan or plan of the county or agency having planning and zoning jurisdiction over that land prior to its inclusion in the unified municipal corporation, unless amended under the procedures required by the county in which the municipal corporation is situated. Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide planning and zoning power to any unified municipal corporation if none of the separate corporations to be included in the unified corporation possess that power.

      (f)      (1)      The draft of the unified charter shall be submitted by the representatives to each of the legislative bodies of the municipal corporations. The draft shall be included in a resolution to be adopted and conform to the procedural requirements provided for amendments in § 13 of this article; and for the purposes of subsection (c) of § 13 of this article, the resolution shall be regarded as embracing only one subject.

            (2)      The legislative bodies of the municipal corporations may adopt or reject the resolution as a whole. No amendment or change may be made in any part of the resolution unless the other legislative bodies of the municipalities concur in the change.

      (g)      The municipal corporations which approve the unified charter shall transfer those assets and liabilities not otherwise disposed of by the effective date of the unification charter, to the unified corporation. The transfer shall be accomplished by legal instruments separate and apart from the unified charter or the resolution, and the invalidity of any of the legal instruments which transfer or dispose of the property of the municipal corporations shall not affect the validity or legal force and effect of the unified charter. The unified charter shall be considered and promulgated as a legal document separate from any other legal instrument.

      (h)      If a referendum election is required pursuant to § 13 of this article, it shall be conducted on the same day in all areas to be included in the unified municipal corporation. The cost and administration of the referendum shall be borne by the municipal corporations proportionately to the population of each of the municipalities. The approval of a majority of the voters casting votes in each of the uniting municipal corporations is necessary to adopt the unified charter in a referendum election. Approval of the unified charter by voters in a referendum election when required, or by the legislative bodies of each of the uniting municipal corporations when a referendum election is not required, is final and not subject to further action.

      (i)      If the unified municipal charter is not approved by the required vote at a referendum election held pursuant to this article, the proposed unification shall be null and void.

      (j)      Within 60 days after the unified charter is adopted by the legislative bodies of the unifying municipal corporations or by a referendum election, the legislative bodies of the unifying municipal corporations shall jointly send the information concerning the charter adopted by the unified municipal corporation to the Department of Legislative Services, as provided in § 9A of this article.

      (k)      The exact text of the charter of the unified municipal corporation, adopted under the provisions of this article and as amended from time to time, shall thereafter be included in any edition or codification of the charter of the unified municipal corporation.