County Executive Jim Smith vetoed a bill passed by the County Council on July 6 that creates a so-called do-not-deliver list aimed at curbing the distribution of advertising fliers.

Smith, who returned earlier this week from a brief vacation, vetoed the bill on Tuesday.

The veto was not unexpected after Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said he asked Smith to veto the bill after county attorneys and the council's own attorney determined the amendment could be interpreted to single out free newspapers.

In a brief written message to the council, Smith wrote that he was vetoing the bill at the request of Olszewski, “because an amendment to the bill inadvertently included free newspapers within its scope despite the express desires of the councilman to exclude all newspapers.”

Olszewski, who represents Dundalk, Essex and part of Rosedale, said he plans to correct the problem by changing the wording of the bill and then re-introduce it in August.

This is the first time in 27 years that a county executive has vetoed a bill, according to Thomas Peddicord, the council's secretary and legal adviser.

This story has been updated.

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