Members of the Maryland Child Alliance thought they were heading to a November election and that Baltimore voters would decide if new parents in the city would get $1,000, known as the Baltimore Baby Bonus Fund.
Then, Mayor Brandon Scott and the city council decided to file a lawsuit.
Claiming it's in violation of the Maryland constitution and cannot be enacted.
"We are shocked that the mayor's office has gone forward with this action. When we set out to collect these signatures, I imagined all the ways that this could possibly go, this was not one," said Nate Golden with the Maryland Child Alliance.
The board of elections approved the charter amendment being placed on the ballot after the group gathered about 14,000 signatures.
Now a judge will decide if Baltimore voters can approve the charter amendment.
The mayor's office released a statement saying while the mayor is supportive of the proposed amendment's objectives, charter amendments that effectively commandeer the role of the legislature go against Maryland law and the city's charter.
Members of the alliance say their program is modeled after a charter amendment that passed eight years ago, the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund.
Sponsored by then, city council member Brandon Scott.
"Brandon Scott's saying you're not allowed to. He's saying I'm allowed to put that in the charter but you're not. It's clearly not about the law, it's clearly about an undemocratic power grab," said Golden.
The alliance says it's working on finding a law firm to take on the legal battle.
