As the Senate and House leaders currently engaged in the budget conference committee have been meeting to resolve issues of difference, many stakeholders were surprised to see an amendment to the budget reconciliation bill regarding county-imposed stormwater fees get discussed and tentatively adopted by the group.

From coverage on MarylandReporter.com:

Following a contentious back-and-forth between the Carroll County government and state officials, the Maryland Department of the Environment allowed Carroll County to allot a portion of its property taxes to fund the county’s stormwater management program.

DeGrange’s amendment to the catch-all Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act permits the other nine jurisdictions to seek the approval of the Department of the Environment to designate a portion of their general property tax for stormwater remediation.

Read the full article on the MarylandReporter site.

The full language discussed, in relevant part, would amend Section 4-202.1(e)(3)(i) of the Environment article to read:

(3) (i) A county or municipality shall set a stormwater remediation fee for property in an amount that is [based]:

1. BASED on the share of stormwater management services related to the property and provided by the county or municipality; OR

2. SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE DEPARTMENT, A DEDICATED PORTION OF THE COUNTY PROPERTY TAX THAT IS:

A. BASED ON THE COUNTY OPERATING BUDGET FOR STORMWATER REMEDIATION AND ASSOCIATED EXPENSES; AND

B. DESIGNATED FOR DEPOSIT IN THE LOCAL WATERSHED PROTECTION AND RESTORATION FUND ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS SECTION.

(the bracketed text is removed form law, the capitalized text are new additions)