On March 1, 2022, Associate Policy Director Brianna January testified before the House Appropriations Committee in support of HB 1290 – Education – Public School Construction – Funding and Administration with amendments. This bill requires the Interagency Commission on School Construction to take certain actions relating to public school construction, including increasing the State share of certain public school construction project costs under certain circumstances and inspecting certain systems and equipment during inspections of school buildings; prohibiting the Interagency Commission from using facility assessment data and making funding decisions based on facility assessment results unless certain conditions are met; etc.

From the MACo testimony: 

Counties are particularly pleased with the bill’s state add-on incentives regarding total cost of
ownership, net zero projects, and aid to school projects with high concentrations of poverty. Counties are also enthusiastic about HB 1290’s establishment and implementation of the Local Revolving Loan Fund, to allow low-debt capacity counties to forward fund state and local funding for capital school projects. Notably, Frederick County Executive and former MACo President Jan Gardner helped inform and guide the interim workgroup’s recommendations for the loan program and ensured that its terms were favorable for the diverse fiscal needs and realities of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions.

More on MACo’s advocacy:

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.
Learn more about MACo’s 2022 Legislative Initiatives.
Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog.