On March 11, 2022, Associate Policy Director Dominic Butchko testified before the House Environment and Transportation Committee in support of HB 1428 – Code Counties – Legislative Procedure – Notice Requirements. This bill will allow Maryland’s code home rule counties to post pertinent updates and other information through more contemporary means: on their websites.

From the MACo testimony: 

Public knowledge of the business of government is essential for an informed society and vibrant democracy. Many years ago, that meant placing pertinent updates in a newspaper of wide circulation. While our communication technology has advanced considerably since the first set of transparency legislation was enacted, our laws governing the subject have not. This bill would modernize local government communications by allowing Maryland’s code home rule counties to post updates on their websites instead of in newspapers. This is an important innovation in our laws as newspaper circulation has largely declined if not vanished entirely.

More on MACo’s Advocacy:

Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2022 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database.
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