On March 6, 2024, Associate Policy Director Dominic Butchko submitted written testimony to the House Appropriations Committee in support of HB 263 – State Highway Administration – Sidewalks and Bicycle Pathways – Maintenance and Repair with amendments. This bill provides clarification on state and counties responsibilities regarding both the structural maintenance and snow removal adjacent to state highways.
HB 263 is a commonsense approach that recognizes the imbalance in current road/sidewalk maintenance and properly aligns all roadways into the same posture. MACo’s amendments simply clarify responsibilities around snow removal.
HB 263 addresses a longstanding peculiarity in state law, where the state government designs, builds, and maintains its own network of highways across Maryland, but the local government has the odd duty to maintain sidewalks adjacent to these roads it does not control. Proper care of the roadway should include its full scope, from the surface itself to underground conduits to amenities like bicycle lanes and sidewalks. HB 263 brings this responsibility under the entity who built, owns, and maintains the road itself.
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