The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on planning and zoning policy in the 2024 General Assembly session.
Planning and zoning is an integral function of county governments and an area that spurs a high level of interaction with residents and business owners. In its planning & zoning advocacy, MACo seeks to protect the ability of local governments – those closest to the people and with the most insight into local needs for growth and reservation – to balance community and business interests.
Maryland’s 446th legislative session convened amidst a substantial concern over the State’s fiscal situation, with weakened revenues and cost increases for many services at every level of government. Despite the fiscal limitations, a wide range of policy issues received a full debate, with many resolutions arising from the 90-day annual process. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions on hundreds of bills, yielding many productive compromises and gains spanning counties’ uniquely wide portfolio.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
Reporting and Funds
MACo opposed HB 1449/SB 1045- Zoning – Board of Appeals Decisions or Zoning Actions – Judicial Review. This bill would have broadly expanded the universe of certain individuals who could seek judicial review of zoning actions, including comprehensive planning or rezoning actions. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 131- Housing Development Permit Applications – Local Reporting Requirements with amendments. This bill requires the largest counties − above 150,000 population − to comply with certain reporting requirements related to permitting applications. Counties proposed amendments to provide greater clarity to the bill. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 831- Common Ownership Communities and Zoning Authorities – Operation of Family Child Care Homes – Limitations with amendments. This bill would have placed certain restrictions on cooperative housing corporations and local jurisdictions in relation regulating the number of children allowed in a family child care and large family child care homes. Counties offered procedural amendments to restrain county authority but to retain the ability to reflect infrastructure limitations where they posed a major concern This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo took no position on HB 1374- Environment – Crematory – Setback Requirements and Permits, but submitted a Letter of Information providing county input. This bill would have established a 1000-foot buffer between certain types of properties and a crematory. MACo highlighted some caution on the potential impact of HB 1374 and suggested clarifying language which would have satisfied county leaders’ concerns. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Residential and Local Construction
MACo supported HB 538/SB 484- Land Use – Affordable Housing – Zoning Density and Permitting (Housing Expansion and Affordability Act of 2024) with amendments. This bill makes several changes to the land use article enabling higher density bonuses under three different scenarios, authorizing the use of manufactured housing, and loosening restrictions related to adequate public facility ordinances. Counties offered amendments to both strengthen this legislation and ease local apprehensions. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 3/SB 356- Land Use – Expedited Development Review Processes for Affordable Housing – Requirements with amendments. This bill would have required counties to establish and implement an expedited development review process for nonprofit and local housing authority projects that meet certain conditions. MACo amendments would have ensured that the legislation was implementable. Neither the House nor Senate advanced the bill before the crossover deadline. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 7/SB 203- Housing Innovation Pilot Program and Housing Innovation Fund – Establishment (Housing Innovation Pilot Program Act of 2024). This bill provides counties with additional resources through the Housing Innovation Pilot Program, incentivizing the development of county-owned affordable housing projects. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 13/SB 199- Residential Property – Affordable Housing Land Trusts – Authority to Establish Condominium Regimes. This bill enables local Affordable Housing Land Trusts to establish condominium regimes. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo took no position on HB 241/SB 308- Housing and Community Development – Just Community Designation, but submitted a Letter of Information. This bill establishes a “Just Community Designation” and grants the Governor discretion to “identify state programs under which a Just Community shall receive priority for State funding.” This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 503/SB 586- Public Safety – Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing for Fuel Gas Piping Systems – Requirements and Prohibitions. This bill would have required that corrugated stainless steel tubing (CSST) meet certain requirements in order to be sold, transferred, or distributed. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 805/SB 537- Cannabis – Licensee Locations – Restrictions with amendments. This bill attempts to provide more clarity regarding certain land use elements related to the placement of cannabis dispensaries and outdoor growing facilities. MACo proposed a series of amendments to the bill. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 926/SB 1033- Maryland Building Performance Standards – Local Requests for Guidance – Religious Considerations. This bill requires the Department of Labor, on the request of a county, to provide guidance on the implementation and enforcement of the Maryland Building Performance Standards in relation to any religious observance, practice, or belief. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 69- Community Development Administration – Live Near Where You Teach Program – Establishment. This bill would have established the Live Near Where You Teach program, which would have offered rental and homebuyer assistance for school staff. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Solar Logistics
MACo opposed HB 1046/SB 1025- Public Utilities – Distributed Generation Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. This bill would have removed virtually any community-level input into the siting and approval of energy projects from 2-5 megawatts in scope, and would have mandated that the Public Service Commission (PSC) approve, not merely consider, a project that meets certain modest guidelines, regardless of any other factors. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1265/SB 1054- Local Government – Building Permits for Residential Solar Energy and Residential Energy Storage Systems – Required Platform and Inspections with amendments. This bill would have mandated counties to adopt one specific tool, Solar APP+, for processing permit applications for installing solar on existing residential rooftops. MACo proposed amendments to bring some flexibility to this requirement. This bill did not pass the 2024 session, but limited portions this bill were amended into SB783/HB1435, Brighter Tomorrow Act.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1328/SB 1082- Solar Energy and Energy Storage – Development and State Procurement with amendments. This bill attempted to continue conversations that stakeholders were conducting to try and find a consensus legislative package aimed at meeting the state’s ambitious solar energy goals. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1367- Public Utilities – Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity – Energy Storage Devices with amendments. This bill would have required energy storage devices above 1MW to receive Public Service Commission approval before beginning construction. MACo requested that language be added clearly preserving state and local authority related to fire suppression standards, siting within proximity of residential areas, and other aesthetic and safety requirements. HB 1367, as drafted, placed its current authority into an area of law where local input is very limited, as pre-empted by the State’s full occupation of the law. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 1407- County Tier 1 Renewable Sources – Generating Systems, Capacity, and Generation – Prohibition, Studies, and Plans. This bill, among other actions, would have totally undermined county environmental protections and siting authority for energy-generating systems listed as a Tier 1 renewable resource. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
