Catch up on all of the latest outcomes of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly session with wrap-ups on important county-related bills in each policy area.
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 budgetary limitations, many 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 broad portfolio. With the 2024 session over, it’s time to take stock.
As always, MACo’s advocacy led to more positive outcomes for its members. Bills that MACo supported were more likely to pass, while bills MACo opposed had a greater tendency to fail. MACo also helped improve many pieces of legislation by articulating county positions in amendments and will continue to work with State partners in several areas of ongoing administrative improvement.
Some of the big wins for the 2024 session include a successful MACo initiative to bolster career and volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention by offering 100% of the cost of tuition and mandatory fees at in-state community colleges and for undergraduate education and 50% of tuition and required fees for graduate education. For two years, MACo has spearheaded an all-hands-on-deck, multistakeholder collaborative effort to call attention to and find solutions for Maryland’s fire and emergency medical services (EMS) recruitment and retention crisis. This legislation incorporates recommendations from the Commission to Advance and Strengthen Firefighting and EMS Within Maryland, established as part of a 2023 MACo initiative.
Another successful MACo initiative bill ensures county governments receive more comprehensive and timely data about school system spending as funding partners for Maryland public schools. The bill stipulates various pieces of information to accompany the school systems’ funding requests to county governing bodies. Also, it requires school systems to include specified information on a readily accessible part of their public-facing websites.
MACo also successfully led advocacy efforts to guard against deep funding cuts for local roads and bridges, as proposed in the governor’s fiscal plan. The General Assembly rejected deep cuts to roads and bridges in fiscal 2026 and 2027 by keeping the Highway User Revenue formula intact. This decision avoids a reduction of over a quarter billion dollars across those two coming years. It sets the stage for a more considered plan for global transportation funding in the years ahead.
While MACo successfully guarded against costly mandates and preemptive regulations, MACo also improved several bills by securing amendments to protect county resources and defend local autonomy.
MACo’s legislative initiatives, priorities, and positions are directed by its membership. Elected representatives from the 23 counties and Baltimore City sit on MACo’s Legislative Committee.
The “one county, one vote” system of deciding the Association’s legislative strategies ensures that all counties have an equal voice. All 24 jurisdictions participated in weekly virtual and in-person meetings throughout the legislative session — where they also engaged with policy leaders and advocates who joined the meetings to address county leadership.
The MACo policy staff has compiled updates and results on all of the bills the Legislative Committee decided to take action on this year.
For the 2024 End of Session Wrap-Up for each subject MACo covers, click below:
Employee Benefits and Relations
Government Liability and Courts
Housing and Community Development
School Construction and Capital Budget
Transportation and Public Works
Questions about MACo’s legislative positions or successes? Contact Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally.