Legislation passed this session to create a “transparency dashboard” to open easier access to Maryland Board of Public Works meetings, where state-level contracts and procurements receive final administrative approval from that three-member public body. This implements a recommendation of the Comptroller’s transition team, where local governments and other stakeholders offered guidance on best practices for that role and the Board on which the Comptroller serves.

HB 877, passed by the General Assembly and awaiting the Governor’s signature, will create a Transparency Dashboard to grant easier access for stakeholders and the public to see and evaluate matters before that powerful state body. MACo supported the bill, noting that the policy advances an element from Comptroller Brooke Lierman’s transition team report, which included broad input from local government leaders.

From the MACo testimony:

Counties commend this initiative and strongly welcome its implications for county governments – who themselves are frequent participants in the Board’s considerations. Not only would HB 877 increase transparency and accessibility but it would also support counties in tracking their capital projects from the time of consideration before the Board of Public Works through various stages of implementation and completion. This is especially helpful for large, complex projects, such as those involving transportation infrastructure. Additionally, smaller counties with less capacity and fewer staff will be particularly aided by the dashboard created under HB 877.

For more on the Comptroller’s transition team report (including a local government section co-chaired by MACo Executive Director Michael Sanderson), see Conduit Street coverage of their report: Comptroller Transition Report Includes Local Government Input, Goals

HB 877 takes effect July 1, 2024, and will accompany multiple other laws and practices designed to ensure open consideration of State-level policy and procurement implementation. From the bill’s fiscal note:

BPW consists of the Governor, Treasurer, and Comptroller, and is authorized by State procurement law to control procurement by State procurement units. However, the board does not have jurisdiction over (1) capital expenditures by the Maryland Department of Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority related to roads, bridges, or highways or (2) procurements by DGS valued at less than $1.0 million for cybersecurity. In general, BPW meets biweekly to review and approve contracts, except commodities contracts, exceeding $200,000 in value. BPW’s website includes information on all BPW meetings, including meeting agendas, board actions, meeting minutes, approved contracts, and archived video footage of each meeting. However, the agendas are not searchable by item.

Chapter 659 of 2008, the Maryland Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, created the Maryland Transparency Portal, a searchable website that includes all State payments of at least $25,000, sortable by payee, agency making the payment, and zip code of the payee. Originally containing only contract payments, the website was expanded in fiscal 2010 and 2011 to include grant and loan payments, respectively.

For more information on the bill, see the General Assembly website. For more information on the Board of Public Works, visit the Board’s website.