On February 12, Executive Director Michael Sanderson testified before the Ways and Means Committee in support of HB 243 – Land Use – Comprehensive and General Plans – Alteration of Elements with amendments.
This bill seeks to align certain provisions in Maryland state law governing comprehensive plans with prior legislation transitioning local plans from a “visions” framework to a new “principles” framework.
This legislation, introduced by the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP), aims to modernize comprehensive planning law. Counties appreciate the collaborative partnership that has guided this transition and support the bill’s goal of ensuring consistency throughout the Land Use Article.
MACo’s technical amendments are intended to maintain the legislation’s intent while ensuring the updated requirements remain practical, appropriately scoped, and implementable for jurisdictions at varying stages of their comprehensive planning cycles. The Department indicated its comfort with the amendments at the hearing, so they will likely be received and adopted as “friendly.”
HB 243 builds on that 2025 legislation by updating additional sections of
code that still reflect the former “visions” terminology and structure. The Department has worked closely with local governments throughout this process, and counties are grateful for both the approach and the strong partnership that has been fostered over the past several years. Counties have three technical amendments to ensure the updated language remains implementable.
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