On February 17, Executive Director Michael Sanderson testified in support of SB 325 – Land Use – Permitting – Development Rights (Maryland Housing Certainty Act) with amendments.
This bill would overturn existing Maryland case law to establish an earlier vesting standard for residential projects and would adjust impact fee and excise tax payment timing to the issuance of a use and occupancy permit. Counties offer amendments to resolve issues of timing and application, and do so in the pursuit of a bill that creates wise, and clearly defined, measures to spur needed housing growth.
Counties remain committed to advancing durable, pro-housing reforms that provide greater regulatory certainty while protecting communities and infrastructure capacity. Early vesting represents a significant shift in Maryland’s development framework, and getting the details right will determine whether it successfully accelerates housing production or creates unintended administrative and fiscal consequences.
MACo’s amendments stress that careful drafting and clear implementation standards are essential to ensure the transition is workable, predictable, and fiscally responsible. With these refinements, SB 325 can provide clearer rules of the road for development while maintaining responsible local governance.
MACo’s amendments are intended to close those gaps and ensure Maryland
can unveil an early vesting standard consistently and responsibly. These amendments would make a bill’s passage smoother by reducing ambiguities and overlaps in existing bill language. MACo remains active in daily conversations to help create such a path forward.
SB 325’s cross-file, HB 548, was heard in the Economic Matters Committee on February 19. Michael Sanderson testified in support of this bill with amendments.
More on MACo’s Advocacy:
