On March 5, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko testified before the Economic Matters Committee in support of HB 1259 – Zoning Authorities – Operation of Family Child Care Homes – Prohibitions and Requirements with amendments.

This bill limits local jurisdictions’ ability to regulate the siting of family child care homes and large family child care homes within residential neighborhoods.

While counties certainly share the objective of expanding access to affordable, reliable child care in Maryland, as drafted, this bill could unintentionally overlook neighborhood-level infrastructure considerations such as parking, traffic flow, and emergency access. Counties are therefore recommending targeted amendments designed to preserve the bill’s goal of expanding child care capacity while allowing limited flexibility to address localized impacts where they arise.

From MACo Testimony: 

Under the bill, multiple homes serving as many as 12 children each could locate on the same street, without any review of issues such as parking congestion during drop-off and pick-up, traffic and street capacity, or emergency vehicle access during high-volume periods. Counties suggest a more reasonable middle ground.

More on MACo’s Advocacy: 

• Follow MACo’s advocacy efforts during the 2026 legislative session on MACo’s Legislative Tracking Database
• Learn more about MACo’s 2026 Legislative Initiatives
• Read more General Assembly News on MACo’s Conduit Street blog