Two priority bills for county emergency managers are advancing in the General Assembly, both focused on stabilizing funding and bolstering long-term preparedness amid federal uncertainty.
HB 953 has passed the House and now moves to the Senate. This bill authorizes transfers from the Revenue Stabilization Account to the State Disaster Recovery Fund, providing flexibility when disasters create immediate costs that counties must cover before federal aid arrives. The fund helps bridge that gap when costs exceed local fiscal capacity.
County governments shoulder many of the front-line responsibilities during disasters. Local emergency managers coordinate response operations, restore essential infrastructure, and support residents as communities begin recovery. These responsibilities often require significant local spending even when federal disaster assistance proves delayed, uncertain, or unavailable.
The SDRF helps close that gap by providing targeted support when disaster costs exceed local fiscal capacity or when federal assistance falls short, and this bill provides additional flexibility to bolster the fund during major events that place extraordinary pressure on available recovery resources.
As highlighted in the MACo testimony, MACo and its County Emergency Managers Affiliate helped lead efforts to establish the SDRF so Maryland would have a reliable tool to support communities when disaster costs exceed local capacity or federal assistance proves insufficient. Western Maryland’s severe flooding illustrates the importance of that tool. Damage far exceeded local fiscal capacity, and the Maryland Department of Emergency Management worked with county officials to deploy SDRF assistance in the absence of timely federal disaster relief.
SB 739 has passed the Senate and now moves to the House. Its crossfile, HB 1219, is on Third Reader in the House. This bill advances a top priority identified by county emergency managers by directing the University System of Maryland to evaluate Maryland’s emergency management funding structure and develop recommendations for sustainable, long-term funding.
As highlighted in the MACo testimony, counties fund and operate local emergency management offices and maintain readiness across prevention, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. Federal disaster funding continues to fluctuate, with reimbursement timelines remaining uncertain and new administrative conditions complicating local budgeting and planning.
Counties must sustain staffing, training, communications systems, and coordination capacity regardless of federal instability. The bill requires the study to examine per capita funding levels, allocation between preparedness and response, recurring dedicated revenue mechanisms, and the impact of federal funding changes on state and local readiness. The study must also evaluate how insurance market pressures intersect with local mitigation investments.
A stable and predictable emergency management funding structure directly affects county readiness and the delivery of essential public safety services. This bill provides a practical and responsible step toward that goal.
Stay tuned to Conduit Street for more information.
