The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on intergovernmental relations policy in the 2026 General Assembly session.
Counties serve as the boots-on-the-ground public service providers to nearly all Maryland 
residents. From public safety and infrastructure to health, energy, and governance, this role requires strong coordination and clear communication between all levels of government. Through its intergovernmental relations advocacy, MACo works to strengthen the state-local partnership, ensuring that county voices are heard and respected in the policymaking process.
In Maryland’s 448th legislative session, intergovernmental dynamics were shaped by fiscal pressures, evolving policy priorities, and ongoing discussions around the appropriate balance of state authority and local control. The General Assembly considered a wide range of proposals that would affect how counties implement programs, manage resources, and engage with state agencies, often with significant operational and financial implications. An interesting twist for the 2026 session was the creation of the House of Delegates’ new standing committee on Government, Labor, and Elections — with new leadership and a roster of members, many of whom were exposed to these structure-of-government matters for the first time.
Within this environment, MACo engaged to promote collaboration, transparency, and mutual accountability across all levels of government. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions to ensure that policies are developed with local input, implemented with clarity, and supported with the resources necessary for success.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
MACo opposed HB 190 – Constitutional Amendment – Form of County Government – Requirement to Adopt Charter Home Rule. This bill would have repealed Maryland’s historic reliance on self-determination by county residents and instead mandated that every county conforms to a single governance structure – a full two-branch charter government. MACo argued that decisions about local governance belong to the voters directly affected — not to a statewide majority that may override the clearly expressed preferences of individual counties’ voters or representatives. This bill DID NOT pass in the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 165 – Courts – Sheriffs’ Salaries – Alterations. This bill would have altered the annual salary of Sheriffs in many counties to equal that of the county’s State’s Attorney, replacing a locally-driven legislative collaboration to properly set salaries for most county sheriffs with a uniform process pinning that salary to that of the county’s state’s attorney. MACo testimony noted the varied roles of sheriffs across counties, even beyond the primary law enforcement role. This bill DID NOT pass in the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 1411 – Data Center Planning and Transparency Act. This bill would have required large-scale data center operators to report their environmental and resource impacts to to certain State and local agencies and would have mandated that each jurisdiction with over 10,000 residents create formal plans for managing these facilities by 2027. In doing so, it would have established a costly statewide approach to addressing data centers that would have undercut local land use authority, imposed an unfunded planning mandate, and duplicated work already underway in many jurisdictions. This bill DID NOT pass in the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 99 – Municipalities – Annexed Land – Land Use and Density. This bill would have effectively eliminated the longstanding transition period before a municipality is enabled to change the underlying zoning, following an annexation of previously unincorporated areas. This potential path to rapid-fire zoning change could have overwhelmed county infrastructure and school planning. This bill DID NOT pass in the 2026 legislative session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1063/SB 643 – Natural Resources – Hunting – Management with amendments. This bill would have updated Maryland’s hunting laws and wildlife management practices, with a focus on deer population control by authorizing the Department of Natural Resources to address deer-related impacts in certain areas. and expanding allowable hunting times and opportunities during designated seasons. Late-session refinements, incorporating the views of MACo, local leaders, and other stakeholders eventually yielded a compromise in the session’s waning hours. This bill passed in the lats stages of the 2026 legislative session, and is staged to become law upon its signing in the weeks ahead.
