State School Construction Contingencies Funding May Change for the Better
County Budgets / Education / School Construction and Capital Budgets
State School Construction Contingencies Funding May Change for the Better

The Interagency Commission on School Construction updates regulations around state school construction funding processes in an effort to ease administrative hurdles and expedite project completion. The Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) approved the publication of COMAR revisions including: Clarifications to best value procurement requirements Increases to time allowances for local school systems to ask the IAC to reconsider a decision Clarifications to emergency shelter requirements These proposed policy changes reflect input from county governments…

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May 16, 2019
Slight Increase to School Construction Costs and New School Size Allowances for FY 2021
School Construction and Capital Budgets
Slight Increase to School Construction Costs and New School Size Allowances for FY 2021

At the recent meeting of the Interagency Commission on School Construction, the Commission adopted a 3.4% increase to the statewide per-square-foot school building costs to $329 per square foot and changed their square footage allowances. The dollars per-square-foot figure annually adopted by the State's School Construction Commission represents to amount of funding that the State will contribute to school construction projects in the coming year. The State will still only contribute to a percentage of…

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May 16, 2019
Preemption, PIA, and “Green Amendment” Hot Topics for Maryland Government Attorneys
County Budgets / County News / Education / Employee Benefits and Relations / Environment / Public Information and Ethics / School Construction and Capital Budgets / State Budget and Fiscal Issues
Preemption, PIA, and “Green Amendment” Hot Topics for Maryland Government Attorneys

The State and Local Government Section of the Maryland State Bar Association met to discuss the 2019 General Assembly Session and legislation of interest in their practice area. At a regular meeting of the Maryland State Bar Association's section for State and local government attorneys, the group heard a review of the 2019 Session from Delegates Marc Korman and Trent Kittleman, MACo's Research Director Robin Clark Eilenberg, the Maryland Municipal League's Government Relations Manager Bill…

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May 8, 2019
Law Lifts Cap on Howard County Developer Fees to Support School Construction Costs
County Budgets / School Construction and Capital Budgets
Law Lifts Cap on Howard County Developer Fees to Support School Construction Costs

Legislation introduced by the Howard County Delegation and passed by the General Assembly in their 2019 Session authorizes the Howard County Council to raise the County's school facilities surcharge. Under a new law passed by the General Assembly, Beginning in fiscal 2020, the Howard County school facilities surcharge imposed on residential new construction is an amount equal to or greater than the amount imposed by the county council on June 30, 2019, per square foot…

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May 8, 2019
County Budgets / Education / School Construction and Capital Budgets
Substantial School Construction Funding Left to Governor’s Discretion

Coupled with planned actions in the capital budget bill, the General Assembly's budget plan dedicates almost $500 million to school construction. $127 million of that funding, however, is pulled from other dedicated purposes, and is thus left to the Governor's discretion. Here is a breakdown in round numbers of the General Assembly's FY 2020 school construction budget: $252 million - Public School Construction Program $90 million - Public School Construction Program from Rainy Day Fund…

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April 25, 2019
2019 End of Session Wrap-Up: School Construction & Capital Budget
County News / General Assembly News / School Construction and Capital Budgets
2019 End of Session Wrap-Up: School Construction & Capital Budget

An overview of MACo’s advocacy on school construction and capital budget legislation in the 2019 General Assembly.  County governments partner with the State of Maryland to fund school construction projects throughout Maryland. K-12 school renovation and construction projects make up a substantial portion of any county's capital budget, and the needs of Maryland students are consistently a high priority. In 2019, Commitment to Education was one of MACo's three lead initiatives. MACo’s advocacy on the…

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April 10, 2019
Conduit Street Podcast: “Spring Cleaning” Policy Roundup
Agriculture / County Budgets / County News / Education / General Assembly News / Labor / NACo and Federal Issues / School Construction and Capital Budgets / State Budget and Fiscal Issues
Conduit Street Podcast: “Spring Cleaning” Policy Roundup

MACo has made the podcast available through both iTunes and Google Play Music by searching Conduit Street Podcast. You can also listen on our Conduit Street blog with a recap and link to the podcast. You can listen to previous episodes of the Conduit Street Podcast on our website. Useful Links Previous Conduit Street Coverage: Budget Conferees Reach Compromise on Spending Plan Previous Conduit Street Coverage: County and Legislative Leaders Push for Build to Learn Act Previous Conduit Street Coverage: $15…

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March 29, 2019
County News / Education / General Assembly News / School Construction and Capital Budgets / Taxes and Revenues
Budget Conferees Reach Compromise on Spending Plan

Budget conferees on Monday put the finishing touches on a $46.6 billion dollar budget proposal, reconciling several differences between the House and Senate budget proposals. The conference committee's report now goes to the General Assembly for final approval. The proposed budget achieves the Spending Affordability Committee’s (SAC) dual goal of leaving a fund balance of at least $100 million and eliminating the structural shortfall in fiscal 2020. The conference committee’s actions leave a fund balance…

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March 26, 2019
Conduit Street Podcast: Major Issues Mashup
County Budgets / County News / Education / General Assembly News / News You Can Use / Planning and Zoning / School Construction and Capital Budgets / Taxes and Revenues
Conduit Street Podcast: Major Issues Mashup

MACo has made the podcast available through both iTunes and Google Play Music by searching Conduit Street Podcast. You can also listen on our Conduit Street blog with a recap and link to the podcast. You can listen to previous episodes of the Conduit Street Podcast on our website. Useful Links Previous Conduit Street Coverage: $15 Minimum Wage Bill Heading to Governor Hogan Previous Conduit Street Coverage: Passage of Clean Energy Jobs Act Likely, But Maybe Not This Year Previous Conduit…

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March 21, 2019
Regional Schools Bill Moves with MACo Amendment
County Budgets / County News / Education / School Construction and Capital Budgets
Regional Schools Bill Moves with MACo Amendment

A bill that would allow school boards to create regional schools through local agreements has passed the Maryland Senate with a friendly amendment to clarify that county governments must also approve the agreements. Maryland county governments are partners in school construction with the State, together funding the many construction and renovation projects that support K-12 public education.   County governments are consistently open to innovative approaches to addressing student education needs and supported Senator Hester's…

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March 19, 2019
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