Capital View
Legislative Affairs Newsletter of the 
 
In This Issue
Local Legislation
Augustine Commission Report
Equal Pay for Work Commission
2016 Legislation Passed by the Howard County Legislative Delegation
The Howard County legislative delegation has been busy and active during the current General Assembly session. Please click this link to view the bills the county's delegation passed this session. Some of these bills are now moving forward to their respective committees. 
Links to the Howard County Legislative Delegation
Senate
Gail Bates  
[email protected]     
Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee
District 9, Carroll and Howard Counties

Ed Kasemeyer 
[email protected] 
Chair, Budget & Taxation 
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties

Guy Guzzone 
[email protected] 
Budget & Taxation Committee
District 13, Howard County


Delegates

Warren Miller 
[email protected]   
District 9A, Howard and Carroll Counties

Trent Kittleman  
[email protected]   
Judiciary Committee 
District 9A, Howard and Carroll Counties

Bob Flanagan   
[email protected]
District 9B, Baltimore and Howard Counties

Clarence Lam
[email protected]
Environment & Transportation Committee 
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties

Terri Hill   
[email protected]   
Health & Government Operations Committee
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties

Eric Ebersole        
[email protected] 
Ways & Means Committee
District 12, Baltimore and Howard Counties 

Vanessa Atterbeary  
[email protected] 
Judiciary Committee
District 13, Howard County
 
Shane Pendergrass    
[email protected]
District 13, Howard County

Frank Turner              
[email protected]
District 13, Howard County
Links to the General Assembly of Maryland Standing Committee 
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Volume 2, Issue 6
March 18, 2016
Key Legislative Updates

Below is a summary of bills being followed and deemed priority by the Howard County Chamber of Commerce.
 
  1. SB485/HB740   Family and Medical Leave BillThe bill has been amended to create/establish a task force for further study of the bill. Economic Matters Committee (EM Committee) 
  2. SB385/HB457 Corporations and Associations-Filing Fees-ReductionsThe bill received an unfavorable report by the EM Committee.
  3. SB481/HB1003  Equal Pay For Equal Work. The bill passed the house and is in the senate for consideration. T. Kittleman, W. Miller, B. Flanagan did not support the bill. EM/Fin. Committee's
  4. SB664/HB1175  Fair SchedulingThe bill received an unfavorable report in EM Committee.
  5. SB676/HB1014 College AffordabilityPassed the house favorably with amendments. In the senate for consideration. Ways & Means (W &M), Appropriations. and Budget & Tax (B & T) Committees
  6. SB842/HB1252 Corporate Sales Tax - Single Sales Factor. Still in the house, it needs passage of 2nd reading.
  7. The house is taking the bill up today. W&M and B&T Committee's
  8. SB166/HB243 Land Use Actions. The bill received an unfavorable report in the house. E&T Committee
Local Legislative News

Weinstein Seeks Adjustments to the Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee

Howard County Councilman Jon Weinstein has introduced Council Bill 20-2016 (CB20) and Council Resolution 37-2016 (CR37), which modifies the county's Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee and establishes a more equitable and unbiased application of the fee.

While this bill does not eliminate the fee as preferred by the Howard County Chamber, it does lessen the financial burden on business which is a move in the right direction. The Chamber applauds Councilman Weinstein for listening to the concerns of business and convening a work group to discuss those issues.  
 
These two pieces of legislation will address the imbalanced impact on some commercial property by reducing the maximum fee from 20% of property tax to 15% in fiscal 2017, 10% in fiscal '18 and 5% in fiscal '19. The fee will remain largely unchanged for residents and certain businesses.
 
If passed, this legislation preserves the Stormwater Fund in order to accomplish the following.
● Enable state grants, including from the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund
● Avoid negative impact on the county's borrowing capacity
● Avoid putting required stormwater mitigation actions with other priorities competing for limited funding
● Maintain sustainable and transparent fund and associated projects by requiring additional information in the annual Stormwater Fee Report
● Lower risks to businesses performing work on stormwater projects by having a secured fund and not a budget subject to shifting priorities or fiscal pressures
 
Additionally, CB20 and CR37 increase flexibility for the administration to add monies to the Stormwater Fund by other means, as suggested in their repeal plan. The administration can request credit to those paying the fee, if the fund balance can accommodate the credit. The legislation also addresses any potential legal risk to the county, identified in the recent Montgomery County lawsuit, by allowing credits of up to 100% for mitigation actions.
 
Public testimony on this legislative package is scheduled for Monday, March 21.

Portions of this report derived from the Business Monthly. 
Other Legislative News

Court of Appeals Upholds Maryland's Flexible Approach To Stormwater Permitting
Ruling Paves the Way for Counties to Seek 
Innovative Private Sector Solutions

The Maryland Court of Appeals has issued an important decision broadly upholding county stormwater permits issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). The court's unanimous decision, authored by Judge Sally Adkins, addressed challenges to four MDE-issued stormwater permits for county Municipal Separate Sewer Systems (MS4s) in Montgomery, Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties, as well as the permit for the City of Baltimore.

As a result, the decision is dispositive of all of the current major challenges to county MS4 permits in Maryland and should ensure that these permits stand on solid legal footing moving forward.
Article courtesy of Holland & Knight


Howard County Chamber of Commerce | 5560 Sterrett Place | Suite 105 | Columbia | MD | 21044