2.1.24 – Greater Greater Washington -By Alex Holt (Contributor)
Two additional bills, HB 89, or the One Less Car Act of 2024, and HB 107, or the Better Bus Service Act of 2024, would essentially give an income tax credit to Marylanders who don’t have or who get rid of their cars and authorize automated camera enforcement for dedicated bus lanes, helping the state qualify for …
The 2024 session of the Maryland General Assembly is only a few weeks old, but it’s already clear what its overarching theme will be: money. With the last remnants of COVID-era federal stimulus programs rapidly winding down and the state facing a $761 million shortfall for the next budget year, financial considerations are guaranteed to loom especially large over this year’s proceedings at State Circle.
That’s especially true for transportation, where the Moore Administration raised alarm bells last month with the announcement of $3.3 billion in cuts in an effort to close a $2.1 billion transportation budget shortfall over the next 5 years. A few of those cuts were hastily walked back earlier this month, as Moore and Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld diverted $150 million from Maryland’s general fund as a temporary fix.
That said, this year’s legislative session should see several bills addressing some of Maryland’s most pressing concerns on transportation, housing, and the environment. Some of them might help solve the aforementioned money issues. Here are some of the top bills to look out for:
Transportation
- The Transportation and Climate Alignment Act (HB836/SB671), from Del. Mark Edelson (D-Baltimore City) and Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard and Anne Arundel), which would require MDOT and the state’s various regional transportation planning agencies to “measure, assess, and mitigate” any increases in climate pollution and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) caused by a planned highway expansion project costing over $10 million. Remedies could include anything from public transit improvements or expansions to new bike lanes, or expanding broadband access in the affected area. Edelson is also introducing bills to increase legal penalties for “reckless and aggressive driving” (HB 207) and to abolish parking minimums near transit hubs in Baltimore City (HB 38).
- Two bills address traffic safety on major roads and highways: HB 135 from Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery)/SB 593 from Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery) would lift various prohibitions against pedestrians using roads controlled by the state’s main toll road agency, the Maryland Transportation Authority, and require it to build bike lanes and/or pedestrian walkways in certain circumstances. Meanwhile, HB 278 from Del. Ken Kerr (D-Frederick) would authorize the State Highway Administration (SHA) to decrease the maximum speed limit by 5 mph on “urban state highways” without an engineering and traffic investigation.
- A quartet of potentially transformative bills from Edelson’s 46th District colleague, Del. Robbyn Lewis (D-Baltimore City): HB 28, or the Pedestrian Fatality Prevention Act of 2024, would increase the annual registration fees for heavier and taller cars and direct the funds towards transit and pedestrian safety, while HB 156 would create a tax rebate and voucher program for e-bikes. Two additional bills, HB 89, orr the One Less Car Act of 2024, and HB 107, or the Better Bus Service Act of 2024, would essentially give an income tax credit to Marylanders who get rid of their cars and authorize automated camera enforcement for dedicated bus lanes, helping the state qualify for millions of funds earmarked under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act specifically for that purpose.
- HB 198/SB (Senate Bill) 126, or the Maryland Metro Funding Act of 2024, from new House Environment & Transportation Committee chair Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery) and Senate President Pro Tem Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George’s), which would increase the amount of operating support Maryland contributes to WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority), though as currently written, its provisions would only apply for one year. GGWash supports these bills, and here’s their testimony.
- Two bills would consider the community impacts of transportation proposals: SB 70 from Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City) would require the Maryland Transit Administration to conduct public outreach and publish various reports and analyses on the impacts of a proposed bus route reduction or cancellation before they actually go through with it. And SB 131 from Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-Charles) would add new equity considerations to MDOT’s main budget, the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP).
- Several bills would create new commissions or task forces: HB 344/SB 345 from Del. Julie Palakovich Carr (D-Montgomery) and Waldstreicher would establish a “Vision Zero Advisory Commission”; HB 187/SB 168 from Del. Sheila Ruth (D-Baltimore County) and Sen. Charles Sydnor (D-Baltimore County) would create a “Task Force to Study Aggressive and Reckless Driving”; and SB 331 from Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick) would establish the “Task Force to Study Paratransit in Maryland.”
- There are several bicycling-related bills: HB 111/SB 77 from Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel) and Waldstreicher would authorize cyclists to ride on sidewalks unless locally prohibited, while HB 511 from Del. Regina Boyce (D-Baltimore City) would make Maryland the latest state to legalize the “Idaho Stop” for cyclists. Boyce is also sponsoring, with Sen. Sarah Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel), HB 530/SB 645, or the Great Maryland Trails Act, which would establish a new Maryland Office of Trails within MDOT to help develop the state’s trails network
Housing
- Two bills from Delegate Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery) are aimed at increasing affordable housing production: HB 3/SB 356 with Sen. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s), would require local counties and municipalities to streamline the approval process for affordable housing on land owned by nonprofits or the government. HB 7/SB 203 from Stewart and Waldstreicher would create a Housing Innovation Pilot Program to finance publicly-owned mixed-income housing. GGWash supports both bills.
- HB 2/SB 138 from Boyce and Sen. Antonio Hayes (Both D-Baltimore City), which would authorize Baltimore City to set a special property tax rate for vacant lots and properties, a longtime Holy Grail for the city’s housing and development advocates and wonks. Likewise, HB 477/SB 644 from Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery) and Muse, which would authorize counties to pass legislation prohibiting landlords from evicting or not renewing a tenant’s lease failing to renew their tenants’ leases or from terminating a holdover tenancy without just cause, a longtime Holy Grail for Maryland renters’ rights advocates.
- HB 131 from Stewart, which would require every county or municipality with at least 250,000 residents to send the state annual reports with how many housing units and projects they’ve received and how many they’ve approved.
- Finally, there’s Governor Wes Moore’s housing package: SB 484/HB 538, the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act of 2024, SB 483/HB 599, the Housing and Community Development Financing Act of 2024, and SB 481/HB 693, the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024, which is explained in greater detail here.
Environment
- HB 166/SB 146 from Stewart and Sen. Karen Lewis Young (D-Frederick), or the Reclaim Renewable Energy Act of 2024, the two legislators’ latest attempt to remove trash incinerators from the list of energy sources eligible for inclusion (and thus state subsidies) in Maryland’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. That quest has been long, bipartisan, and largely without success but with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) endorsing this in a recent report, this session might bring it to an end.
- HB 12/SB 67 from Ruth and Sen. Ben Brooks (D-Baltimore County) would allow counties to give property tax credits to current owners of gas stations who’re looking to convert them to more productive alternate uses, a process that usually requires extensive and costly environmental remediation.
And as always, keep your eyes peeled for even more urbanism-related bills between now and the final day of the legislative session (commonly known as “Sine Die’), April 8. After all, you never quite know what’s going to happen as everything comes down to the wire.
This piece has been updated to reflect that HB 89, the One Less Car Act, only applies to people who get rid of a car, not people who already do not own a car.
Alex Holt is a New York state native, Maryland transplant, and freelance writer. He lives in Mt. Washington in Baltimore and enjoys geeking out about all things transit, sports, politics, and comics, not necessarily in that order. He was formerly GGWash’s Maryland Correspondent.