The Maryland General Assembly convened on Jan. 10 and adjourned, called “Sine Die, this past Monday, on April 8. The General Assembly wrapped up their session by passing a meaningful housing bill, HB 538. This bill endeavors to kickstart the work of closing the 150,000-plus unit housing shortage in our state.
The bill grants density bonuses and eases zoning restrictions on qualified projects in areas adjacent to transit, owned by nonprofits and former government campuses. It removes restrictions on the construction of modular housing and streamlines the development process that is currently subject to excessive delays created by the public hearing process.
Maryland Realtors, Gov. Wes Moore (D), and Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day, were all instrumental in support of this bill. It was also sponsored by nearly 50 delegates.
Numerous real estate related legislation will be reported on in the coming weeks in this article, including bills related to the HOA/Condo Reserve study bill, HB 107.
The Post-Session timeline is:
April 28: 20th day after adjournment — Final date for presentment of bills to the governor
May 28: 30th day after presentment — governor to sign/veto bills by this date
June 1: Other than emergency bills and as otherwise provided, earliest date for bills to take effect July 1: Budgetary, tax, and revenue bills to take effect
Oct. 1: Usual effective date for bills
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
