Setting Up Your myMGA Account

To submit testimony (oral, written, or informational) to the Maryland General Assembly, you must have a myMGA account. There are helpful tutorials for myMGA here.

The highly anticipated 2025 Maryland General Assembly Legislative Session begins today! The Maryland Municipal League and the City of Annapolis invite you to join us on January 8, 2025, for our Legislative Opening Day Reception, the ultimate legislative launch event in Annapolis. Don’t miss the excitement at the historic Governor Calvert House, 58 State Circle, Annapolis, from 6 to 8 p.m on January 8. 

U.S. House and Senate committees recently introduced a bicameral agreement to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Although the proposed bill includes some positive policy changes, several provisions raise concerns about reducing local flexibility and stakeholder involvement. Key issues include redesignation of local workforce development areas which may reduce local accountability and slow innovation by enabling single-area designations in many states. There have also been several One-Size-Fits-All mandates. These Federal mandates on training and work-experience requirements for youth could negatively impact underserved populations. There has also been an increased governor's set-aside for critical industries fund expanding state-level set-asides to 25% could limit resources for local implementation.

Advocacy efforts, including letters from the National League of Cities (NLC), U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), and National Association of Counties (NACo), continue to push for greater flexibility, though movement on local redesignation provisions remains unlikely. Members are encouraged to engage Congress and share concerns here.

The Maryland Municipal League’s annual State of the Municipality event on December 5 is now open to the public, but spots are limited!

Attendees can expect a thorough overview of Maryland's fiscal health and insight into how local government action is an important part of improving Maryland’s economic strength. Don’t miss this exclusive chance to connect with other leaders, stakeholders, and community supporters dedicated to Maryland’s growth!

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Maryland Sustainable Growth Awards. The Maryland Department of Planning and the Sustainable Growth Subcabinet invite all nominations for individuals, businesses, organizations, and local governments throughout Maryland that advance sustainable growth policies and practices. Nominations are considered for applications that support a balanced approach to land use and planning across at least three of the #SustainableGrowth Policy and Planning Principles: Land, Transportation, Housing, Economy, Equity, Resilience, Place, and Ecology.

The online nomination form and details can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has opened its next $1.5 billion funding round for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. The program provides planning and capital/construction funding for a wide variety of multimodal transportation projects and local governments are directly eligible to apply. This is a unique funding round as USDOT has indicated they will reserve a portion of the $1.5 billion funding for projects that received a highly recommended score from last year. It is unknown at this time how much will be made available for “new” projects in this round. “New” project submissions are due January 30, 2025.

The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) has developed resources to support locals with the RAISE program. Last year, they hosted a recorded webinar on the RAISE program (available here) and developed a PowerPoint on the RAISE program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Region has announced the availability of $40 million in subgrants for communities through the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program.

Announced by EPA in December 2023, this program includes 11 Grantmakers, such as the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), designated to operate in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Region 3), which includes Maryland. This initiative was established under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, collaborating with the Technical Assistance Centers for Environmental Justice Thriving Communities (TCTAC), which is part of the federal government's Investing in America Agenda. Applicants in the Mid-Atlantic territory can now seek subgrants ranging from $150,000 to $350,000 for various environmental projects with one- or two-year terms.

Join the Maryland Department of Education and the Maryland Municipal League for a Lunch & Learn webinar on October 17, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM via Zoom. Discover the benefits of the Outdoor, Nature-Based Child Care License Pilot Program, which enhances children’s health, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights into key policy decisions and early childhood initiatives—register now! 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program has an estimated $7.5 billion in available funding, including $6.5 billion for WIFIA and $1 billion for the State Water Infrastructure Financing Innovation Act (SWIFIA), aimed at supporting around $15 billion in water infrastructure projects.

The WIFIA program not only supports public health, environmental benefits, and local economies by creating over 60,000 jobs, but it also offers flexible financing options, including the ability to defer loan repayments for up to five years and customize payment schedules over a 35-year term. Examples of successful WIFIA-funded projects include California's Orange County Water District's Groundwater Replenishment System Expansion, which allowed the district to lower its interest rate, saving them $75 million in financing costs. Another example is Wichita's new Northwest Water Treatment Facility project, which was able to start 7 years earlier than originally planned due to WIFIA funding. These projects and other developments highlight the program's impact on enhancing water reliability and resilience.

MML invites MML Members to participate in an informative webinar hosted by the MML Advocacy Team, where we will thoroughly discuss the recommended legislative priorities set forth by the 2024-2025 Legislative Committee for the upcoming 2025 Maryland General Assembly session. This member-exclusive event is scheduled to take place via Zoom on August 27th, 2024, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Members, don't miss this opportunity to stay informed about the priorities that will shape our community's future!

MML's Summer Symposium will take place on August 1, 2024, at the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis.

The event will focus on Maryland's housing legislation, with a keynote address by Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. In addition, this year’s symposium will feature panels with experts from the National League of Cities, state officials, and municipal leaders discussing planning, zoning, and sustainable growth strategies. 

MML's Summer Symposium will take place on August 1, 2024, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Annapolis.

The event will focus on Maryland's housing legislation, with a keynote address by Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. In addition, this year’s symposium will feature panels with experts from the National League of Cities, state officials, and municipal leaders discussing planning, zoning, and sustainable growth strategies. 

The Lunch and Learn webinar with MDE and MML on the Lead and Copper Rule, has been uploaded to MML’s YouTube channel.  As a joint webinar between Maryland Department of the Environment and MML, it focused on the Lead and Copper Rule information and how to get resources out to the Maryland municipalities, providing technical assistance and funding information.

We were also joined by EPIC. The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build policies that deliver spectacular improvements in the speed and scale of environmental progress. They deliver data-driven policy analysis, innovation, and technical assistance to eliminate disparities across water systems and ensure more residents across the country have access to safe and accessible drinking water.