Last week, the Maryland Municipal League (MML) testified before the House Appropriations Committee in strong support of HB 559. This bill represents a critical turning point in our years-long advocacy to restore and protect Highway User Revenues (HUR) for Maryland’s cities and towns.

For years, municipal governments have operated under temporary "funding bridges" that increased our share of gas tax and vehicle fee revenues. However, under current law, those increases are set decrease after Fiscal Year 2027, from the 3.0% allocation of Highway User Revenues to 2.4%.

For nearly 60 years, Maryland’s municipal revenue structure has remained largely unchanged, forcing our cities and towns to rely on property taxes for approximately 50% of their general fund budgets. This over-dependence is no longer sustainable.

We have a critical opportunity to change this. HB 1142, MML's priority bill sponsored by Ways and Means Chair Jheanelle Wilkins, establishes a Task Force to Modernize County and Municipal Revenue Structures. This "blue-ribbon" commission will study alternative revenue sources - such as those used in other states - to ensure our communities can remain fiscally resilient without placing the entire burden on property owners.

Last week, the Maryland Municipal League (MML) testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on HB 594. While MML supports the bill - which seeks to return a portion of sales tax revenue to the City of Baltimore - we officially testified as Support with Amendment.

Currently, HB 594 would require the Comptroller to pay the City of Baltimore one-third of the sales and use tax revenues collected within its borders. In the hearing, MML staff highlighted how municipalities are the economic hubs of the state, where 34% of all sales tax revenue is generated despite only accounting for 5% of the state’s land mass.

Last week, MML staff testified before the House Government, Labor, and Elections Committee in strong support of HB 99, a bill vital to ensuring that cities and towns have the final say in how their newly annexed land is developed. The legislation is sponsored by Delegate Schindler, a former municipal official from Hagerstown, Maryland.

Under current law, municipalities often face a "zoning freeze" after an annexation, regularly referred to as “The 5-year Rule.” Even when a town has a clear, community-vetted comprehensive plan, they are frequently barred from implementing higher-density or different land uses for five years unless they receive express permission from the county.

MML seeks amendments to SB 64 & HB 10 in support of public notice modernization.

Last week, MML staff testified before the House Judiciary and Senate Judicial Proceedings committees in favor of a critical modernization package for SB 64 (and cross-filed HB 10).

On Wednesday, January 21, Governor Wes Moore formally introduced his budget bills (SB 282/HB 390 & SB 284/HB 392) for the State of Maryland’s 2027 fiscal year. See our municipal analysis below.

The City of Bowie is hosting Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) course MGT-312 – Senior Officials Workshop for All-Hazards Preparedness on March 10, 2026. The course is intended for elected officials and senior level staff.

On January 20 at noon, we will offer a Lunch and Learn: Tutorial Session on Key Contact Functionality to introduce/refresh key contacts on how to add their officials into the platform. Each city/town is allowed two Key Contacts; please make sure that at least one municipal contact plans to attend.

Key contacts are municipal staff who have been designated by their municipality to have access to MML's database platform. This functionality allows key contacts to add new officials into our system as well as register officials for our events.

For decades, the League's oldest ambassador program, "If I were Mayor, I would..." Essay Contest has educated fourth graders (and teachers) about municipal government and the role of the mayor. In late December, a postcard announcing the 2026 essay contest was mailed to schools and municipalities. Contest materials are now available on our website. 

Essay submissions are now open. The essay contest deadline is March 5.

The Banner City/Town Program bestows formal recognition each year to cities and towns that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to MML programs and activities. This program serves as a guidepost on how to make the most of your MML membership.

Earlier this year, the General Assembly enacted legislation establishing eight new Sustainable Growth Planning Principles to guide land use and development policy statewide. In response, the Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) has released the Sustainable Growth Implementation Guide, a new resource intended to help jurisdictions understand how the Principles may be applied in planning documents, projects, and policy development. 

MDP developed the Guide with input from multiple state agencies and through Regional Planner Roundtables, where local planners identified areas where additional clarity or technical support could be useful. This Guide is designed to offer a flexible framework that can help jurisdictions anticipate market changes and better align local planning efforts with the state’s goals related to economic vitality, environmental stewardship, and community well-being. It includes examples, best practices, and models for integrating them into local planning processes, and is intended as a companion manual to the new Principles.

The Maryland Municipal League (MML), with membership in attendance, demonstrated its commitment to environmental stewardship through participation in two major events this November. Tyler Brice, MML Manager, Advocacy and Public Affairs, attended both the Greater Baltimore Climate Summit and the "Wandering Maryland's Waterways" Bus Tour, engaging with local and state leaders on critical resilience and water quality issues.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recently issued a memorandum clarifying how state and local law enforcement officers must operate when working alongside federal agencies. The OAG’s “Maryland Law Enforcement Standards When Working with Federal Agents” (October 2025) establishes clear expectations that Maryland officers remain fully bound by state law—even during joint operations or federal task forces. The guidance is intended to help departments avoid conflicts between state and federal standards and maintain community trust. Among other things, the OAG memo outlines what officers must do, may do, and must not do when participating in joint operations, covering areas such as:

• Use-of-force and de-escalation standards;

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The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will hold a virtual meeting for local governments on Wednesday, September 17, at 11:00 a.m. to provide an update on the Purdue and Secondary Manufacturers opioid settlements. These agreements are currently in the sign-on phase, so timely participation is critical.

OAG will review:

Governor Wes Moore has signed an executive order to increase housing production across the state. The order improves the use of state-owned land to create more efficient development, reduce state permitting timelines, and bring more homes to market faster in an effort to tackle housing affordability and promote the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to addressing Maryland's 96,000 unit housing shortage across the state.

The “Housing Starts Here” executive order: