EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0720*
HOUSE BILL 720
M1 5lr0355
CF 5lr0356
By: Chair, Environment and Transportation Committee (By Request –
Departmental – Natural Resources)
Introduced and read first time: January 27, 2025
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Natural Resources – Repeal of Somers Cove Marina Commission and 2
Improvement Fund and Alteration of Operations 3
FOR the purpose of repealing provisions of law relating to the Somers Cove Marina 4
Commission, the Somers Cove Marina Improvement Fund , and the operation of 5
Somers Cove Marina; authorizing the Secretary of Natural Resources to execute 6
certain leases, procure and execute certain contracts, and employ certain staff; 7
requiring the Secretary to set the compensation for certain employees under certain 8
circumstances; and generally relating to Somers Cove Marina. 9
BY repealing 10
Article – Natural Resources 11
Section 5–908.1 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
BY adding to 15
Article – Natural Resources 16
Section 5–908.1 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 20
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 21
Article – Natural Resources 22
[5–908.1. 23
2 HOUSE BILL 720
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 1
(2) “Commission” means the Somers Cove Marina Commission. 2
(3) “Fund” means the Somers Cove Marina Improvement Fund. 3
(4) “Unencumbered” means not pledged for use by the State for Somers 4
Cove Marina before the creation of the Commission. 5
(b) (1) (i) There is a Somers Cove Marina Commission. 6
(ii) The Commission is a body politic and corporate and an 7
instrumentality of the State. 8
(2) The Commission consists of the following members: 9
(i) Two members from Somerset County, appointed by the Board of 10
County Commissioners of Somerset County, one of whom shall be a member of the Somerset 11
County business community; 12
(ii) Two members from the City of Crisfield, appointed by the Mayor 13
of Crisfield, one of whom shall be a member of the Somerset County business community; 14
and 15
(iii) Three members appointed by the Secretary, one of whom shall 16
be a current slip holder at Somers Cove Marina. 17
(3) (i) The term of a member is 4 years. 18
(ii) A member may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms. 19
(iii) At the end of a term, a member continues to serve until a 20
successor is appointed and qualifies. 21
(iv) A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only 22
for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed and qualifies. 23
(4) A member is not entitled to compensation except for reimbursement for 24
expenses as provided in the budget of the Commission. 25
(5) (i) The Commission shall elect a chair and a vice chair of the 26
Commission from among its members. 27
(ii) The Commission shall appoint a secretary–treasurer who need 28
not be a member of the Commission. 29
HOUSE BILL 720 3
(iii) A secretary–treasurer who is not a member of the Commission 1
may not vote on matters before the Commission. 2
(6) (i) The Commission shall meet at least every 2 months, as 3
determined by the chair. 4
(ii) At least 10 days before each meeting, written notice shall be 5
given to each member of the Commission. 6
(7) Five members of the Commission are a quorum. 7
(8) A majority vote of the members present at a meeting having a quorum 8
is needed for the Commission to act. 9
(9) (i) The Secretary may remove a member of the Commission for any 10
reason upon a majority vote of the members of the Commission. 11
(ii) If a member is removed, a new member shall promptly be 12
appointed by the individual or body that appointed the removed member. 13
(c) (1) The Secretary shall: 14
(i) Appoint an Executive Director; 15
(ii) Consult with the Commission in conducting the annual 16
performance evaluation of the Executive Director; and 17
(iii) Review and make determinations on requests for approval of 18
leases and contracts submitted to the Secretary by the Executive Director in accordance 19
with subsection (d) of this section. 20
(2) The Executive Director: 21
(i) Shall administer the Fund; 22
(ii) On or before May 1 of each year, and after consulting with the 23
Commission, shall prepare operating and capital budgets for the subsequent fiscal year and 24
submit the budgets to the Commission for review and approval; 25
(iii) Shall supervise the marina manager; 26
(iv) May execute leases of land, buildings, or facilities at Somers Cove 27
Marina and execute contracts for events or concessions at Somers Cove Marina in 28
accordance with subsection (c) of this section; 29
(v) Subject to the approval of the Secretary, and in cooperation with 30
the Commission, shall develop an annual master plan for the operations, maintenance, 31 4 HOUSE BILL 720
development, and improvement of Somers Cove Marina that improves services to the 1
general boating public; 2
(vi) Shall administer, in cooperation with the Commission, all 3
unencumbered grants; 4
(vii) 1. Shall employ a staff to operate and maintain Somers Cove 5
Marina, and set the staff’s compensation; and 6
2. Shall, except for the marina manager, employ staff as 7
employees of the Commission; and 8
(viii) Shall be an employee of the State and serve at the pleasure of the 9
Secretary. 10
(3) (i) The marina manager shall be an employee of the State. 11
(ii) The marina manager is responsible for the day –to–day 12
operations of the marina. 13
(4) On approval of and subject to the conditions that the Department may 14
require, Commission staff who are not employees of the Department may use vehicles or 15
equipment of the Department. 16
(d) (1) A lease of land, a building, or other facility at the Somers Cove Marina 17
or a contract for an event or concession at the Somers Cove Marina shall conform to the 18
annual master plan approved under subsection (c)(2)(v) of this section. 19
(2) A lease of land, a building, or a facility or a contract for an event or 20
concession that is executed by the Executive Director: 21
(i) May not be for a term of more than 5 years or be renewed for 22
more than an additional 5 years; and 23
(ii) Shall be reviewed and approved by the Commission and Office of 24
the Attorney General. 25
(3) A lease entered into before the creation of the Commission shall remain 26
in effect for the duration of the term of the lease. 27
(4) (i) The Executive Director may not execute a lease or contract for 28
nonboating related improvements or goods at the marina without the approval of the 29
Secretary. 30
(ii) Within 30 days after receiving a request for approval of a lease 31
or contract, the Secretary shall provide the Executive Director with an initial response that 32
may include a process or plan of action for addressing the merits of the request. 33 HOUSE BILL 720 5
(e) On approval of and subject to the conditions that the Secretary may require, 1
the Department may transfer any vehicle, equipment, or other inventory to the 2
Commission. 3
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (6) of this subsection, the Executive 4
Director shall procure goods, services, and capital improvement, design, and maintenance 5
projects in accordance with the requirements of this subsection. 6
(2) For goods, services, and capital improvement, design, and maintenance 7
projects with an expected value of $1,000 to $5,000, the Executive Director shall: 8
(i) Make a written or telephone request for bids; 9
(ii) Evaluate the bids; and 10
(iii) Award the contract to the responsible bidder that submits the 11
responsive bid that is the lowest bid price. 12
(3) For goods, services, and capital improvement, design, and maintenance 13
projects with an expected value of $5,000 to $200,000, the Executive Director shall: 14
(i) Advertise the solicitation in a local newspaper and on the 15
Somerset County website; 16
(ii) Issue invitations for bids to all known prospective vendors; 17
(iii) Tabulate and evaluate the bids; 18
(iv) Select for award the responsible bidder who submits the 19
responsive bid that is the lowest bid price; and 20
(v) Submit the proposed award to the Commission for review and 21
approval. 22
(4) The Executive Director shall procure goods, services, and capital 23
improvement, design, and maintenance projects with an expected value exceeding $200,000 24
in accordance with Division II of the State Finance and Procurement Article. 25
(5) For goods, services, and capital improvement, design, and maintenance 26
projects funded by the proceeds from State bonds, the Executive Director shall submit the 27
proposed award to the Board of Public Works for approval. 28
(6) For an emergency procurement that the Executive Director determines 29
to be necessary to avoid or mitigate serious damage to public health, safety, or welfare, the 30
Executive Director shall: 31
6 HOUSE BILL 720
(i) Obtain as much competition as possible under the circumstances; 1
and 2
(ii) After awarding the procurement contract, submit to the 3
Commission and the Secretary a written report that gives the justification for the use of 4
the emergency procurement procedure. 5
(7) The Executive Director shall adopt a procurement policy that includes 6
provisions for minority– and women–owned business participation. 7
(8) This subsection does not apply to procurement in support of enterprise 8
activities for the purpose of direct resale or remanufacture and subsequent resale. 9
(g) (1) The Commission shall: 10
(i) Adopt an operating budget to use the Fund to implement the 11
master plan; 12
(ii) Adopt a capital budget that may use funds from Somerset 13
County, the City of Crisfield, the State, and other sources to implement the master plan; 14
(iii) 1. Apply for grants from the Waterway Improvement Fund 15
in accordance with Title 8, Subtitle 7 of this article; and 16
2. Subject to the Secretary’s approval, receive approved 17
grant amounts at the time of acceptance of a bid or bids for waterway improvement work; 18
(iv) Assess slip and other fees and charges at Somers Cove Marina as 19
necessary in order to implement the master plan; 20
(v) Set policy and provide general oversight of marina operations; 21
and 22
(vi) Adopt rules and regulations necessary for the conduct of its own 23
affairs. 24
(2) The Commission may: 25
(i) Accept gifts, contributions, or loans of money, supplies, goods, 26
and services, and accept appropriations, allotments, and loans of money from: 27
1. The State or federal government; 28
2. A federal corporation; 29
3. A unit or instrumentality of the federal government; or 30
HOUSE BILL 720 7
4. A political subdivision or instrumentality of the State; 1
(ii) Exercise a power usually possessed by a private corporation in 2
performing similar functions unless to do so would conflict with State law; and 3
(iii) Do all things necessary to carry out the mandates and powers 4
expressly provided by this section. 5
(h) There is a Somers Cove Marina Improvement Fund in the Commission, to be 6
used for the operation, maintenance, development, and improvement of the Somers Cove 7
Marina facilities in Crisfield, Maryland. 8
(i) Any money obtained by the Commission from Somers Cove Marina shall be 9
credited to the Fund. 10
(j) (1) The Commission shall: 11
(i) Maintain the Fund in a bank account separate from State funds; 12
(ii) Transfer any unencumbered money in the Fund run by the 13
Department to the Commission’s Fund; and 14
(iii) Reimburse the State for the salary of the marina manager. 15
(2) Money of the Fund is: 16
(i) Not money of the State within the meaning of Article VI of the 17
Maryland Constitution; and 18
(ii) Subject to audit by the State, including the Department and the 19
Legislative Auditor. 20
(3) Money pledged for use by the State for Somers Cove Marina before the 21
creation of the Commission shall be used for the same purpose as originally pledged. 22
(k) On or before October 1 of each year, the Commission shall provide to the 23
Department an accounting of revenues and expenses from Somers Cove Marina for the 24
previous fiscal year. 25
(l) (1) On November 1, 2011, the Department and the Commission shall begin 26
to evaluate the Commission’s work so that the Department and the Commission may make 27
findings and recommendations concerning the Commission’s ability to: 28
(i) Operate, maintain, develop, and improve Somers Cove Marina in 29
an effective manner; and 30
8 HOUSE BILL 720
(ii) Afford or assume the costs of operating, maintaining, developing, 1
and improving Somers Cove Marina, including the salaries of: 2
1. The Executive Director; and 3
2. Employees of the State who remain working at Somers 4
Cove Marina. 5
(2) On November 1, 2013, based on the evaluation undertaken in 6
accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Department and the Commission 7
shall report their findings and recommendations, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State 8
Government Article, to the General Assembly.] 9
5–908.1. 10
THE SECRETARY: 11
(1) MAY: 12
(I) EXECUTE LEASES OF LAND , BUILDINGS, OR FACILITIES AT 13
SOMERS COVE MARINA; 14
(II) PROCURE AND EXECUTE C ONTRACTS FOR OPERATIONS, 15
MAINTENANCE , MANAGEMENT , IMPROVEMENTS , EVENTS, OR CONCESSIONS AT 16
SOMERS COVE MARINA IN ACCORDANCE WITH DIVISION II OF THE STATE FINANCE 17
AND PROCUREMENT ARTICLE; 18
(III) EMPLOY A MARINA MANAG ER WHO IS RESPONSIBL E FOR 19
THE DAY–TO–DAY OPERATIONS OF SOMERS COVE MARINA; AND 20
(IV) EMPLOY ADDITIONAL STA FF TO OPERATE AND MA INTAIN 21
SOMERS COVE MARINA; AND 22
(2) SHALL: 23
(I) IF APPLICABLE, SET THE COMPENSATION FOR A MANAGER 24
AND STAFF EMPLOYED UNDER ITEM (1)(III) AND (IV) OF THIS SECTION; 25
(II) ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 2027, DEVELOP A MASTER 26
PLAN FOR THE OPERATIONS , MAINTENANCE , DEVELOPMENT , AND IMPROVEMENT 27
OF SOMERS COVE MARINA THAT IMPROVES SERVICES TO THE GENE RAL BOATING 28
PUBLIC; AND 29
HOUSE BILL 720 9
(III) ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 1, 2032, AND OCTOBER 1 EVERY 1
5 YEARS THEREAFTER , UPDATE THE MASTER PL AN DEVELOPED UNDER ITEM (II) OF 2
THIS ITEM. 3
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 4
October 1, 2025. 5