EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDE D TO EXISTING LAW .
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
Italics indicate opposite chamber/conference committee amendments.
*sb0266*
SENATE BILL 266
C8, L6, M3 (5lr0319)
ENROLLED BILL
— Education, Energy, and the Environment/Environment and Transportation —
Introduced by Chair, Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee (By
Request – Departmental – Planning)
Read and Examined by Proofreaders:
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this
_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.
______________________________________________
President.
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Local Comprehensive Planning and State Economic Growth, Resource 2
Protection, and Planning Policy – Planning Principles 3
FOR the purpose of providing that certain planning principles are intended to accomplish 4
certain goals and that certain goals are to be accomplished with certain public 5
participation; altering the planning visions for local comprehensive planning to 6
consist of certain planning principles; altering the State Economic Growth, Resource 7
Protection, and Planning Policy to consist of certain planning principles; requiring 8
the publisher of the Annotated Code of Maryland, in consultation with the 9
Department of Legislative Services, to correct cross–references and terminology in 10
the Code that are rendered incorrect by this Act; and generally relating to local 11
comprehensive planning and the State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and 12
Planning Policy. 13
2 SENATE BILL 266
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
Article – Land Use 2
Section 1–201 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2012 Volume and 2024 Supplement) 5
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – State Finance and Procurement 7
Section 5–7A–01 and 5–7B–05(a)(3) 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 10
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 11
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 12
Article – Land Use 13
1–201. 14
(A) (1) THE PLANNING PRINCIPL ES UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS 15
SECTION ARE COLLECTI VELY INTENDED TO CRE ATE SUSTAINABLE COMM UNITIES 16
AND TO PROTECT THE E NVIRONMENT IN ORDER TO FOSTER A HIGH QUA LITY OF LIFE 17
FOR ALL RESIDENTS OF THE STATE. 18
(2) TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOA LS UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS 19
SUBSECTION, RESIDENTS SHOULD BE ACTIVE PARTNERS IN T HE PLANNING AND 20
IMPLEMENTATION OF CO MMUNITY INITIATIVES AND SENSITIVE TO THE IR 21
RESPONSIBILITIES AS STEWARDS IN BALANCIN G AND ACHIEVING COMMUNITY 22
GOALS. 23
(B) In addition to the requirements of § 3–201(a) and (b) of this article, a planning 24
commission shall implement the following [visions] PLANNING PRINCIPLES through the 25
comprehensive plan described in Title 3 of this article: 26
[(1) quality of life and sustainability: a high quality of life is achieved 27
through universal stewardship of the land, water, and air resulting in sustainable 28
communities and protection of the environment; 29
(2) public participation: citizens are active partners in the planning and 30
implementation of community initiatives and are sensitive to their responsibilities in 31
achieving community goals; 32
(3) growth areas: growth is concentrated in existing population and 33
business centers, growth areas adjacent to these centers, or strategically selected new 34
centers; 35
SENATE BILL 266 3
(4) community design: compact, mixed–use, walkable design consistent 1
with existing community character and located near available or planned transit options is 2
encouraged to ensure efficient use of land and transportation resources and preservation 3
and enhancement of natural systems, open spaces, recreational areas, and historical, 4
cultural, and archaeological resources; 5
(5) infrastructure: growth areas have the water resources and 6
infrastructure to accommodate population and business expansion in an orderly, efficient, 7
and environmentally sustainable manner; 8
(6) transportation: a well–maintained, multimodal transportation system 9
facilitates the safe, convenient, affordable, and efficient movement of people, goods, and 10
services within and between population and business centers; 11
(7) housing: a range of housing densities, types, and sizes provides 12
residential options for citizens of all ages and incomes; 13
(8) economic development: economic developm ent and natural 14
resource–based businesses that promote employment opportunities for all income levels 15
within the capacity of the State’s natural resources, public services, and public facilities are 16
encouraged; 17
(9) environmental protection: land and water resources, including the 18
Chesapeake and coastal bays, are carefully managed to restore and maintain healthy air 19
and water, natural systems, and living resources; 20
(10) resource conservation: waterways, forests, agricultural areas, open 21
space, natural systems, and scenic areas are conserved; 22
(11) stewardship: government, business entities, and residents are 23
responsible for the creation of sustainable communities by collaborating to balance efficient 24
growth with resource protection; and 25
(12) implementation: strategies, policies, programs, and funding for growth 26
and development, resource conservation, infrastructure, and transportation are integrated 27
across the local, regional, State, and interstate levels to achieve these visions.] 28
(1) LAND: OPTIMIZE LAND PRODUCTIVITY OF WORKING LANDSCAPE S, 29
INCLUDING FARMS AND FORESTS, AND FISHERIES, AND PRIORITIZE DEVEL OPMENT 30
WITHIN POPULATION CE NTERS AND THAT ARE IN PROXIMITY TO EXIS TING 31
INFRASTRUCTURE AND F ACILITIES; 32
(2) TRANSPORTATION : PRIORITIZE TRANSPORTATION NETWO RKS 33
THAT CREATE ENERGY E FFICIENT, AFFORDABLE , AND RELIABLE ACCESS TO JOBS, 34
HOUSING, AND SERVICES; 35
4 SENATE BILL 266
(3) HOUSING: ENABLE A MIX OF QUAL ITY HOUSING TYPES AN D 1
AFFORDABILITY OPTION S TO ACCOMMODATE ALL WHO WANT TO LIVE IN THE STATE; 2
(4) ECONOMY: ALLOW FOR ADAPTIVE R EUSE, MIXED–USE, AND 3
CONTEXT APPROPRIATE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT RESPONDS TO CHANGING 4
MARKETS AND INNOVATI ONS; 5
(5) EQUITY: ENGAGE ALL SECTORS O F THE COMMUNITY IN P LAN 6
DEVELOPMENT TO ENSUR E DIVERSE VOICES ARE HEARD AND THE NEEDS OF 7
UNDERSERVED POPULATI ONS ARE PRIORITIZED ; 8
(6) RESILIENCE: INTEGRATE RESILIENCY MEASURES THAT WILL 9
MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS OF RAPID AND UNEXPEC TED NATURAL – AND 10
HUMAN–CAUSED THREATS ON CO MMUNITIES; 11
(7) PLACE: PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC S PACES THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIAL 12
INTERACTION AND VALU E CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE S; AND 13
(8) ECOLOGY: PROTECT AND RESTORE SENSITIVE ECOLOGICAL 14
SYSTEMS AND CONSERVE NATURAL RESOURCES, INCLUDING FORESTS , 15
AGRICULTURAL AREAS , AND WATERWAYS . 16
Article – State Finance and Procurement 17
5–7A–01. 18
The State Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Policy [is the 19
following] CONSISTS OF THE FOLL OWING PLANNING PRINC IPLES FOR ADVANCING 20
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH I N THE STATE: 21
[(1) quality of life and sustainability: a high quality of life is achieved 22
through universal stewardship of the land, water, and air resulting in sustainable 23
communities and protection of the environment; 24
(2) public participation: citizens are active partners in the planning and 25
implementation of community initiatives and are sensitive to their responsibilities in 26
achieving community goals; 27
(3) growth areas: growth is concentrated in existing population and 28
business centers, growth areas adjacent to these centers, or strategically selected new 29
centers; 30
(4) community design: compact, mixed–use, walkable design consistent 31
with existing community character and located near available or planned transit options is 32
encouraged to ensure efficient use of land and transportation resources and preservation 33 SENATE BILL 266 5
and enhancement of natural systems, open spaces, recreational areas, and historical, 1
cultural, and archeological resources; 2
(5) infrastructure: growth areas have the water resources and 3
infrastructure to accommodate population and business expansion in an orderly, efficient, 4
and environmentally sustainable manner; 5
(6) transportation: a well–maintained, multimodal transportation system 6
facilitates the safe, convenient, affordable, and efficient movement of people, goods, and 7
services within and between population and business centers; 8
(7) housing: a range of housing densities, types, and sizes provides 9
residential options for citizens of all ages and incomes; 10
(8) economic development: economic development and natural 11
resource–based businesses that promote employment opportunities for all income levels 12
within the capacity of the State’s natural resources, public services, and public facilities are 13
encouraged; 14
(9) environmental protection: land and water resources, including the 15
Chesapeake and coastal bays, are carefully managed to restore and maintain healthy air 16
and water, natural systems, and living resources; 17
(10) resource conservation: waterways, forests, agricultural areas, open 18
space, natural systems, and scenic areas are conserved; 19
(11) stewardship: government, business entities, and residents are 20
responsible for the creation of sustainable communities by collaborating to balance efficient 21
growth with resource protection; and 22
(12) implementation: strategies, policies, programs, and funding for growth 23
and development, resource conservation, infrastructure, and transportation are integrated 24
across the local, regional, State, and interstate levels to achieve these visions.] 25
(1) LAND: OPTIMIZE LAND PRODUCTIVITY OF WORKING LANDSCAP ES, 26
INCLUDING FARMS AND FORESTS, AND FISHERIES, AND PRIORITIZE DEVEL OPMENT 27
WITHIN POPULATION CE NTERS AND THAT ARE IN PROXIMITY TO EXIS TING 28
INFRASTRUCTURE AND F ACILITIES; 29
(2) TRANSPORTATION : PRIORITIZE TRANSPORT ATION NETWORKS 30
THAT CREATE ENERGY EFFICIENT, AFFORDABLE , AND RELIABLE ACCESS TO JOBS, 31
HOUSING, AND SERVICES; 32
(3) HOUSING: ENABLE A MIX OF QUAL ITY HOUSING TYPES AN D 33
AFFORDABILITY OPTION S TO ACCOMMODATE ALL WHO WANT TO LIVE IN THE STATE; 34
6 SENATE BILL 266
(4) ECONOMY: ALLOW FOR ADAPTIVE R EUSE, MIXED–USE, AND 1
CONTEXT APPROPRIATE NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT RESPONDS TO CHANGING 2
MARKETS AND INNOVATI ONS; 3
(5) EQUITY: ENGAGE ALL SECTORS O F THE COMMUNITY IN P LAN 4
DEVELOPMENT TO ENSUR E DIVERSE VOICES ARE HEARD AND THE NEEDS OF 5
UNDERSERVED POPULATI ONS ARE PRIORITIZED ; 6
(6) RESILIENCE: INTEGRATE RESILIENCY MEASURES THAT WILL 7
MINIMIZE THE IMPACTS OF RAPID AND UNEXPEC TED NATURAL – AND 8
HUMAN–CAUSED THREATS ON CO MMUNITIES; 9
(7) PLACE: PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC S PACES THAT ENCOURAGE SOCIAL 10
INTERACTION AND VALU E CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE S; AND 11
(8) ECOLOGY: PROTECT AND RESTORE SENSITIVE ECOLOGICAL 12
SYSTEMS AND CONSERVE NATURAL RESOURCES, INCLUDING FORESTS , 13
AGRICULTURAL AREAS , AND WATERWAYS . 14
5–7B–05. 15
(a) (3) The Board of Public Works may approve a transportation project under 16
paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection if the transportation project: 17
(i) maintains the existing transportation system, if the Department 18
of Transportation and the Department of Planning determine the project does not serve to 19
significantly increase highway capacity; 20
(ii) serves to connect priority funding areas, if: 21
1. the Department of Transportation and the Department of 22
Planning determine that adequate access control or other measures are in place to: 23
A. prevent development that is inconsistent with § 24
[5–7A–01(1), (2), and (3)] 5–7A–01 of this title; and 25
B. maintain the viability of the project while concomitantly 26
constraining development which potentially detracts from main street business areas; and 27
2. the Department of Transportation and the Department of 28
Planning have first determined whether alternative transportation modes, such as mass 29
transit and transportation demand management, provide a reasonable alternative to the 30
project and that no reasonable alternative exists; 31
SENATE BILL 266 7
(iii) has the sole purpose of providing control of access by the 1
Department of Transportation along an existing highway corridor; or 2
(iv) due to its operational or physical characteristics, must be located 3
away from other development. 4
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the publisher of the 5
Annotated Code of Maryland, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the 6
Department of Legislative Services, shall correct, with no further action required by the 7
General Assembly, cross–references and terminology rendered incorrect by this Act. The 8
publisher shall adequately describe any correction that is made in an editor’s note following 9
the section affected. 10
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 11
October 1, 2025. 12
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.