2021 Legislative Session
The following are bills passed during the
Maryland's 2021 Legislative Session that relate to Land and Materials
Administration's programs.
- HB 164 Ch. 289 and SB 116 Ch. 290 - Department of the Environment - Office
of Recycling - Recycling Market Development. Requiring the Office of Recycling in the
Department of the Environment to promote the development of markets for
recycled materials and recycled products in the State; requiring the
Office to evaluate the availability of certain markets and identify
businesses in the State that use recycled materials; requiring that the
annual Maryland solid waste management and diversion report be submitted
to the General Assembly by September 1, 2022, and each year thereafter,
and include certain activities; etc. Sections 9-1702 and 9-1702.1 of
the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB
248 Ch. 459 - Condominiums
and Homeowners Associations - Rights and Restrictions - Composting. Prohibiting a recorded covenant or
restriction, a provision in a declaration, or a provision in the bylaws or
rules of a condominium or a homeowners association from prohibiting or
unreasonably restricting a unit owner from contracting with a private
entity to collect organic waste materials for composting and from
prohibiting or unreasonably restricting a lot owner from composting
organic waste materials for the lot owner's personal or household use as
long as the lot owner owns or has the right to exclusive use of the
composting area; etc. Section 9-1701 of the Environment
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland; Sections 11-111.4 and
11B-111.8 of the Real Property Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 264 Ch. 439 and SB 483 Ch. 440 - Solid Waste Management - Organics
Recycling and Waste Diversion - Food Residuals. Requiring a certain person that
generates food residuals to separate the food residuals from other solid
waste and ensure that the food residuals are diverted from final disposal
in a refuse disposal system in a certain manner; applying the requirements
of the Act to certain persons that generate certain amounts of food
residuals; authorizing a person experiencing undue hardship because of the
costs of diverting food residuals to apply for a certain waiver; requiring
the Department of the Environment to issue a certain warning; etc. Sections
9-201, 9-1701, and 9-1724.1 of the Environment Article, Annotated
Code of Maryland.
- HB 280 Ch. 631 - Maryland Recycling Act - Recyclable
Materials and Resource Recovery Facilities - Alterations. Altering the definition of
"recyclable materials" under the Maryland Recycling Act to
exclude incinerator ash; and repealing the authority of a county to
utilize a resource recovery facility to meet 5% of the waste reduction
required to be achieved through recycling in the county's recycling
plan. Sections 9-1701 and
9-1703 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of
Maryland.
- HB 391 Ch. 610 and SB 716 Ch. 611 - Solid Waste Management – Prohibition on
Releasing a Balloon Into the Atmosphere. Prohibiting a person who is at least 13
years old, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a nonprofit
entity, the State, or any unit or political subdivision of the State from
knowingly and intentionally releasing, or causing to be released, a
balloon into the atmosphere; prohibiting a person from organizing or
participating in a mass balloon release; requiring a person who violates
the Act to perform 6 hours of community service or watch a video on
environmental damage or both; establishing a $100 civil penalty; etc. Section
9-2301 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 399 Ch. 592 - Real Property – Required Notices for
Contracts of Sale – Zones of Dewatering Influence. Requiring the Department of the
Environment to develop and publish on its website a searchable map of
zones of dewatering influence; defining "zones of dewatering
influence" as the area around a surface mine in karst terrain;
requiring a contract for the sale of real property in Baltimore County,
Carroll County, Frederick County, or Washington County include a notice
about property located in a certain zone; establishing that a purchaser of
real property that does not receive the required notice has a right to
rescind a contract; etc.
Section 15-813 of the Environment Article, Annotated
Code of Maryland; Sections 10-711 and 14-117 of the Real Property
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 582 Ch. 281 and SB 294 Ch. 282 - Cecil County - Sales and Use Tax
Exemption - Federal Facilities Redevelopment Areas. Providing an exemption from the sales and
use tax for certain construction material or warehousing equipment
purchased for use in a certain federal facilities redevelopment area in
Cecil County under certain circumstances; requiring a buyer claiming the
exemption to provide to the vendor evidence of eligibility issued by the
Comptroller; etc. Section 11-241 of the Tax - General
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 636 Ch. 237 and SB 546 Ch. 238 - School Buildings - Drinking Water
Outlets - Elevated Level of Lead (Safe School Drinking Water Act). Altering the definition of
"elevated level of lead" for purposes of certain provisions of
law requiring the periodic testing for the presence of lead in drinking
water outlets in occupied public and nonpublic school buildings; requiring
by August 1, 2022, a school to take certain remedial measures on a
drinking water outlet tested on or before June 1, 2021, if the test
indicated a concentration of lead that was more than 5 parts per billion
but less than 20 parts per billion; etc. Sections 6-1501,
6-1502, and 6-1503 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code
of Maryland.
- SB 661 Ch. 690 - Environment - Maryland Oil Disaster
Containment, Clean-Up and Contingency Fund and Oil Contaminated Site
Environmental Cleanup Fund - Funding, Reallocation, Reimbursements, and
Study. Altering the basis for
calculating a certain license fee credited to the Maryland Oil Disaster
Containment, Clean-Up and Contingency Fund and the Oil Contaminated Site
Environmental Cleanup Fund; authorizing the Maryland Oil Disaster
Containment, Clean-Up and Contingency Fund to be used, in fiscal years
2022 through 2029, to reimburse a certain residential owner of a heating oil
tank; extending the date by which a residential owner may apply to the Oil
Contaminated Site Environmental Cleanup Fund for reimbursement of certain
costs; etc. Sections 4-411, 4-701 and 4-705 of the Environment
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
2020 Legislative Session
The following are bills passed during the Maryland's 2020 Legislative Session that relate to Land and Materials Administration's programs.
- HB 566 Ch. 254 and SB 713 Ch. 255 - Opportunity Zone Enhancement Program - Eligibility - Lead-Based
Paint Affected Properties. Altering the
information required to be provided to the Department of Commerce in order to
qualify for certain tax credit enhancements under the Opportunity Zone
Enhancement Program to include, with respect to certain qualified opportunity
zone business property, certain information on the performance of certain lead
hazard reduction activities; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after
December 31, 2019; etc. Sections 6-1001 and 6-1002 of the Economic Development Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
Sections 6-801 and 6-811 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of
Maryland.
- HB 619 Ch. 276 and SB 420 Ch. 277 - Environment – Use
of Fire–Fighting Foam and PFAS Chemicals. Prohibiting, on or after October 1, 2021, the use
of Class B fire-fighting foam that contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals
for certain testing or training purposes; providing that the Act does not
restrict the manufacture, sale, or distribution of certain Class B
fire-fighting foam or the discharge or other use of certain fire-fighting foam
in emergency fire-fighting or prevention operations; requiring the use of
nonfluorinated foam for fire-fighting training; establishing certain penalties;
etc. Sections 6-1601 through 6-1605 of the Environment
Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 1442 Ch. 471 and SB 840 Ch. 472 - Environment – Expanded
Polystyrene Food Service Products – Definition. Altering the definition of
"expanded polystyrene food service product" to exclude certain egg
cartons shipped into the State for packaging or cartons of eggs that have been
packaged within the State for sale within the State. Sections 9-2201
and 9-2203 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. See June 11, 2020 Public Notice relating to the deadline on the use of EPS foodservice products.
- SB 18 Ch. 500 - Environment - Lead
Poisoning Prevention Commission. Altering the membership of the Lead Poisoning
Prevention Commission to include one representative each from a nonprofit
focused on lead poisoning prevention issues and the American Academy of
Pediatrics, Maryland Chapter; repealing certain requirements for a window
replacement program; altering the subjects that the Commission may appoint a
subcommittee to study to include case management, lead paint abatement service
provider education and training, and blood lead testing; etc. Sections 6-807 and 6-810 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of
Maryland.
- SB 281 Ch. 544 - Renewable Energy
Development and Siting (REDS) – Evaluations and Tax and Fee Exemptions. Requiring the Department of the
Environment to waive certain application fees for applicants intending to use
certain contaminated properties for clean or renewable electrical generation
sites under certain circumstances; requiring the Department to adopt certain
regulations; requiring that the owner of a certain eligible property that wants
to change the use of the eligible property be liable for certain fees waived
under the Act under certain circumstances; etc. Sections 7-501 and
7-506 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;
Section 8-402 of the Tax-General Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
2019 Legislative Session
The following are bills passed during the Maryland's 2019 Legislative Session that relate to Land and Materials Administration's programs.
- HB 0036 Ch. 136 - Surface
Mining - Zone of Dewatering Influence - Remedies. Requiring
a surface mining permittee, on the discovery of a sudden subsidence of the
surface of the land, to immediately implement appropriate safety measures to
protect public health and safety; requiring a surface mining permittee to
permanently replace a water supply within a certain zone of dewatering
influence within 45 days of the date on which the permittee knew of the water
supply failure; authorizing a surface mining permittee to seek reimbursement for
water supply replacement costs under certain circumstances; etc. Sections 15-801, 15-812, and 15-813 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 0109 Ch. 579 - Environment - Expanded Polystyrene Food Service Products - Prohibitions. Prohibiting a person from selling in the State an expanded polystyrene
food service product on or after July 1, 2020; prohibiting food service
businesses or schools from selling or providing food or beverages in expanded
polystyrene food service products on or after July 1, 2020; confirming the
authority of local government entities to establish standards that are at least
as stringent as those in the Act; requiring the Department of the Environment
to conduct a public education and outreach antilittering campaign; etc. Sections 9-2201 through 9-2207 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland. See June 11, 2020 Public Notice relating to the deadline on the use of EPS foodservice products.
- HB 0510 Ch. 366 - Organic Waste - Organics Recycling - Collection and Acceptance for Final
Disposal. Prohibiting the owner or operator of a refuse disposal system from
accepting loads of separately collected organic waste for final disposal unless
the owner or operator provides for the organics recycling of the organic waste;
authorizing that loads of separately collected food waste that are determined
by an organics recycling facility to be unacceptable for recycling due to
contamination may be accepted by a refuse disposal system for final disposal;
etc. Section 9-1701, 9-1723, and 9-1724 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- HB 1233 Ch. 341 - Environment - Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing - Elevated Blood Lead Levels and
Environmental Investigations (Maryland Healthy Children Act). Reducing the elevated blood lead level that initiates certain case
management, notification, and lead risk reduction requirements in
owner-occupied and affected properties; altering certain notification
requirements triggered by the results of a certain blood test; requiring the
Department of the Environment to adopt certain regulations, on or before July
1, 2020, for conducting certain environmental investigations in accordance with
certain requirements; etc. Sections 6-304 and 6-305, 6-801, 6-819, 6-846 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- SB 0370 Ch. 500 - Environment - Recycling - Office Buildings. Requiring a county to address, in a recycling plan required to be
submitted to the Secretary of the Environment, the collection and recycling of
recyclable materials from buildings that are 150,000 square feet or greater of
office space; requiring each owner of an office building to provide recycling
receptacles for the collection of recyclable materials and for the removal of
certain materials for further recycling by October 1, 2021; authorizing certain
enforcement units to conduct certain inspections; etc. Sections 9-1701, 9-1703, and 9-1714 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
- SB 0546 Ch. 760 - Agriculture - Nutrient Management - Monitoring and Enforcement. Requiring that a summary of each nutrient management plan be filed and
updated with the Department of Agriculture at certain times; authorizing the
Department to require an updated summary to take the form of an annual
implementation report; requiring a manure broker to provide certain information
to a certain person; requiring a person who holds a certain certificate or
license to comply with certain reporting requirements and deadlines related to
implementation of the Phosphorus Management Tool; etc. Sections Article - Agriculture (8-801.1, 8-803, 8-803.1, 8-807); Article - Environment (9-301, 9-323, 9-325); Article - Natural Resources (8-2A-05), Annotated Code of Maryland.
- SB 1031 Ch. 772 - Environment - Maryland Oil Disaster Containment, Clean-Up and Contingency Fund and Oil
Contaminated Site Environmental Cleanup Fund - Funding, Reallocation, and
Reimbursements. Altering the basis for calculating a certain license fee credited to the
Maryland Oil Disaster Containment, Clean-Up and Contingency Fund and the Oil
Contaminated Site Environmental Cleanup Fund; expanding, to include fiscal
years 2020 and 2021, the purposes for which the Department of the Environment
may use money in the Maryland Oil Disaster Containment, Clean-Up and
Contingency Fund; etc. Sections 4-411 and 4-705 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Please contact the Land and Materials Administration by
email or phone at 410-537-3314, if you have any questions.