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SB 520

Property Tax - Charter Counties - Application of County Tax Limitation on Public Safety Budget

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Ben Kramer

Bill SB 520 applies Maryland's property tax limitations to public safety budgets in charter counties, restricting their funding flexibility for police and fire services.

Hearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m.
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 520

Legislative bill overview

SB 520 proposes to apply Maryland's county property tax limitations specifically to public safety budgets in charter counties. The bill would restrict how much charter counties can increase their property tax allocations for police, fire, and emergency services, bringing them under the same tax cap constraints as other county functions.

Why is this important

Charter counties currently have more fiscal flexibility than non-charter counties in Maryland's tax structure. This bill would standardize public safety funding constraints across all county types, potentially affecting police department budgets, fire service operations, and emergency response capacity during periods of growing public safety needs or inflation.

Potential points of contention

  • Public safety funding pressure: Applying tax caps to public safety could force difficult choices between maintaining service levels and other budget priorities, particularly in growing counties with rising emergency service demands
  • Charter county autonomy: Charter counties were granted special status partly for fiscal independence; this bill reduces that autonomy by extending state-level tax limitation frameworks to specific budget categories
  • Local control vs. statewide equity: Non-charter counties may view this as fairness (equal rules), while charter county officials may argue it undermines their chartered authority to manage budgets flexibly

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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