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Bill Summary · SB 814

SB 814 — Local Government: Development Impact Fees, Surcharges, and Excise Taxes — Reporting

Status: Approved by the Governor (Chapter 187, approved April 22, 2025)
Introduced: January 28, 2025. Effective date: October 1, 2025. Companion bills: HB 698, HB 2507.

Purpose / Intent

The law increases transparency and reporting about county-level charges levied on new development (development impact fees, surcharges, and development excise taxes). It requires affected counties to report annually on how much revenue these charges generate, where the revenue came from, and how the revenue was used, and to provide the Department of Planning with a catalogue of local laws authorizing such charges.

Key provisions

  • New Section added to Article — Local Government (20–125).
  • Applicability: only to counties that (a) are charter counties that impose these charges; (b) are code counties with public local laws requiring payment of such charges; or (c) are commission counties authorized and that have enacted such local laws.
  • Annual reporting (due July 1 each year) to the Department of Planning (formerly described as to the Governor and General Assembly):
    • Total amount of development impact fees, surcharges, or excise taxes paid by new construction/development in the prior calendar year.
    • The portion paid to the county reported by legislative/council/commissioner district where the covered development is located.
    • The address and location of the development within the county from which the fees/surcharges/taxes were derived.
    • The portion of such revenue used to fund capital improvement projects in the relevant district (transportation, school construction/maintenance, or other capital projects) — except that if the funding is collected under Subtitle 8 of the title, the county may omit this district-level CIP use detail.
  • On or before July 1, 2026: each county must submit to the Department of Planning a report identifying any local laws that authorize collection and expenditure of these fees/taxes.
  • After July 1, 2026: each county must notify the Department of Planning each time it enacts or amends a local law authorizing collection/expenditure of these charges.
  • Public access: counties must make the annual report publicly available on the county website (or by other reasonable means if no website). A county may include the required information as part of another report required under the Local Government Article.

Who is affected

  • Maryland counties that impose development impact fees, surcharges, or development excise taxes. (The fiscal note notes ~15 counties imposed such charges with estimated collections of ~$186.3 million in FY2025.)
  • County planning/finance offices will compile and publish the data; the Department of Planning will receive and maintain the reports.

Timeline / Compliance

  • Act takes effect October 1, 2025.
  • Annual reports due July 1 each year covering the prior calendar year.
  • Local-law inventory report due July 1, 2026; thereafter reports required upon enactment or amendment of local authorization laws.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Fiscal Note: No material effect on State operations or finances. Local governments can comply using existing resources; local operations and finances are not materially affected. No small business impact identified.

Context / Notes

  • Preamble cites the Sheetz v. County of El Dorado (U.S. Supreme Court, 2024) decision on nexus and rough proportionality between permit conditions/fees and development impacts.
  • The law is intended to improve oversight of development-generated revenues and the geographic distribution and use of those funds.

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

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