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Read. Follow. Verify.Maryland Reorganizes Transportation Project Scoring and Overhauls Maryland Transportation Commission under SB 62
Last action · February 5, 2026: Hearing 2/25 at 1:00 p.m.
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate Bill 62 requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to establish an objective, project-based scoring system for s costing over $5,000,000, and restructures the Maryland Transportation Commission to include legislative appointees and be chaired by the Transportation Secretary starting July 1, 2026.
Local governments, transit agencies, and regional planning bodies must comply with new project-scoring guidelines and submission processes before major capital projects can be considered for construction funding in the state's .
- The Consolidated Transportation Program is Maryland's official multi-year capital investment plan for transportation infrastructure and services. context
- The Maryland Transportation Commission is a statutory body established within the Department of Transportation to study state transportation systems and advise the Secretary. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Maryland Department of Transportation
The Department is required to develop and publish a project-based scoring system, establish a web-based submission portal, evaluate major surface transportation projects, and review guidelines with the Commission.
Maryland Transportation Commission
The Commission's size, composition, meeting frequency, chair position, and statutory review and advisory duties are altered by the bill.
Local governments and metropolitan planning organizations
Local jurisdictions and planning bodies must follow updated guidelines, submit project requests through new web-based systems, and certify legislative notification when requesting major surface transportation projects.
Key Facts
- The Department of Transportation must develop a project-based scoring system using objective and quantifiable measures that consider a project's benefits relative to its cost to the state.
- Major surface transportation projects are defined as major capital projects under the State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, or locally managed capital projects whose total cost attributable to increased capacity exceeds $5,000,000.
- A major surface transportation project may be included in the construction program of the Consolidated Transportation Program only if it has been evaluated by the project-based scoring program, with exceptions for projects achieving 30% design completion or subject to local agreements by June 30, 2025.
- The Maryland Transportation Commission is restructured from 17 members to 12 members, consisting of the Transportation Secretary (or designee), 8 members appointed by the Governor, 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House, and 2 members appointed by the President of the Senate.
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- The Secretary of Transportation serves as the chair of the Maryland Transportation Commission.
- Appointed members of the Maryland Transportation Commission serve 4-year staggered terms.
- The Maryland Transportation Commission must meet at least once each quarter.
- The Department must submit the proposed Consolidated Transportation Program to the General Assembly on or before October 1 of each year.
- The Department must visit each county on or before November 30 of each year to give local governments and legislative delegations information and an opportunity to comment on the Consolidated Transportation Program and other transportation plans.
- Certain project types are explicitly excluded from the major surface transportation project scoring requirement, including aviation and port administration projects, maintenance and storage facilities, water quality projects, safety projects funded under specific federal sections, and projects solely for system preservation or state of good repair.
Frequently Asked Questions
What projects are subject to the new project-based scoring system?
How is the Maryland Transportation Commission's membership changing under this bill?
Are any transportation projects exempt from the scoring requirement?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Feb 5, 2026SenateHearing 2/25 at 1:00 p.m.
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Budget and Taxation
- Sep 26, 2025SenateIntroducedPre-filed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition to Objective Scoring and Legislative Oversight
The legislation shifts the evaluation of major surface transportation projects to a mandatory quantifiable scoring system and introduces legislative appointments to the Maryland Transportation Commission.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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