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Read. Follow. Verify.School Boards Must Submit Annual Student Residency Reports and Local Growth Ordinances Can No Longer Delay Subdivision Plan Processing
Last action · March 26, 2026: Hearing 4/08 at 1:00 p.m.Sponsor: Clarence Lam
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What This Bill Would Do
County boards of education are required to submit an annual student residency and school zones report starting July 1, 2026, and must consult municipalities when developing educational facilities master plans. Meanwhile, local s are prohibited from delaying the processing and completion of subdivision or site development plans, though they may still delay actual construction starts.
Real estate developers and local municipalities face changes in how growth-control rules interact with planning approvals, while school boards take on annual data-reporting mandates regarding student locations and building capacities starting June 1, 2026.
- Adequate public facilities ordinances are municipal or county growth management tools used to tie new residential development approvals to the availability of adequate infrastructure like schools, roads, and water utilities. context
- The Interagency Commission on School Construction administers school construction capital improvement programs and state funding allocations for public school facilities in Maryland. 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.
county boards of education
County boards must compile and submit annual student residency reports and consult with municipalities when drafting educational facilities master plans.
municipalities exercising planning and zoning authority
Municipalities must be consulted by county boards and have their data incorporated into local educational facilities master plans.
housing developers
Developers benefit from protections preventing adequate public facilities ordinances from delaying site plan processing, though construction timing may still be restricted.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information must be included in the annual student residency and school zones report?
Can local adequate public facilities ordinances still stop housing construction?
Who must county school boards consult with when creating educational facilities master plans?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
9 actions- Mar 26, 2026HouseHearing 4/08 at 1:00 p.m.
- Mar 20, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred Appropriations
- Mar 19, 2026SenateFloorThird Reading Passed (33-12)
- Mar 18, 2026SenateFloorSecond Reading Passed with Amendments
- Mar 18, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 313426/1 Adopted
- Mar 16, 2026SenateCommitteeFavorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
Show 3 earlier actions
- Jan 23, 2026SenateHearing 2/17 at 1:00 p.m.
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment
- Sep 5, 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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Limiting Local Growth Controls on Plan Reviews
The bill curtails the power of local adequate public facilities ordinances to delay site plan processing while preserving their ability to halt actual construction.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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