The Maryland General Assembly has proposed a series of legislative changes that will significantly impact the Maryland maritime community. The proposed changes range from imposing a new tax on vessel purchase of new and used boats to increasing fees for boat registration. In addition, the new VOC Emission Regulation could make construction and/or modification of piers cost prohibitive. This office is not a lobbying firm, but we have received much correspondence from clients and the maritime community asking for us to share this information with the general public. Below, we have identified some of the proposed legislation that will impact the maritime industry.
For more information on these and other proposed legislature currently pending in Maryland, please see the Maryland General Assembly information website.
Proposed Legislature for the 2012 Session - Updated: April 17, 2012
| Bill Name |
Description |
Status |
| HB 190 |
Requiring the Department of the Environment to revise specified noise standards and sound level limits under specified circumstances; repealing requirements that the Department develop a specified plan, coordinate specified programs, and keep specified records; repealing requirements for the adoption and enforcement of noise standards, sound level limits, or noise control regulations by the Department or other units; authorizing a political subdivision to enforce specified sound level limits and noise control regulations; etc.
|
PASSED |
| HB 269 |
Narrowing the prohibition against and exception for the disclosure of specified records held by the Department of Natural Resources by applying the prohibition and exception only to personal information about the owner of a registered vessel; and clarifying the application of specified exceptions to the prohibition under specified circumstances against the Department disclosing specified personal information about an owner of a registered vessel.
|
PASSED with Amendments |
| HB 434 |
Providing that for the sale of dyed diesel fuel the sales and use tax is to be applied to a specified percentage of the gross receipts; defining specified terms; creating a collection exception for specified dyed diesel fuel sales by specified marinas; requiring specified marinas to assume or absorb the sales and use tax imposed on a retail sale or use and to pay that sales and use tax on behalf of the buyer; etc.
|
PASSED |
| SB 446 |
Providing that for the sale of dyed diesel fuel the sales and use tax is to be applied to a specified percentage of the gross receipts; defining specified terms; creating a collection exception for specified dyed diesel fuel sales by specified marinas; requiring specified marinas to assume or absorb the sales and use tax imposed on a retail sale or use and to pay that sales and use tax on behalf of the buyer; etc.
|
PASSED |
| HB 446 |
Increasing specified Bay Restoration Fees paid by users of specified wastewater facilities, onsite sewage disposal systems, and sewage holding systems beginning on July 1, 2012; and providing for the collection of specified fees by specified billing authorities under specified circumstances.
|
PASSED with Amendments |
| SB 240 |
Increasing specified Bay Restoration Fees paid by users of specified wastewater facilities, onsite sewage disposal systems, and sewage holding systems beginning on July 1, 2012; and providing for the collection of specified fees by specified billing authorities under specified circumstances.
|
Senate Hearing |
| HB 478 |
Requiring the Department of Natural Resources to remove from the waters of the State and dispose of any abandoned fishing net found by or reported to the Department within 1 day after the net is found or reported.
|
Unfavorable Report by Environmental Matters |
| SB 385 |
Requiring the Department of Natural Resources to remove from the waters of the State and dispose of any abandoned fishing net found by or reported to the Department within 1 day after the net is found or reported.
|
Unfavorable Report by Education Health and Environment Affairs |
| HB 522 |
Reducing from 24.25 cents per gallon to 14.25 cents per gallon the motor fuel tax rate for biodiesel fuel at least 10% of which is derived from agricultural products, animal fats, or the wastes of agricultural products or animal fats.
|
House Hearing |
| HB 593 |
Requiring the Department of Natural Resources to establish areas in the Chesapeake Bay as part of the public shellfish fishery area if the density of oysters is at least one oyster that measures 1 inch or more from hinge to bill per acre.
|
Unfavorable Report by Environmental Matters |
| SB 443 |
Requiring the Department of Natural Resources to establish areas in the Chesapeake Bay as part of the public shellfish fishery area if the density of oysters is at least one oyster that measures 1 inch or more from hinge to bill per acre.
|
Unfavorable Report by Environmental Matters |
| HB 625 |
Requiring that warm season grasses be eligible for specified planting credits; requiring that warm season grasses receive planting credits of a similar weight and value as specified vegetation types; requiring that warm season grasses be eligible for planting credits regardless of the acreage planted; requiring the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays to adopt specified regulations; etc.
|
Unfavorable Report by Environmental Matters |
| HB 983 |
Requiring specified local critical area programs to, with a specified exception, prohibit the location of junkyards, scrap storage yards, and other scrap metal facilities in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area; etc.
|
Third Senate Reading PASSED with Amendments (46-0) Houses Refuses to Concur to Amendments. House Requests Senate to Recede. Senate Refuses to Recede. |
| SB 483 |
Requiring specified local critical area programs to, with specified exceptions, prohibit the location of junkyards, scrap storage yards, other scrap metal facilities, and specified machinery in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area; requiring local critical area programs to require that machinery used for converting scrap metal into processed metal be removed from the Critical Area on or before January 1, 2013; etc.
|
Third House Reading PASSED with Amendments (134-3) Senate Refuses to Concur to Amendments. Senate Requests House to Recede. House Refuses to Recede. |
| HB 1156 |
Increasing the motor fuel tax rates for specified motor fuel on specified dates by specified amounts; requiring that the motor fuel tax rates for specified motor fuel be increased twice annually beginning on July 1, 2012, based on the percentage growth in the Construction Cost Index; prohibiting an increase in the motor fuel tax rates for specified motor fuel of more than 2 cents per gallon in a 6- month period; prohibiting an increase over the previous 6-month period if there is no growth in the Construction Cost Index; etc.
|
House Hearing |
| HB 1302 |
Altering the distribution of the motor fuel tax revenue; requiring the Comptroller to make specified determinations and announcements regarding specified average retail prices of motor fuel and specified sales and use tax equivalent rates for specified periods; providing for the addition of specified sales and use tax equivalent rates to specified motor fuel tax rates under specified circumstances; etc.
|
House Hearing |
| SB 971 |
Altering the distribution of the motor fuel tax revenue; requiring the Comptroller to make specified determinations and announcements regarding specified average retail prices of motor fuel and specified sales and use tax equivalent rates for specified periods; providing for the addition of specified sales and use tax equivalent rates to specified motor fuel tax rates under specified circumstances; etc.
|
Senate Hearing |
|
HB 1307
|
Altering the fee for specified vessel manufacturer's and vessel dealer's licenses; altering the expiration date for a temporary certificate of boat number; subjecting specified vessels operated by sail to specified vessel numbering requirements; etc.
|
House Hearing |
| HB 1334 |
Increasing the penalty for causing life-threatening injury as a result of negligently driving, operating, or controlling a motor vehicle or vessel while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance.
|
PASSED |
| SB 944 |
Increasing the penalty for causing life-threatening injury as a result of negligently driving, operating, or controlling a motor vehicle or vessel while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance.
|
Second House Reading Passed |
|
HB 1345
|
Imposing a surcharge on retail sales or use of tangible personal property if the taxable price of specified items exceeds specified amounts; exempting specified sales from the surcharge; providing for the amount of the surcharge based on the taxable price of specified items; providing that specified exemptions under the sales and use tax do not apply to the surcharge; etc.
|
House Hearing |
| SB 101 |
Prohibiting the Secretary of Natural Resources or a Natural Resources police officer from placing or installing a tracking device on a vessel without first obtaining a specified court order; authorizing the Secretary or a Natural Resources police officer to apply for a specified court order in a specified manner; requiring a court to enter a specified order under specified circumstances; authorizing extensions of a specified order under specified circumstances; etc.
|
Unfavorable Report by Education Health and Environmental Affairs |
| SB 127 |
Prohibiting a person from sponsoring or holding a marine gathering without obtaining a permit from the Department of Natural Resources; defining "marine gathering"; requiring the Department to adopt specified regulations governing marine gathering permits; requiring the Department to notify the local law enforcement unit of the county in which the marine gathering will occur before issuing the permit; and establishing specified civil and criminal penalties for a violation of the Act; etc.
|
PASSED |
| SB 695 |
Prohibiting a person from engaging in an activity or strategy to implement a State Watershed Implementation Plan until the State completes a full assessment of the environmental impacts of opening the Conowingo Dam floodgates in September 2011 following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.
|
Unfavorable Report by Education Health and Environmental Affairs |
| SB 702 |
Requiring the Public Service Commission to order all owners of dams located on the Susquehanna River to keep the dam's floodgates open at all times.
|
WITHDRAWN |
| SB 705 |
Prohibiting a person from opening the flood control gates of a specified hydroelectric generating station in the State unless the hydroelectric generating station utilizes a filtration system to capture specified excess nutrients from the water that flows from the Susquehanna River into the Chesapeake Bay.
|
Senate Hearing |
| SB 877 |
Requiring the Department of the Environment to publish annually on its Web site the total amount of sewage overflow into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and the total amount of fines collected by the Department as a result of sewage overflows into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries; and altering specified civil and administrative penalties for violations of specified provisions relating to water pollution control.
|
House Hearing |
| SB 1043 |
Exempting a specified project involving the construction of a non- water dependent structure from the requirement to obtain a wetlands license or permit relating to construction on a pier located on State or private wetlands under specified circumstances; and authorizing a local jurisdiction to issue a building permit for a specified project involving the construction of a non-water dependent structure on a pier located on State or private wetlands within the Critical Area under specified circumstances.
|
WITHDRAWN |
|
HB 1411
|
Altering specified application fees for major wetlands and waterways projects, minor wetlands and waterways projects, and major and minor modifications; requiring the Board of Public Works to establish a minimum compensation rate for specified structures in accordance with specified requirements; authorizing the Board to increase or adjust the compensation rate under specified circumstances; etc.
|
PASSED with Amendments |