HB 503 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Housing Development Act

HB 503, the Housing Development Act, requires Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development and Department of Planning to calculate regional housing infrastructure gaps (such as water, sewer, and road capacity shortfalls) and assign these gaps to specific counties and cities. Local governments must then take steps to reduce these gaps and are required to expedite approvals for certain housing projects - particularly those addressing the gaps - without denying them without specific justifications. The bill directly affects all counties and incorporated municipalities in Maryland, especially those identified as having significant housing infrastructure deficits. It creates a new framework for streamlining housing development by shifting approval responsibilities to local jurisdictions based on regional needs.

Issues: ✓ Housing ✓ Transportation

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2025 Last action Apr 3, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Land Use - Regional Housing Infrastructure Gap (Housing for Jobs Act) → Third - Housing Development Act · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to rename it from the 'Housing for Jobs Act' to the 'Housing Development Act' and expanded its purpose to include establishing housing production targets, publishing annual reports on progress, creating a commission to study housing improvements, and establishing vested rights for housing projects. The amendments also reorganized the affected Maryland legal sections to include both the Regional Housing Infrastructure Gap and the new Housing Development Act under Title 12.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include periodic housing production targets, annual progress reporting, and a new commission focused on improving housing supply and affordability, while the legal sections affected were reorganized to incorporate both the existing Regional Housing Infrastructure Gap and the new Housing Development Act provisions.

SCOPE

The bill title was changed from 'Housing for Jobs Act' to 'Housing Development Act' to better reflect the expanded legislative focus.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the Department of Housing and Community Development to periodically establish housing production targets for the State and local jurisdictions.

Added requirements for the Department to publish housing production targets on its website and notify local jurisdictions.

Added requirement for the Department to publish an annual report assessing progress on meeting housing targets.

Established the Housing Opportunities Made Equitable Commission to study ways to improve housing supply and affordability.

Added provisions for certain housing development projects to have vested rights related to use and development for a specified time period.

DEFINITION

Modified the legal sections to rename 'Title 12. Regional Housing Infrastructure Gap' to include 'Housing Development Act' as an alternative title.

TECHNICAL

Adjusted the section numbers and titles in the Annotated Code of Maryland to reflect the new organizational structure combining both housing-related titles.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 16, 2025

How they voted

102–15

Passed · 22 other

Total votes 139

Mar 16, 2025

D Democratic100

88 Yea 12

88% Yea

R Republican39

14 Yea 15 Nay 10

38% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 3, 2025

Committee

Rereferred to Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Committee

Referred Rules

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Introduced

Floor Amendment {

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion Special Order until 04/01 (Delegate Grammer) Adopted

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Environment and Transportation

lower

Mar 16, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (102-15-22)

house of delegates

Jan 22, 2025

Committee

First Reading Environment and Transportation

lower

18 primary · 0 co-sponsors