HB 1178 Maryland House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Municipalities - Annexation - Limitations

HB 1178 modifies Maryland law to add consent requirements for certain municipal annexations. It prohibits municipalities from annexing land in a different legislative district without first getting consent from that district's state legislators, and blocks annexing land owned by the federal government, state, local governments, or tax-exempt entities without their consent. The bill does not change existing rules requiring annexed land to be contiguous or avoid creating unincorporated areas. These changes apply specifically to municipal annexation actions under Maryland's Local Government Code.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Signed Apr 28, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - Municipalities - Annexation - Limitations → Enrolled - Municipalities - Annexation - Limitations · 4 edits · Apr 28, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and enrolled, adding official proofreading and sealing details. The text of the law was significantly rewritten to clarify that municipalities must obtain consent from specific legislative members before annexing land in a different district, and to add a new requirement for notifying the district receiving the annexed land. The emergency clause was retained to allow immediate effect.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to require notification to both the legislative district containing the land and the district to which the land is being annexed, whereas the original draft only mentioned the district containing the land.

REQUIREMENT

The notification requirement for annexing land in a different legislative district was rewritten to be clearer and now explicitly requires notifying members of the district where the land is located AND the district to which the land is being annexed.

A new subsection was added to Section 4-406(D) to formalize the requirement that municipalities provide written notice to the General Assembly for the district receiving the annexed land.

TECHNICAL

Enrolled bill headers, proofreader signatures, and the official Great Seal presentation text were added to finalize the document.

The explanatory notes regarding how to read the bill (capital letters, brackets, etc.) were moved and reorganized to match the enrolled format.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 24, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 28, 2026

How they voted

44–0

Passed · 5 other

Total votes 49

Mar 24, 2026

D Democratic36

33 Yea 3

91% Yea

R Republican13

11 Yea 2

84% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 28, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 303

executive

Apr 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Enrolled

lower

Apr 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Apr 11, 2026

Introduced

House Concurs Senate Amendments

lower

Apr 10, 2026

Introduced

Floor Amendment {

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion Special Order until Later Today (Senator West) Adopted

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion Special Order until Later Today (Senator James) Adopted

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 28, 2026

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (131-0-11)

house of delegates

Mar 24, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (44-0-5)

senate

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections

lower

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors