Land Use - Comprehensive and General Plans - Alteration of Elements
HB 243 modifies Maryland's requirements for local governments' comprehensive and general plans. It adds new mandatory elements like Resilience, Place, and Ecology while replacing older terms (e.g., "Water Resources" becomes "Equity"). The bill requires charter counties and other local jurisdictions to include these updated elements in their plans, detailing goals for economic, social, and environmental development. State agencies must also provide data and guidance to help local governments meet these new standards. This affects how local governments structure long-term planning for land use, housing, transportation, and community facilities.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Sep 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Sep 16, 2025
Signed Apr 14, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
First - Land Use - Comprehensive and General Plans - Alteration of Elements
→
Third - Land Use - Comprehensive and General Plans - Alteration of Elements
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3 edits
MINOR
The bill was updated to reflect its progression from the first reading to the third reading, adding status indicators like 'Favorable with amendments' and 'Adopted.' The substantive content regarding land use planning elements (such as the Land, Transportation, and Housing elements) remained unchanged, with only minor formatting adjustments to the list of required elements.
TECHNICAL
Added bill status metadata indicating the bill was reported favorably with amendments and adopted by the House.
Adjusted line numbers and page references to match the updated version of the document.
Reformatted the list of required planning elements to align with standard legislative styling.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 19, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 28, 2026
How they voted
39–7
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 49
Mar 19, 2026
D
Democratic36
91% Yea
R
Republican13
53% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
16
Key actions
10
Committee
6
Apr 14, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 110
executive
Apr 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Returned Passed
lower
Apr 8, 2026
Upper · Passed
Third Reading Passed
upper
Apr 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Adopted
upper
Apr 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
upper
Mar 19, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (39-7-3)
senate
Mar 13, 2026
Committee
Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Economic Matters
lower
Feb 28, 2026
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (95-39-8)
house of delegates
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
First Reading Economic Matters
lower
Sep 16, 2025
Introduced
Pre-filed
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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