Commercial Broker Quarterly: Spring 2002 - GWCAR, Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS(R)

CBQ >> Spring 2003 Issue

Maryland Legislative Review

TAX POLICY

State Property Tax - HB 40

Under the budget plan prposed by the Governor and approved by the Maryland General Assembly, the state property tax will be increased by five (5) cents to a rate of 13 cents per $100. Though MAR opposed this increase, it proved impossible to defeat. Not only did the Governor and the leadership of the House and Senate support its passage, but under Maryland law there is little the Legislature could do once the measure was included in the Governor's budget. Effective July 1

COMMERCIAL

Commercial License Reprocity - SB 221

This bill provides improved reciprocity for commercial real estate practitioners. Under the bill, an agent from another state involved in a commercial trasaction may affiliate with a licensed Maryland broker on a per transaction basis without meeting the education and testing requirements for licensing. The broker would be responsible for the agent's activity under the law. In return, Maryland licensees would have the ability to affiliate with licensed brokers in other states on the same basis as those states pass similar laws. This bill is part of a national effort to open up the practice of commercial real estate across state lines. Effective October 1

Brownfields Legislation - HB 1051

HB 1051 will make Maryland conform with federal law by providing liability relief to adjacent property owners who were not liable for contamination. The bill also configures the initial application fee to start a brownfields voluntary clean-up so that some properties will not have to pay the full $6,000. This effort is aimed at attracting smaller properties into the program instead of just the large commercial projects participating now. Finally, the bill creates a task force to examine other changes that would bring the state program closer to the federal requirements. The task force will report back to the Environment Committee in preparation for the 2004 legislative session. Effective October 1

Maryland Heritage Tax Credit - HB 935

This tax credit has been so popular that some argue it negatively affects the budget. In response to the large amount of money spent on this program, last year the General Assembly voted to cap it and decrease the extent of the credit for individual projects. As passed, HB 935 caps commercial projects under the program at $23 million this year. Next year the commercial projects will be capped at $15 million and the program will sunset in 2004 if the General Assembly does not reauthorize it. HB 935 will not, however, cap any money spent on residential properties. Effective July 1

Prohibition Against Big Bix Stores - SB 415

Legislation was introduced that would prohibit statewide the construction of large retail stores over 120,000 sf if more than 20,000 sf of the store were devoted to the sale of food products. Dubbed the "anti-Wal-Mart bill," this legislation would have set a bad precedent for zoning decisions statewide. It would have pre-empted local zoning and planning agencies from making decisions on such projects and whether those projects are compatible with their growth plans, a far cry from the current Smarth Growth program, which dictates only whether state funding can be used for a project, not whether a project can be built. Defeated

- Maryland Association of REALTORS^®