Congratulations to MML's CPC Committee!

Congratulations to MML's Legislative Committee!

Maryland’s communities are faced with a future of higher intensity storms, increased populations and development, changing sea levels and flooding, and a growing demand for healthy places for tourism and recreation. These trends make the already challenging task of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, safeguarding people and infrastructure and managing natural resources even more complex.

To assist Maryland’s communities, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is providing a single point of entry through the Grants Gateway for organizations seeking technical and financial assistance to restore local waterways, increase their resilience to climate impacts, strengthen local economies and develop the next generation of environmental stewards.

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grant writing workshop in DC - August 26-27, 2024.  This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines.  Attend this class and you'll learn how to find the funding sources and write winning grant proposals.  

Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as healthcare organizations, nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.

For 15 years the Maryland Municipal League has partnered with Technology Net to provide an online compensation info-sharing/survey system for Maryland cities and towns. In the past year, Technology Net has made various system upgrades and now members can engage directly with TechNet in accessing the system. Any municipalities that have been recent participants in the compensation survey will be contacted directly by TechNet to inquire about your continued interest in utilizing the system. 

If your municipality has not been a recent comp survey participant but is interested in learning more about the online system, its functionality, and cost, you may contact TechNet directly at [email protected].

(August 1, 2024) Annapolis, Md. – The Maryland Municipal League (MML) held its 2nd Annual Summer Symposium Thursday, August 1, at the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis. The second in a series of deep dives into emerging municipal issues, speakers discussed Maryland’s housing crisis, the Governor’s recent housing legislation, and how to combat NIMBYism. Maryland Secretary of Housing & Community Development and MML Past President Jake Day gave the keynote speech to over 150 municipal officials and housing organization representatives.  

The Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has created an interest form to connect local governments and cannabis businesses. MCA began issuing conditional licenses for new cannabis grower, processor, and dispensary businesses. These awards were made by region (grower and processor) or county (dispensary). Over the next 18 months, these awardees will work to secure a location and become operational. (You may see the awards by license type and jurisdiction here).

Several county and municipal governments have contacted MCA seeking contact information for businesses that are eligible to site and operate in their jurisdiction. MCA developed this interest form to identify local government partners who are interested in obtaining contact information for cannabis businesses who are eligible to site in their jurisdiction, and determine which counties and municipalities would like to proactively work with these businesses to site and operate within their jurisdiction.

MML's Summer Symposium will take place on August 1, 2024, at the Crowne Plaza in Annapolis.

The event will focus on Maryland's housing legislation, with a keynote address by Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. In addition, this year’s symposium will feature panels with experts from the National League of Cities, state officials, and municipal leaders discussing planning, zoning, and sustainable growth strategies. 

MML's Summer Symposium will take place on August 1, 2024, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Annapolis.

The event will focus on Maryland's housing legislation, with a keynote address by Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. In addition, this year’s symposium will feature panels with experts from the National League of Cities, state officials, and municipal leaders discussing planning, zoning, and sustainable growth strategies. 

The State of Maryland’s Department of Budget and Management's Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) has exciting updates to make its Fund Mapping Service more readily accessible. The goal of the service is to help Maryland municipalities match their priority projects with competitive federal funding opportunities available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  To get started with the Fund Mapping Service, all you have to do is submit a Fund Mapping Request Form.

The Lunch and Learn webinar with MDE and MML on the Lead and Copper Rule, has been uploaded to MML’s YouTube channel.  As a joint webinar between Maryland Department of the Environment and MML, it focused on the Lead and Copper Rule information and how to get resources out to the Maryland municipalities, providing technical assistance and funding information.

We were also joined by EPIC. The Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build policies that deliver spectacular improvements in the speed and scale of environmental progress. They deliver data-driven policy analysis, innovation, and technical assistance to eliminate disparities across water systems and ensure more residents across the country have access to safe and accessible drinking water.

The University of Maryland Extension (UME) and The University of Maryland Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) are seeking survey responses from local government employees to assess local government interest and knowledge regarding agriculture in urban and urbanized areas, and the opportunities and needs of local government to support farming in cities and towns across Maryland, including pathways toward long-term land access for urban farmers. 

Join Sustainable Maryland Certified for our virtual July Climate Webinar - July 24, 2024 at 1:00 pm

This month we will be discussing the logistics for electric vehicle infrastructure and roll out. We will discuss the latest on EVs, EV charging infrastructure, how to create a fleet transition plan for light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles, and increase readiness across the board. We will be joined by the president of Electric Vehicle Association of Greater Washington DC (EVADC) to discuss the local EV landscape.

Thank you to all nominees that placed their names on the ballot for the 2024-2025 MML Board of Directors. Following both online and in person voting, we are proud to announce the following Board Members, who will serve during the 2024-2025 Board year:  

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The Clean Water Commerce Act (CWCA) passed by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2017 Session (CH366/367) and reauthorized during the 2021 Session (CH694/695) expanded the uses of the Bay Restoration Fund to include the costs associated with the purchase of cost-effective nitrogen load reductions in support of the State’s efforts to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Chapters 501 and 502 of the 2024 Maryland General Assembly Session, "Clean Water Commerce Account - Contracts for Purchase of Environmental Outcomes," requires the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to allow for nonuniform payment schedules when entering into a contract for a project that includes construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation.  Due to this legislative change MDE is reopening the solicitation that previously closed on January 31, 2024.  
 
The Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) invites you to send proposals by August 30, 2024 for the purchase of nitrogen reductions.
  
Proposals previously submitted on or before January 31, 2024 will still be considered for funding.  Any proposal previously submitted that includes construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation and submitted with a uniform payment schedule may be resubmitted with a nonuniform payment schedule.  Additionally, MDE is accepting new proposals that were not previously submitted during the application period that ended on January 31, 2024.  
 
Proposals that do not include construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation should continue to use a uniform payment schedule with equal payments spread out over the length of the payment schedule.  Proposals that do include construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation can use either a uniform or nonuniform payment schedule.