Gaithersburg proposes three legislative action requests to Maryland Municipal League, seeks endorsement

City staff asked the mayor and council on June 2 to endorse three Legislative Action Requests (LARs) that the City of Gaithersburg would submit to the Maryland Municipal League for consideration in the 2026 legislative session. The items are: an out-of-cycle adjustment mechanism for commercial property assessments administered by the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT); expansion of the admissions and amusement (A&A) tax to cover food and beverage at businesses where the A&A tax applies; and a municipal exemption or opt-out for the state family and medical leave insurance program for municipalities that already offer equivalent or superior benefits.

Staff framed the requests as requests for MML advocacy, not as binding city legislation, and asked the council to endorse the three priorities so MML could consider them for its 2026 platform. The three items are intended to address municipal revenue timing, local tax parity and the fiscal impact of a statewide paid‑leave program on local employers.

On the first item, staff described Maryland's requirement that real property be assessed at least once every three years and said SDAT currently cannot adjust a commercial assessment out of cycle except in limited circumstances. Staff proposed that SDAT be enabled to adjust assessments out of cycle when a commercial sale or property tax worksheet shows an increase greater than 20% of present assessed value, or allow county or local governments to initiate an out-of-cycle appeal. "Three years is a long time for cities and towns to wait before revenue is realized," staff told the council.

The second LAR would revisit legislation considered last session to expand the A&A tax to include food and beverage sold at businesses subject to the A&A tax; staff noted similar proposals had been introduced but failed to advance. The third LAR—described by staff as "swinging for the fences"—would ask that municipalities be exempted from or allowed to opt out of the state family and medical leave insurance program if the municipality already offers comparable or superior benefits; staff said several other jurisdictions expressly exempt local governments or allow opt-in rather than mandatory participation.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about how assessments are currently calculated and how other states treat vacancy and income assumptions; staff described the LAR on assessments as an incremental, realizable change rather than a wholesale revaluation approach.

Staff did not record a formal vote to transmit the three LARs to MML during the meeting. Councilmembers generally discussed the merits, asked for additional information and indicated preliminary support; staff said they would continue outreach and follow up with additional details to the council.