Council briefed on draft bill to create three regional transportation authorities and new financing tools

Montgomery County staff briefed the council on a draft piece of legislation that would create three regional transportation authorities and authorize financing mechanisms to fund regional transportation projects.

Staff said the bill would establish a Baltimore-region authority (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard counties and Baltimore City), a Capital region authority (Frederick, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties) and a Southern Maryland authority (Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties). The bill would create a financing structure for those authorities and permit them to raise funds through designated revenue streams such as retail sales tax, hotel tax and transfer tax. Staff said the legislation would also define governance structures, decision-making processes, and local revenue-sharing splits (a described 70/30 model in draft language).

The county briefing noted the bill is large and would represent a significant change to how Maryland structures and finances transportation infrastructure; it would permit the regional authorities to issue debt and create decision and revenue-sharing rules among participating jurisdictions. The draft sponsor identified in staff comments is Delegate Spiegel, who previously introduced related legislation. The council did not take a formal position and staff said they will monitor the bill’s progress and report back if the county needs to consider a formal response.

Council members noted the scale of the proposal and the state’s broader fiscal challenges; staff said the bill’s movement and details will determine the county’s subsequent engagement.