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Sponsor seeks two‑year extension and reduced funding for State Lakes Protection Fund, earmarking reduced amount for Deep Creek Lake
Summary
Delegate Heinbaugh asked the Appropriations Committee to extend the State Lakes Protection and Restoration Fund for two years at $500,000 per year (FY26–FY27) and to focus limited money on Deep Creek Lake, citing its size, economic value and aging infrastructure.
Delegate Jim Heinbaugh presented House Bill 684 to extend the State Lakes Protection and Restoration Fund for two years and proposed amendments to reduce the requested amount from prior extensions to $500,000 in FY26 and $500,000 in FY27. Heinbaugh said the original statute created a $1 million per year fund for three years and subsequent extensions and that the program now faces a sunset on June 30.
Heinbaugh asked the committee to concentrate the smaller, two‑year appropriation on Deep Creek Lake, noting the lake’s scale (roughly 74 miles of shoreline depending on water levels), its century anniversary and its outsized economic contributions through vacation‑rental sales tax, property tax share and other tourism‑related revenues. “The state benefits significantly from Deep Creek,” he said, and he argued the modest appropriation is proportionate to the state tax benefits and necessary to maintain water quality and aging infrastructure.
Committee members asked logistical questions about the lake’s uses (hydroelectric generation, snowmaking and recreation) and noted the requested appropriation is a small fraction of the state revenue generated by lake‑area activity. Heinbaugh offered to arrange a pontoon tour to show water‑quality problems and cited prior allocations where about half of the fund historically supported Deep Creek projects.
No vote was recorded in the hearing transcript provided.
