Prince George's County officials press for data clarity on governor's 'Housing for Jobs' bill

Lakeisha Hall, director of Prince George—s County Planning Department, told the General Assembly Committee that the governor—s "Housing for Jobs Act" would require the state to calculate regional housing infrastructure gaps, expedite certain project reviews, and "prohibit certain local jurisdictions from denying certain housing development projects without certain justifications."

The county submitted written comments asking state drafters to clarify data sources and definitions used to determine the jobs-to-housing ratio and to explain how triggers in the bill would apply. "There are some questions in regards to the data and how some of the job to housing ratios was calculated," Hall said, citing uncertainty about which datasets the state would use and how a rail station is defined as "planned."

Committee members raised multiple concerns. Council member Oriada said local immigrant communities are frequently undercounted in Census data and asked whether the bill allows "wiggle room" for jurisdictions that can demonstrate differing local population or employment figures. Hall said local jurisdictions can provide alternate counts and that metropolitan planning organizations (COG) and future Census updates could affect ratios.

Council members also sought clarification about what counts as a completed housing unit under permitting rules and what qualifies as a "substantial renovation" that could trigger the bill's provisions. Hall said the county's written comments request specific definitions for those terms and the formulas used to generate the 1.5 jobs-to-housing threshold cited in the draft legislation.

A representative of the county executive's office said the executive branch is generally supportive of the legislation "with some clarifying points" and is coordinating with the Department of Housing and Community Development. The committee did not take a formal vote on the bill; instead members asked planning staff to coordinate with state agencies and Mako (the Maryland Association of County Planning Officers) and return with sample calculations and clarified definitions. "I'm more than happy to be here" and provide another update next week, Hall said.