Legislation
– 2003 Legislative Session
Relating to Agricultural Land Preservation Issues
Task Force
recommended legislation is indicated with an asterisk (*).
Task Force inspired
legislation (at least some part of the bill) is indicated with a cross ( ).
House of Delegates
legislation only:
HB 091 – Maryland Agricultural Land
Preservation Foundation – Allegany and Garrett Counties – Natural Gas Rights
Sponsors: Delegates
Edwards, Kelly, and Myers.
Department position: support.
Legislative result: successful: passed by the House of Delegates and
the Senate and signed by the Governor.
This bill would prevent regulations and procedures
adopted by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) for
the establishment and monitoring of agricultural districts from requiring a
natural gas rights owner or lessee to subordinate its interest to MALPF's
interest in Allegany or Garrett counties if MALPF determines that the exercise
of those rights will not interfere with an agricultural operation conducted on
the land. MALPF must submit a
report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the impact of the bill by
October 1, 2006.
HB 131 – Carroll County –
Agricultural Land Preservation – Easements – Dwelling House
Sponsors: Delegates
Stocksdale, Amedori, and Elliott.
Department position: support.
Legislative result: successful: passed with amendments by the House of
Delegates and the Senate and signed by the Governor.
This bill would allow a subsequent purchaser of
agricultural land, under a Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation
(MALPF) easement, to obtain a one-acre lot for construction of a dwelling if the
original seller of the easement made the request to the Foundation. There are several conditions that apply
to these lot requests. The
original easement had to be sold prior to January 1, 1990, the lot would not be
able to be subdivided from the property, the easement property must be at least
50 acres, and no dwelling house could have existed at the time of the easement
sale. The legislation only applies
to Carroll County. All requests
for qualifying properties must be received within one year of the effective
date of the legislation. The legislation would apply to five
properties.
HB 157 – Calvert County –
Agricultural Land Preservation Program – General Obligation Installment
Purchase Agreements – Maximum Aggregate Purchase Price
Sponsor: Calvert
County Delegation.
Department position: the Department takes no
position on bills that are not statewide and do not directly affect MALPF.
Legislative result: successful: passed by the House of Delegates and
the Senate and signed by the Governor.
This bill would renew the ability of Calvert County to
assume debt to fund its installment purchase agreement program to acquire
transfer of development rights on agricultural and forested properties as part
of the County's Agricultural Land Preservation Program.
HB 406 – Maryland Agricultural Land
Preservation Foundation – Acreage Requirements
Sponsors: Delegates
Costa, V. Clagett, Dwyer, Elmore, Leopold, Love, Smigiel, Sophocleus, and
Sossi.
Department position: oppose.
Legislative result: unsuccessful: the bill received an unfavorable report
from the House Environmental Matters Committee.
This bill would decrease the minimum acreage
requirement from 50 to 25 acres that must be met to qualify for a parcel to be
eligible to be established as an agricultural district under the Maryland
Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) qualifying on its own merits.
HB 804 – Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation
– Guidelines for Easement Rankings
Sponsor: Delegate
James.
Companion bill: SB
564 (SB 564 was not officially cross-listed because HB 804 originally included
provisions on easement valuation that were not included in SB 564).
Department position: support.
Legislative result: successful
with related Senate bill: HB 804
passed with amendments by the House of Delegates and the Senate and vetoed by
the Governor who signed the related bill, SB 564.
This bill would require the Foundation establish statewide
ranking guidelines to review easement ranking systems of the counties for use
in the First Round of easement offers to better meet program objectives. The bill would also end the use of the
agricultural value formula in calculating easement values, and rather calculate
easement values based on a percentage of fair market value. Change in easement ranking system was
successfully passed; change in easement valuation system was excluded from the
proposed legislation in committee at the request of the sponsor.
HB 826 – Maryland Agricultural Land
Preservation Foundation – Termination of Easements
Sponsors: Delegates
Glassman and Parrott.
Department position: oppose as unnecessary.
Legislative result: unsuccessful: withdrawn by sponsors because of a
written opinion provided by the Office of the Attorney General that stated that
counties already have the ability to ask grantors to waive the 25-year
termination clause under existing statute and regulation and to make commitment
to a perpetual easement a condition of approval for easement applications.
This bill would allow counties to require new easement
applicants to commit to a perpetual easement and to ask current owners of
easement property to consider a waiver of the 25-year termination clause.
HB 827 – Maryland Agricultural Land
Preservation Foundation – Installment Purchase Agreements
Sponsors: Delegates
Glassman and Parrott.
Department position: oppose, but supportive
of the objective of the bill if acceptable language can be worked out.
Legislative result: unsuccessful: the bill received an unfavorable report
from the House Environmental Matters Committee.
This bill would create an installment purchase agreement
option payable over 20 years to supplement the existing lump-sum and
installment payments options for landowners selling agricultural land
preservation easements to the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation
Foundation.
HB 827 – Worcester County –
Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board – Membership
Sponsors: Delegates
Bozman and Conway.
Department position: the Department takes no
position on bills that are not statewide and do not directly affect MALPF.
Legislative result: successful: passed by the House of Delegates and
the Senate and signed by the Governor.
The
bill increases the membership of Worcester County's agricultural preservation
advisory board from five to seven, increases the number of farming members from
three to four, and shortens the length of the appointment from five years to
four.
HB 1084 – Tax Incentives and Benefits
– Credits and Subtraction Modification
Sponsors: Delegates
Gordon, Jones, Kaiser, McKee, and Ross.
Department position: oppose.
Legislative result: unsuccessful: not reported out of the House Ways and
Means Committee.
This bill would repeal a range of tax credits allowed
against specified State taxes and would alter those tax benefits provided under
law by converting them to income tax subtraction modifications in determining
Maryland taxable income. This bill
would modify the income tax credit to which landowners who donate or offer
bargain sales of easements to the Maryland
Environmental Trust or the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation
may be entitled to an income tax deduction based on subtraction modifications,
significantly reducing tax benefits from the donation of development rights or
restrictive easements to the State land preservation programs.
Senate legislation
only:
*SB 564 – Maryland Agricultural Land
Preservation Foundation – Guidelines for Easement Rankings
Sponsors: Senators
Middleton and Dyson.
Related bill: HB 804
(because HB 804 originally included additional provisions on easement
valuation, these bills were not officially cross-listed).
Department position: support.
Legislative result: successful: passed with amendments by the Senate
and the House of Delegates and signed by the Governor.
This bill would require the Foundation establish statewide
ranking guidelines to review easement ranking systems of the counties used for
the Round One of easement offers to better meet program objectives.
House of Delegates and
Senate legislation (cross-listed bills):
HB 140 – Creation of a State Debt –
Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2003, the Maryland Consolidated
Capital Bond Loans of 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2002, the General
Construction Loans of 1988 and 1989, Arthur G. Murphy, Sr. Youth Services
Center Loan of 1986, and Southern Maryland Regional Strategy-Action Plan for
Agriculture Loan of 2003
SB 146 – Creation of a State Debt –
Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2003, the Maryland Consolidated
Capital Bond Loans of 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2002, and the
General Construction Loans of 1988 and 1989
Sponsor: The
Speaker of the House of Delegates (by request of the Administration).
The
President of the Senate (by request of the Administration).
Department position: support the
Administration's position.
Legislative result: successful: passed with amendments by the House of
Delegates and then passed with incompatible amendments by the Senate; sent to
conference committee to reconcile; and then signed by the Governor; bill
originating in the Senate did not leave committee.
These cross-listed bills are MarylandÕs capital budget legislation
and would authorize the
creation of a State Debt in the amount of $742,470,000 for the purposes
specified in the bill. Specific to
the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, the legislation
authorized $21,160,000 in bonds to replace the real estate transfer tax
revenues diverted for FY 2003 and FY 2004 by the Budget Reconciliation and
Finance Acts and to cover outstanding obligations (already signed option
contracts approved by the Board of Public Works) that were de-funded by an
earlier diversion of revenues. The
legislation also provides $3,000,000 in GreenPrint funding, of which $750,000
will be used to purchase easements on MALPF agricultural districts.
*HB 805/SB 626 – Maryland Agricultural
Land Preservation Foundation – Easements – Lot Exclusions and
Allowable Economic Activity
Sponsors: Delegate
James.
Senators
Middleton, Dyson, and Colburn.
Department position: support.
Legislative result: successful: passed with amendments by the House of
Delegates and the Senate; the Governor signed SB 626.
These cross-listed bills would give more flexibility to the Foundation's
Board to allow farm- and forestry-related activities and home occupations on
easement properties, if there is no impact on the land and the investment of
the State in land preservation is protected. This legislation would also limit the total number of lots
allowed on a property to 3 (down from 10), decrease density (from 1:20 per lot
to 1:20 for the first lot and 1:50 for the subsequent 2 lots), allow easement
applicants to opt for one unrestricted lot that carries with the land rather
than the 3 family lots, and make the exclusion of dwellings existing at the
time of easement sale a function of lot exclusion limits.
HB 935/SB 657 – Budget Reconciliation and Financing
Act of 2003
Sponsor: The
Minority Leader (by request of the Administration).
The
President of the Senate (by request of the Administration).
Department position: support the
Administration's position.
Legislative result: successful: passed with irreconcilable amendments
by the House of Delegates and the Senate; passed after a conference committee
addressed the differences; the Governor signed HB 935.
These
cross-listed bills would alter grants and programs, alter the permissible uses
of funds, repeal required appropriations, and transfer funds to the General
Fund, as specified in the bill.
Specific to the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, the
real estate transfer tax revenues dedicated to the purchase of agricultural
conservation easements would be transferred to the General Fund. Those revenues would be, to some
extent, offset by bonds authorized in HB 140 (2003).