Organization Representing Maryland’s 24 Jurisdictions Votes to Support Repeal of Disastrous Law
The Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), a non-profit and non-partisan organization that advocates on behalf of local governments to the Maryland General Assembly, has voted to support Governor Larry Hogan’s call for a full repeal of House Bill 1013, more commonly known as the Road Kill Bill.
This legislation, passed over the governor’s veto in the 2016 session, severely jeopardizes major priority transportation projects across the state. Under the extremely flawed and biased scoring system mandated by the legislature, 66 out of 73 transportation projects are cancelled, including pivotal projects such as the widening of the Severn River Bridge in Anne Arundel County, the widening of Route 2/4 in Calvert County, and the construction of the I-270, Watkins Mill Road interchange in Montgomery County. In addition, the vast majority of nearly $1 billion in available funding for these capacity increasing projects is directed to only 4 of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions.
“I sincerely thank MACo’s membership for standing up for their constituents and fighting back against the Road Kill Bill,” said Governor Hogan. “This disaster of a law will wreak havoc on our state transportation system and usurp important authority away from local governments and away from the executive branch of state government, giving authority instead to lobbyists and special interest groups. I will not stop fighting until this catastrophic bill is repealed.”
“This law threatens critical projects in Anne Arundel County and imposes a one-size-fits-all formula that ignores the diversity of transportation needs in our State,” said Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh. “I applaud Governor Hogan’s resolve to fight for important transportation projects that will keep Maryland moving.”
“The scoring system established by this flawed legislation puts small to mid-size counties like Harford at a further disadvantage to obtain already limited capital road improvement projects,” said Harford County Executive Barry Glassman. “Harford County respectfully requests that the General Assembly repeal this law.”
“This legislation appears to be an attempt to fix a problem that didn’t exist, and risks derailing critical projects that have been in the works for years,” said Calvert County Board of Commissioners President Evan Slaughenhoupt, Jr. “I am confident that we can implement a transparent and effective system for prioritizing projects that is fair to all jurisdictions in our state without this overreaching law.”
“Maryland citizens deserve better than the unfair, overly complicated process created by this legislation,” said Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman. “We should keep transportation decisions where they belong – with the local jurisdictions that understand their transportation challenges and needs.”
The vote to support Governor Hogan’s repeal legislation took place on February 1. MACo’s membership consists of county elected officials and representatives from Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City. Governor Hogan announced emergency legislation to repeal the Road Kill Bill in December 2016, and released a list of the 66 priority transportation projects the law would cancel if fully enacted.
