Baltimore City Wire

Agenda focused on building public safety, supporting environment & infrastructure and prioritizing the quality of life for Baltimore City residents

Mayor Brandon M. Scott unveiled his administration's legislative and budgetary agenda for the 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly. These priorities are centered around the Scott Administration's core goals: building public safety, supporting our environment & City infrastructure and prioritizing the quality of life for all of Baltimore City's residents.

Strong partnerships with State leaders will be essential for the success of this agenda. With an experienced and dedicated group of representatives in Annapolis and the incoming Governor-elect Wes Moore, the mayor expressed excitement about the potential for this year's legislative session to achieve meaningful progress on the city's most pressing issues.

"Our priorities for Annapolis are about building the Baltimore we want to see today, with an eye on our vision for the future, and we are hopeful that we have the political environment to secure legislation and funding that will move us closer to realizing Baltimore's true potential," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "I look forward to working in partnership with our legislators and Governor-elect Moore to make Baltimore a better place for all of our residents - regardless of race, sexual identity, gender, or zip code."

The Scott Administration's top priorities include:

$20.25 million in State Aid for Police Protection and Enhanced Warrant Service Initiative Grants.

$50 million in capital and operating funds for the design and construction of new Northwest and Northeast BPD District buildings.

Restoring funding for programs facilitated by the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement that are designed to discourage recidivism, reduce violence, and perform outreach to victims of crime: Safe Streets Baltimore, Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds and Project Exile.

Decreasing the time, currently up to 48 hours, someone on a home monitoring system can go missing before that person's missing status is reported to an administrative judge.

$100 million to address vacancy and eliminate blight.

$40 million in capital and operating funds for the City's Vacant Rehabilitation Loan Program.

$50 million in capital funds to support the Impact Investment Area Redevelopment Fund.

$10 million in capital and operating funds for the Baltimore City Community Land Trust.

Reforming the City's tax sale system by:

Establishing protections for owner-occupied properties and authorizing the City to enter into payment plans for all municipal debts.

Expanding the ability to utilize the in-rem process for vacant properties with tax delinquencies.

Allowing for properties with outstanding liens to be transferred to heirs, which will preserve generational wealth and allow heirs to access programs benefiting owner-occupied properties.

Additionally, the Scott Administration will support the following legislation being introduced by Baltimore City lawmakers:

Senator Cory McCray's (D-45) proposed legislation to streamline the State's property tax exemption application process, allowing exemptions to be applied to prior years under certain circumstances.

Legislation from Senator Antonio Hayes (D-40) to bridge the appraisal gap for prospective homebuyers.

Delegate Regina Boyce's (D-43) bill to give the City the authority to set special property tax rates as a means to more equitably spread the load of property taxes, overcome barriers to homeownership, and entice new residents and businesses to come to Baltimore.

And Delegate Robbyn Lewis's (D-46) legislation to create a process for union recognition and collective bargaining for employees of the Walters Art Museum.

A full list of the mayor's legislative and budgetary agenda can be found on the Mayor's Office of Government Relation's web page.

The 445th session of the Maryland General Assembly begins on January 11, 2023.

Original source can be found here.