Education - Public School Construction - Alterations

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0233*

HOUSE BILL 233
F1 6lr0292
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 48
By: Chair, Appropriations Committee (By Request – Departmental – Public School
Construction)
Requested: September 22, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Appropriations

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Education – Public School Construction – Alterations 2

FOR the purpose of clarifying the type of proposals and plans that require the approval of 3
the State Superintendent of Schools; requiring a county board of education to request 4
and receive approval from the State Superintendent or the State Superintendent’s 5
designee before the county board may proceed with certain ac tions; authorizing the 6
Interagency Commission on School Construction to adopt requirements for eligibility 7
for certain State funding; modifying the due dates of certain reports the Commission 8
is required to submit; repealing the requirement for the Commiss ion to approve a 9
certain percentage of the preliminary school construction allocation by a certain date; 10
requiring the Commission to establish a certain appeal process; clarifying the 11
circumstances when the State may not require or shall require counties to reimburse 12
the State for debt service; altering the requirement for certain assessments and 13
inspections the Commission is required to conduct; providing for the applicability of 14
certain provisions of law related to the process for review and approval of p ublic 15
school construction projects; and generally relating to public school construction. 16

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
Article – Education 18
Section 2–303(f)(1), 4–115(b), 4–126(e)(3)(i)2., 5–303(d)(2)(xiii) and (xiv) and (3)(iii) 19
and (j)(4), 5–304(b), 5–308(a) and (b), 5–310(b), 5–314(a) through (d), 5–319(b), 20
and 5–325(c) 21
Annotated Code of Maryland 22
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 23

BY adding to 24
Article – Education 25
Section 5–303(d)(2)(xv) 26
Annotated Code of Maryland 27
2 HOUSE BILL 233

(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 1

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 2
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 3

Article – Education 4

2–303. 5

(f) (1) Subject to the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the Sta te Board, and 6
except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, the State Superintendent, or the 7
State Superintendent’s designee, shall approve or disapprove each: 8

(i) Proposal for the purchase or sale of any ground, school site, or 9
building THAT WILL BE USED FOR THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS; 10

(ii) Plan or specification for the [remodeling] ADDITION TO OR 11
RENOVATION of a school building if the [remodeling] ADDITION OR RENOVATION costs 12
more than $1,000,000 AND WILL AFFECT THE PLAN CONFIGURATION O F 13
STUDENT–OCCUPIED SPACES; 14

(iii) Plan or specification for the construction of a new school building; 15
and 16

(iv) Change order that costs more than [$50,000] $200,000 for the 17
[remodeling] ADDITION TO OR RENOVATION, restoration, or construction of 18
STUDENT–OCCUPIED SPACES IN a school building. 19

4–115. 20

(b) [With the approval of the State Superintendent, or the State Superintendent’s 21
designee, each county board may ] EACH COUNTY BOARD SHA LL REQUEST AND 22
RECEIVE THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT, OR THE STATE 23
SUPERINTENDENT’S DESIGNEE, BEFORE THE COUNTY BOARD MAY: 24

(1) Buy or otherwise acquire land, school sites, or buildings THAT WILL BE 25
USED FOR THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS; [and] 26

(2) Rent[, repair, improve, and ] OR build school buildings or a pprove 27
contracts for doing so, if the plans conform to the bylaws, rules, and regulations of the State 28
Board; OR 29

(3) ADD TO OR RENOVATE SC HOOL BUILDINGS OR AP PROVE 30
CONTRACTS FOR DOING SO, IF THE ADDITION OR RENOVATION: 31

HOUSE BILL 233 3

(I) COSTS MORE THAN $1,000,000; 1

(II) WILL AFFECT THE PLAN CONFIGURATION OF 2
STUDENT–OCCUPIED SPACES; AND 3

(III) CONFORMS TO THE BYLAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS OF 4
THE STATE BOARD. 5

4–126. 6

(e) (3) (i) Projects that use alternative financing methods under this 7
section and receive State funding shall comply with the following requirements: 8

2. Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, 9
the maximum State [construction allocation] AWARD for each project approved for State 10
funding; 11

5–303. 12

(d) (2) The regulations adopted by the Interagency Commission may contain 13
requirements for: 14

(xiii) Methods of payments made by the State under the Public School 15
Construction Program; [and] 16

(xiv) The use of a standard statewide computerized maintenance 17
management system for school facilities maintenance work order tracking and reporting ; 18
AND 19

(XV) ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE FUNDING FOR CON STRUCTION 20
PROJECTS AND SYSTEMIC RENOVATION PROJECTS. 21

(3) The regulations adopted by the Interagency Commission shall contain 22
provisions: 23

(iii) Subject to subsection (l) of this section, providing a method for 24
establishing a maximum State [construction allocation] AWARD for each project approved 25
for State funding; 26

(j) (4) On or before [March 30 ] FEBRUARY 28, [June 30 ] MAY 31, 27
[September 30 ] AUGUST 31, and [December 31 of ] NOVEMBER 30 each year, the 28
Interagency Commission shall report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 29
of the State Government Article, and the Department of Legislative Services on the balance 30
in the fund as of the [reporting date ] LAST DAY OF THE IMME DIATELY PRECEDING 31
4 HOUSE BILL 233

QUARTER as the result of transfers or reversions required under this subsection and any 1
expenditures. 2

5–304. 3

(b) (1) Before May 1 [of] each year, the Interagency Commission may not 4
approve public school construction projects that comprise more than 75% of the preliminary 5
school construction allocation, determined under § 8 –113 of the State Finance and 6
Procurement Article, for the following fiscal year. 7

(2) [On or before December 31 of each year, the Interagency Commission 8
shall approve public school construction projects that comprise 75% of the preliminary 9
school construction allocation, determined under § 8 –113 of the State Finance and 10
Procurement Article, for the following fiscal year. 11

(3) The Interagency Commission shall establish an appeal process to allow 12
local jurisdictions to request funding for projects that were not approved by the Interagency 13
Commission under paragraph (2) of this subsection. 14

(4)] (I) On or before March 1 [of] each year, the Interagency Commission 15
shall provide recommendations to the presiding officers and the budget committees of the 16
General Assembly and the Department of Legislative Services for public school 17
construction projects that comprise 90% of the school construction allocation included in 18
the capital budget submitted by the Governor for the following fiscal year. 19

(II) THE INTERAGENCY COMMISSION SHALL ESTA BLISH AN 20
APPEAL PROCESS TO AL LOW LOCAL JURISDICTI ONS TO REQUEST FUNDI NG FOR 21
PROJECTS THAT WERE NOT APPROVED BY THE INTERAGENCY COMMISSION UNDER 22
SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH. 23

[(5)] (3) On or after May 1 each year, the Interagency Commission shall 24
approve 100% of the school construction allocation included in the capital budget bill as 25
enacted. 26

5–308. 27

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 10, Subtitle 3 of the State Finance and 28
Procurement Article, [this] THE State may not require reimbursement of debt service from 29
a county for a school that: 30

(1) Was initially constructed on or before February 1, 1971; 31

(2) Is no longer used for [school purposes] A PURPOSE THAT IS ELIGIBLE 32
FOR STATE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION; 33

HOUSE BILL 233 5

(3) Has had title transferred to a county government; and 1

(4) Is being used for local governmental purposes other than pu blic 2
education; provided, however, that if a former school building is sold by a county 3
government the State shall be reimbursed for outstanding debt service, and if more than 4
10 percent of usable space within a former school is rented for an amount exceed ing the 5
cost of operating and maintaining such space, such rental profit shall be used toward 6
retiring outstanding bonded indebtedness. 7

(b) Subject to subsection (c) of this section, this State shall require reimbursement 8
of outstanding debt service from a county for a school that: 9

(1) Was constructed under this subtitle; 10

(2) Was initially constructed or substantially altered by [addition(s)] 11
ADDITIONS, alterations, or renovations and the cost of the construction at the time of 12
execution exceeded $100,000 and the work was accomplished after February 1, 1971; 13

(3) Is no longer used for [school purposes] A PURPOSE THAT IS ELIGIBLE 14
FOR STATE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION; 15

(4) Has had title transferred to a county government; 16

(5) Is being used for local governmental purposes by the State or a county 17
or by any instrumentality of the State or county other than public education; and 18

(6) Has outstanding debt which exceeds $5,000. 19

5–310. 20

(b) (1) (i) Each fiscal year, the Interagency Commission shall [survey the 21
condition of ] CONDUCT A MAINTENANC E EFFECTIVENESS ASSE SSMENT ON school 22
buildings identified by the Department. 23

(ii) The Interagency Commission shall include in the [inspections] 24
ASSESSMENT of individual school buildings[: 25

1. A process for a local education agency to report any 26
additional information relevant to the inspection, including a place in the Master Facility 27
Asset Library System for the local education agency to: 28

A. Report each year to the Interagency Comm ission on any 29
deficiencies in a school building, even if the school building was not inspected in accordance 30
with paragraph (2) of this subsection in the prior year; 31

6 HOUSE BILL 233

B. Identify spaces in a school building likely to have been 1
painted with lead paint; and 2

C. Report certification of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency 3
Response Act plan for the space; and 4

2. A] A process to incorporate maintenance data for 5
individual school buildings. 6

(2) (i) The Interagency Commission shall conduct [the inspections] A 7
STATEWIDE FACILITIES ASSESSMENT of individual school buildings [that are necessary 8
to complete the survey required in paragraph (1) of this subsection]. 9

(ii) THE INTERAGENCY COMMISSION SHALL INCL UDE IN THE 10
ASSESSMENT OF INDIVI DUAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS A PROCESS FOR A LOCAL 11
EDUCATION AGENCY TO REPORT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT IS RELEVANT TO 12
THE ASSESSMENT, INCLUDING A PLACE IN THE MASTER FACILITY ASSET LIBRARY 13
SYSTEM FOR THE LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY TO: 14

1. REPORT EACH YEAR TO T HE INTERAGENCY 15
COMMISSION ON DEFICIE NCIES IN A SCHOOL BU ILDING, EVEN IF AN ASSESSMEN T 16
OF THE SCHOOL BUILDI NG WAS NOT COMPLETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH T HIS 17
PARAGRAPH IN THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING YEAR; 18

2. IDENTIFY SPACES IN A SCHOOL BUILDING LIKELY TO 19
HAVE BEEN PAINTED WITH LEAD PAINT; AND 20

3. REPORT CERTIFICATION OF THE ASBESTOS HAZARD 21
EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT PLAN FOR THE SPACE. 22

(III) The [inspections completed under paragraph (1) of this 23
subsection] STATEWIDE FACILITIES ASSESSMENT shall include DATA PROVIDED BY 24
LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES ON the following items for each school building: 25

1. Temperature; 26

2. Humidity; 27

3. Carbon dioxide level; 28

4. Acoustic levels; 29

5. Lead paint; 30

6. Asbestos; 31
HOUSE BILL 233 7

7. Kitchen sanitary equipment; 1

8. Lighting; 2

9. Emergency communication system, with respect to 3
remaining useful life; 4

10. Health room attributes; 5

11. Safety equipment in each laboratory space; and 6

12. The functionality of: 7

A. Heating, ventilation, and air –conditioning building 8
systems; 9

B. Life safety building systems; 10

C. Roofs; and 11

D. Any additional critical building systems identified by the 12
Interagency Commission. 13

[(iii)] (IV) During an inspection CONDUCTED AS A PART OF THE 14
STATEWIDE FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, if an item under subparagraph [(ii)1] (III)1 15
through 6 of this paragraph rises to such a severe level that requires the school to be closed, 16
the local education agency shall submit a plan to the Interagency Commission on how to 17
address the iss ue and the Interagency Commission shall work to prioritize funding to 18
address the issue. 19

(3) [The] ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 1 EACH YEAR , THE Interagency 20
Commission shall report to the Governor and , IN ACCORDANCE WITH § 2–1257 OF THE 21
STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, the General Assembly[, on or before October 1 of each 22
year, in accordance with § 2 –1257 of the State Government Article, ] on the results of the 23
[survey] MAINTENANCE EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT for the [prior] IMMEDIATELY 24
PRECEDING fiscal year. 25

(4) ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 1 EACH YEAR , THE INTERAGENCY 26
COMMISSION SHALL REPO RT TO THE GOVERNOR AND , IN ACCORDANCE WITH § 27
2–1257 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE 28
RESULTS OF THE STATE WIDE FACILITIES ASSE SSMENT FOR THE IMMED IATELY 29
PRECEDING FISCAL YEAR. 30

5–314. 31

8 HOUSE BILL 233

(a) (1) Notwithstanding § 2 –303(f) of this article, the process for the review 1
and approval of public school construction projects shall be in accordance with the 2
provisions of this section. 3

(2) THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY TO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND 4
SYSTEMIC RENOVATION PROJECTS: 5

(I) THAT COST MORE THAN $1,000,000 AND: 6

1. THAT HAVE RECEIVED STATE FUNDING; OR 7

2. FOR WHICH A LOCAL EDU CATION AGENCY WILL B E 8
REQUESTING STATE FUNDING; OR 9

(II) THAT REPLACE OR CHANGE A HEATING, VENTILATION, OR 10
AIR–CONDITIONING SYSTEM. 11

(b) (1) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, educational 12
specifications and schematic designs for [major] APPLICABLE construction projects are 13
required to: 14

(i) Be reviewed by the Interagency Commission; and 15

(ii) Prior to finalization by a local education agency, have any 16
concerns or recommendations of the Interagency Commission satisfactorily resolved. 17

(2) To provide efficiency within the process, the Department and the 18
Interagency Commission shall consider altering the review and approval process required 19
under paragraph (1) of this subsection, including a rolling deadline for submission of 20
documents, with schematic designs submitted following the completion of the educational 21
specifications review. 22

(c) (1) Change orders for [major] APPLICABLE construction projects and 23
systemic renovation projects may not be: 24

(i) Reviewed by the Department of General Services; and 25

(ii) Approved by the Interagency Commission. 26

(2) A percentage of the State allocation related to change orders may not 27
be withheld. 28

(3) Local education agencies shall maintain contingency funds for each 29
approved project to address unanticipated construction costs above the State allocation. 30

HOUSE BILL 233 9

(d) (1) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, design and 1
construction documents for [major] APPLICABLE construction projects and systemic 2
renovation projects are required to be: 3

(i) Reviewed by the Department of General Services; and 4

(ii) Approved by the Interagency Commission. 5

(2) The Department of General Services and the Interagency Commission, 6
in consultation with local education agencies, shall develop a timeline for submission, 7
review, and approval of design and construction documents. 8

5–319. 9

(b) On or before [December 31 of] FEBRUARY 28 each year, AS PROVIDED IN § 10
5–325 OF THIS SUBTITLE , the Interagency Commission shall submit a report on the 11
number of public school construction and major renovation projects in each jurisdiction that 12
[use] USED solar technologies OR ALTERNATIVE ENERG Y SYSTEMS IN THE 13
IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR to the Governor and, in accordance with § 14
2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly. 15

5–325. 16

(c) On or before [December 31] FEBRUARY 28 each year, AS PROVIDED IN § 17
5–319 OF THIS SUBTITLE , the Interagency Commission shall submit a report to the 18
General Assembly, in accordance with § 2 –1257 of the State Government Article, on the 19
number of public school construction and major renovation projects in each jurisdiction that 20
[use] USED SOLAR TECHNOLOG IES OR alternative energy systems IN THE 21
IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR. 22

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 23
1, 2026. 24