State Department of Assessments and Taxation – County Supervisor Residency Requirement and Location of County Assessment Offices – Alteration

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0298*

HOUSE BILL 298
Q1 6lr0192
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 146
By: Chair, Ways and Means Committee (By Request – Departmental – Assessments
and Taxation)
Requested: September 17, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Ways and Means

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

State Department of Assessments and Taxation – County Supervisor Residency 2
Requirement and Location of County Assessment Offices – Alteration 3

FOR the purpose of repealing the requirement that a county supervisor of real property 4
assessments reside in the county for which the supervisor is appointed; repealing the 5
requirement that the county assessment office be located i n the county seat; and 6
generally relating to property tax assessments. 7

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 8
Article – Tax – Property 9
Section 2–105 and 2–106 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 12

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 13
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 14

Article – Tax – Property 15

2–105. 16

(a) There is a supervisor for each county. 17

(b) (1) In this subsection and subsection (c) of this section, “appropriate county 18
official” means the Mayor of Baltimore City, the county commissioners or county council of 19
each county, or, if the county charter provides for a county executive, the county executive 20
with the approval of the county council. 21

(2) Each supervisor: 22
2 HOUSE BILL 298

(i) shall be appointed by the Director; and 1

(ii) shall be in the management service of the State Personnel 2
Management System. 3

(3) The Director shall appoint each supervisor from a list of five qualified 4
individuals submitted to the Director by the appropriate county official. The Director shall 5
give the appropriate county official written notice that a vacancy exists in that county. 6
Unless the Director extends the period on written request from the appropriate county 7
official, the appropriate county official shall submit its list of nominees to the Director on 8
or before 60 days from the date the Director notifies the official of the vacancy. 9

(4) If the Director finds that none of the nominees on a list meets the 10
qualifications set under § 2 –109 of this subtitle, the Director may reject all of them and 11
request the appropriate county official to provide a new list. If the appropriate county 12
official does not submit a new list within 20 days of receiving the Director’s request, the 13
Director may appoint any qualified individual. 14

(c) [(1)] In addition to the qualifications set under § 2 –109 of this subtitle, a 15
supervisor[: 16

(i)] may not hold any other public office of profit[; and 17

(ii) on appointment, need not be a resident of the county for w hich 18
the supervisor was appointed, but shall become a resident of the county after the 19
appointment is made. 20

(2) The appropriate county official may waive the residency requirement of 21
paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection. 22

(3) If the appropriate county official nominates an individual under 23
subsection (b)(3) of this section who is not currently a resident of the county, the residency 24
requirement of paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection is waived for that individual]. 25

(d) A supervisor may be removed fro m office only after a hearing before the 26
Department and a finding of incompetency or other cause. 27

(e) The classifications and salaries of supervisors shall be set in accordance with 28
the provisions of Division I of the State Personnel and Pensions Article. 29

2–106. 30

(a) Each county shall provide the supervisor of the county with an office in the 31
county [seat] or in Baltimore City, for the supervisor of Baltimore City. The Department is 32
responsible for providing each supervisor with clerical staff, equipment, and other facilities 33
HOUSE BILL 298 3

and assistance that the Department considers necessary and as provided in the State 1
budget. 2

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each county and 3
Baltimore City shall be responsible for reimbursing the State for the costs of administering 4
the Department as follows: 5

(i) 90% of the costs of real property valuation; 6

(ii) 90% of the costs of business personal property valuation; and 7

(iii) 90% of the costs of the Office of Information Technology wi thin 8
the Department, including any funding for departmental projects in the Major Information 9
Technology Development Project Fund established under § 3.5 –309 of the State Finance 10
and Procurement Article. 11

(2) For each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013, each county and Baltimore City 12
shall be responsible for reimbursing the State 90% instead of 50% of the costs of 13
administering the Department described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. 14

(c) Costs under subsection (b) of this section shall be allocated among the counties 15
and Baltimore City as follows: 16

(1) costs under subsection (b)(1)(i) and (iii) of this section will be allocated 17
based on the number of real property accounts of a county or Baltimore City as a percentage 18
of the total number of real proper ty accounts statewide as of July 1 of the preceding fiscal 19
year; and 20

(2) costs under subsection (b)(1)(ii) of this section will be allocated based on 21
the business personal property assessable base of a county or Baltimore City as a 22
percentage of the total business personal property assessable bases statewide as of July 1 23
of the preceding fiscal year. 24

(d) Each county and Baltimore City shall remit a quarterly payment to the 25
Comptroller for 25% of the jurisdiction’s share of costs on the following dates: 26

(1) July 1; 27

(2) October 1; 28

(3) January 1; and 29

(4) April 1. 30

(e) The Comptroller may withhold a portion of a local income tax distribution of 31
a county or Baltimore City that fails to make timely payment in accordance with this 32
section. 33
4 HOUSE BILL 298

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