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HB0587 • 2026

Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority - Study and Report

Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority - Study and Report

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Delegates Phillips , Alston , Crutchfield , Hill , Kaufman , Mireku-North , Patterson , Roberts , Ruff , Stinnett , Woods , and Wu
Last action
2026-05-12
Official status
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 408
Effective date
2026-06-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about the exact procurement procedures or funding for the workgroup.

Transportation Contract Review and Reporting

This law establishes a workgroup to review procurement procedures for major transportation projects in Maryland and requires them to report their findings by December 1, 2026.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes the Workgroup on Transportation Contract Approval Authority to review procurement procedures for capital expenditures over $5 million related to state roads, bridges, or highways.
  • Requires the Board of Public Works to adopt regulations for reviewing contract modifications valued above $1 million for certain procurements.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Transportation
  • Maryland Transportation Authority
  • Board of Public Works

Terms To Know

Procurement
The process of buying goods or services for the government.
Capital Expenditures
Money spent on big projects like building roads, bridges, or highways.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify how much funding will be provided for this workgroup.
  • The exact details of the procurement procedures to be reviewed are not outlined in the bill text.
  • It does not state what actions should be taken based on the report's findings.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

523722/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 523722/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 587 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

  • AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 587 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 On page 1, in line 6, after “amount;” insert “ requiring the Board to adopt regulations for the review of a contract modification for certain procurement contracts by the Department or the Authority;”; and after line 18, insert: “BY adding to Article - State Finance and Procurement Section 12-101(e), 12-107(c), and 12-202(h) Annotated Code of Maryland (2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement)”.
  • AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 On page 2, in lines 3, 9, and 25, in each instance, strike “ $500,000” and substitute “$5,000,000”; after line 20, insert: “(4) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REG ULATIONS FOR THE REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A CAPITAL EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION.”; and after line 31, insert: “(D) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REG ULATIONS FOR THE REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR AN ACQUISITION IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION.”.
613929/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 613929/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 587 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

  • AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 587 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 On page 1, in line 3, after the second “Authority” insert “– Study and Report”; and strike beginning with “authorizing” in line 4 down through “ Authority;” in line 8 and substitute “ establishing a workgroup to review the procurement procedures for capital expenditures in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways and to issue a certain report making certain recommendations;”.
  • On pages 1 and 2, strike in their entirety the lines beginning with line 11 on page 1 through line 4 on page 2, inclusive.
  • AMENDMENT NO.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-12 Post Passage

    Approved by the Governor - Chapter 408

  2. 2026-04-10 Senate

    Favorable with Amendments Report by Budget and Taxation

  3. 2026-04-01 House

    House Concurs Senate Amendments

  4. 2026-04-01 House

    Third Reading Passed (125-8)

  5. 2026-04-01 House

    Passed Enrolled

  6. 2026-03-26 Senate

    Third Reading Passed (46-1)

  7. 2026-03-25 Senate

    Hearing 4/02 at 1:00 p.m.

  8. 2026-03-25 Senate

    Favorable with Amendments { 613929/1 Adopted

  9. 2026-03-25 Senate

    Second Reading Passed with Amendments

  10. 2026-03-20 House

    Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections

  11. 2026-03-09 House

    Third Reading Passed (116-6)

  12. 2026-03-07 House

    Favorable with Amendments { 523722/1 Adopted

  13. 2026-03-07 House

    Second Reading Passed with Amendments

  14. 2026-03-07 Senate

    Referred Budget and Taxation

  15. 2026-02-06 House

    Hearing 2/24 at 1:00 p.m.

  16. 2026-01-28 House

    First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections

  17. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - First - Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority

  18. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - House - Committee - Government, Labor, and Elections

  19. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Third - Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority

  20. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - Senate - Committee - Budget and Taxation

  21. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Enrolled - Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority - Study and Report

  22. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Chapter - Procurement - Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority Contracts - Board of Public Works Contract Authority - Study and Report

Official Summary Text

Establishing the Workgroup on Transportation Contract Approval Authority to review the procurement procedures for capital expenditures in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways; and requiring the Workgroup to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
Italics indicate opposite chamber/conference committee amendments.
*hb0587*

HOUSE BILL 587
P2, P1, R2 (6lr0903)
ENROLLED BILL
— Government, Labor, and Elections/Budget and Taxation —
Introduced by Delegates Phillips, Alston, Crutchfield, Hill, Kaufman,
Mireku–North, Patterson, Roberts, Ruff, Stinnett, Woods, and Wu

Read and Examined by Proofreaders:

_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.

Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this

_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.

______________________________________________
Speaker.

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Procurement – Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation 2
Authority Contracts – Board of Public Works Contract Authority – Study and 3
Report 4

FOR the purpose of authorizing the Board of Public Works to control certain procurement 5
contracts by the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transportation 6
Authority valued at or above a certain amount; requiring the Board to adopt 7
regulations for the review of a c ontract modification for certain procurement 8
contracts by the Department or the Authority; establishing a workgroup to review 9
the procurement procedures for capital expenditures in connection with State roads, 10
bridges, or highways and to issue a certain report making certain recommendations; 11
and generally relating to procurement contracts and the Department of 12
Transportation and the Maryland Transportation Authority. 13

2 HOUSE BILL 587

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
Article – State Finance and Procurement 2
Section 4–415, 10–202, 12–101(a), 12–103, 12–107(a), 12–108, and 12–202(a) 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 5

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 6
Article – State Finance and Procurement 7
Section 12–101(b) and 12–107(b)(3) 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 10

BY adding to 11
Article – State Finance and Procurement 12
Section 12–101(e), 12–107(c), and 12–202(h) 13
Annotated Code of Maryland 14
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 15

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 16
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 17

Article – State Finance and Procurement 18

4–415. 19

(a) This section does not apply to any capital expenditures by the Department of 20
Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority in connection with State roads, 21
bridges, or highways VALUED BELOW $500,000 $5,000,000. 22

(b) Before execution, a contract for the acquisition of land shall be: 23

(1) reviewed by the Secretary of General Services; and 24

(2) except as provided in § 12 –204 of this article, after that review, 25
approved by the Board of Public Works. 26

(c) (1) This subsection does not apply to any capital expenditure VALUED 27
BELOW $500,000 $5,000,000 by: 28

(i) the Maryland Aviation Administration; 29

(ii) the Maryland Port Administration; or 30

(iii) the Maryland Transit Administration. 31

HOUSE BILL 587 3

(2) At least 40 days before the Board of Public Works may act on a land 1
acquisition, the Division shall give written notice of a potential acquisition of land: 2

(i) to the governing body of the county in which the land is located; 3
and 4

(ii) if the land is located within a municipal corporation, to the 5
governing body of the municipal corporation. 6

(3) Within 30 days after rec eiving notice under this subsection, the 7
governing body may submit written comments to the Division. 8

(4) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR 9
THE REVIEW OF A CONT RACT MODIFICATION VA LUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A 10
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION. 11

(d) The Board of Public Works shall supervise the expenditure of any money that 12
the General Assembly appropriates for the acquisition of land. 13

10–202. 14

(a) This section does not apply to property to be acquired in connection with State 15
roads, bridges, or highways VALUED BELOW $500,000 $5,000,000. 16

(b) Subject to Title 12 of the Real Property Article, the Board may condemn 17
property for State use. 18

(c) The Department of General Services, with the approval of the Board, shall 19
adopt regulations in accordance with Title 10, Subtitle 1 of the State Government Article 20
that establish a uniform method of determining the value of any applicable life estate 21
discount for property condemned in accordance with this section. 22

(D) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR THE 23
REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR AN 24
ACQUISITION IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION. 25

12–101. 26

(a) This section does not apply to: 27

(1) capital expenditures by the Department of Transportation or the 28
Maryland Transportation Authority, in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways, 29
as provided in § 12–202 of this title, VALUED BELOW $500,000 $5,000,000; or 30

(2) procurements by the Department of General Services for the purpose of 31
modernizing cybersecurity infrastructure for the State valued below $1,000,000. 32
4 HOUSE BILL 587

(b) (1) The Board may control procurement by units. 1

(2) To implement the provisions of this Division II, the Board may: 2

(i) set policy; 3

(ii) adopt regulations, in accordance with Title 10, Subtitle 1 of the 4
State Government Article; and 5

(iii) establish internal operational procedures consistent with this 6
Division II. 7

(3) The Board shall ensure that the regulat ions of the primary 8
procurement units provide for procedures that are consistent with this Division II and Title 9
13, Subtitle 4 of the State Personnel and Pensions Article and, to the extent the 10
circumstances of a particular type of procurement or a partic ular unit do not require 11
otherwise, are substantially the same. 12

(4) The Board may delegate any of its authority that it determines to be 13
appropriate for delegation and may require prior Board approval for specified procurement 14
actions. 15

(5) Except as limited by the Maryland Constitution, the Board may 16
exercise any control authority conferred on a primary procurement unit by this Division II 17
and, to the extent that its action conflicts with the action of the primary procurement unit, 18
the action of the Board shall prevail. 19

(E) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR THE 20
REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A CAPITAL 21
EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A)(1) OF THIS SECTION. 22

12–103. 23

(a) This section does not apply to capital expenditures by the Department of 24
Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority, in connection with State roads, 25
bridges, or highways, as provided in § 12 –202 of this title , VALUED BELOW $500,000 26
$5,000,000. 27

(b) Notwithstanding any delegation of authority under § 12 –101 of this subtitle, 28
the Board retains full authority to engage in procurement of services and supplies for itself. 29

(c) By resolution, the Board may authorize a Board member or a unit to exercise 30
all or any part o f the authority of the Board for a specific Board procurement or for a 31
particular class of Board procurements. 32

HOUSE BILL 587 5

(D) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR THE 1
REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A CAPITAL 2
EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION. 3

12–107. 4

(a) This section does not apply to capital expenditures by the Department of 5
Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority, in connection with State roads, 6
bridges, or highways, as provi ded in § 12 –202 of this title , VALUED BELOW $500,000 7
$5,000,000. 8

(b) Subject to the authority of the Board, jurisdiction over procurement is as 9
follows: 10

(3) the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transportation 11
Authority, without the approval of any of the other primary procurement units, may engage 12
in the procurement of: 13

(i) construction that is related to transportation, as provided in the 14
Transportation Article; 15

(ii) construction related services that are related to transpor tation, 16
as provided in the Transportation Article; 17

(iii) architectural or engineering services that are related to 18
transportation, under Title 13, Subtitle 3 of this article; 19

(iv) supplies for transportation –related activities, including 20
information technology supplies that are subject to Title 3.5 of this article, but excluding: 21

1. supplies funded by the proceeds from State general 22
obligation bonds; and 23

2. insurance; 24

(v) services for transportation –related activities, including 25
information technology services that are subject to Title 3.5 of this article, but excluding 26
banking and financial services under the authority of the State Treasurer under item (1) of 27
this subsection; 28

(vi) rolling stock and other property peculiar to the operation of a 29
transit system, as provided in § 7–403 of the Transportation Article; 30

(vii) supplies for aeronautics related activities, including motor 31
vehicles and information processing supplies, but excluding: 32

6 HOUSE BILL 587

1. supplies funded by the proc eeds from State general 1
obligation bonds; and 2

2. insurance; and 3

(viii) services for aeronautics related activities, including information 4
processing services, but excluding banking and financial services under the authority of the 5
State Treasurer under item (1) of this subsection; and 6

(C) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR THE 7
REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A CAPITAL 8
EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION. 9

12–108. 10

(a) This section does not apply to capital expenditures by the Department of 11
Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority, in connection with State roads, 12
bridges, or highways, as provided in § 12 –202 of this title , VALUED BELOW $500,000 13
$5,000,000. 14

(b) Subject to the approval of the Board and under the coordination of the 15
Governor, each of the primary procurement units shall: 16

(1) adopt regulations to carry out this Division II; 17

(2) send to the Board a copy of each proposed regulation under item ( 1) of 18
this subsection; and 19

(3) send to the Board a copy of each internal operating procedure that the 20
primary procurement unit adopts. 21

(C) AS PART OF THE REGULA TIONS REQUIRED UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF 22
THIS SECTION, THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR 23
THE REVIEW OF A CONT RACT MODIFICATION VA LUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A 24
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION. 25

12–202. 26

(a) This section does not apply to capital expenditures: 27

(1) for public school construction under Title 5, Subtitle 3 of the Education 28
Article; or 29

(2) by the Department of Transportation or the Maryland Transportation 30
Authority, in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways VALUED BELOW $500,000 31
$5,000,000. 32
HOUSE BILL 587 7

(H) THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS FOR THE 1
REVIEW OF A CONTRACT MODIFICATION VALUED ABOVE $1,000,000 FOR A CAPITAL 2
EXPENDITURE IDENTIFIED IN SUBSECTION (A)(2) OF THIS SECTION. 3

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 4
That: 5

(a) There is a Workgroup on Transportation Contract Approval Authority. 6

(b) The Workgroup consists of the following members: 7

(1) one member of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the 8
House; 9

(2) one member of the Senate of Maryland, appointed by the President of the 10
Senate; 11

(3) the Comptroller, or the Comptroller’s designee; 12

(4) the State Treasurer, or the State Treasurer’s designee; 13

(5) the Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary’s designee; 14

(6) the Secretary of Social and Economic Mobility, or the Secretary’s 15
designee; 16

(7) a representative appointed by the Maryland Association of Counties; and 17

(8) the following members appointed by the Governor: 18

(i) a representative of the engineering and design services industry; 19

(ii) a representative of the transportation construction and materials 20
industry; 21

(iii) a member of the business community who has been certified as a 22
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and as a Minority Business Enterprise; and 23

(iv) a representative of a State labor organization. 24

(c) The Governor shall designate the chair of the Workgroup. 25

(d) The Department of Transportation and the Board of Public Works shall jointly 26
provide staff for the Workgroup. 27

8 HOUSE BILL 587

(e) A member of the Workgroup: 1

(1) may not receive compensation as a member of the Workgroup; but 2

(2) is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State 3
Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. 4

(f) The Workgroup shall: 5

(1) study the existing approval authority structure for capital expenditures 6
by the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transportation Authority in 7
connection with State roads, bridges, or highways, including a review of the justifications 8
for the existing approval authority structure and whether the structure continues to provide 9
public benefit; 10

(2) study the effect of altering the approval authority structure for capital 11
expenditures by the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transporta tion 12
Authority in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways, including whether to require 13
approval of the award of new contracts and change orders for these projects by the Board of 14
Public Works process; 15

(3) study the purpose, impact, and public value of the Board of Public 16
Works’ approval process for capital expenditures by the Department of Transportation and 17
the Maryland Transportation Authority in connection with State roads, bridges, or 18
highways; 19

(4) analyze alternative options for review and approval by the Board of 20
Public Works for the award of new contracts and change orders for road, bridge, or highway 21
projects that include: 22

(i) advance notice and opportunity to review and comment on 23
upcoming contracts conducted by the Department o f Transportation or the Maryland 24
Transportation Authority, and the appropriate stage of the contract for these activities; 25

(ii) public reporting of contract and change order awards made by the 26
Department of Transportation or the Maryland Transportation Authority; or 27

(iii) appropriate thresholds for new contracts and contract change 28
orders or modifications related to capital expenditures by the Department of Transportation 29
and the Maryland Transportation Authority in connection with State roads, bri dges, or 30
highways; 31

(5) examine the impact on contract award and completion timeline; 32

(6) evaluate the effect of expanding the current delegated authority for 33
capital expenditures by the Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transportation 34
Authority in connection with State roads, bridges, or highways to contracts and change 35
HOUSE BILL 587 9

orders for maintenance and capital construction to support service on Maryland Transit 1
Administration fixed guideway systems and associated transit facilities and vehicles; and 2

(7) evaluate the impact of the existing approval authority structure and any 3
alternative approval authority structures on the ability to secure federal funding for roads, 4
bridges, or highways. 5

(g) On or before December 1, 2026, the Workgroup shal l report its findings and 6
recommendations to the Governor and, in accordance with Section 2 –1257 of the State 7
Government Article, the General Assembly. 8

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 9
June 1, 2026. It shall remain effective for a period of 1 year and 1 month and, at the end of 10
June 30, 2027, this Act, with no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be 11
abrogated and of no further force and effect. 12

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.