Realtors report on Md. legislation

By Lauren Bunting Contributing Writer

(May 12, 2023) Realtors issue a report each year on the Maryland Legislative session to summarize what will affect the real estate industry. Below are a few of the items from the report that have passed and have been approved by the governor:

• HB 11 (SB 483) Private Well Safety Act of 2023: Requiring the Department of the Environment to adopt regulations by Dec. 31, 2026, to identify additional standards for water quality testing; requiring the department, subject to certain funding and in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, to utilize an online portal to receive and upload certain information and to provide public access to the information; requiring the Department of the Environment to consistently share the information collected with the Maryland Department of Health and local health departments; etc.

• HB 23 (SB 746) Mobile and Manufactured Homes - Relocation Plans and Sales of Commu- nities (Manufactured Housing Modernization Act of 2023): Altering requirements relating to relocation plans for mobile home parks to require a plan for park residents who will be dislocated as a result of the change in land use; requiring the owner, 60 days prior to entering into a contract to sell the community, to provide notice of the terms of the offer to homeowners in the community and provide them the opportunity to purchase the housing community; requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to list certain agencies to assist homeowners with the purchase of a community; etc.

• HB 36 (SB 100) Real Property - Actions to RepossessProof of Rental Licensure:

Requiring, in certain actions to repossess residential rental property, a landlord to submit to the clerk of the court evidence of compliance with local rental property licensure requirements and demonstrate that the landlord is compliant with the licensure requirements.

— Lauren Bunting is the Broker of Record for Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City.

Gaming revenues up for April

(May 12, 2023) Maryland’s six casinos combined to generate $174,742,218 in revenue from slot machines and table games this April.

It was the sixth-best single-month gaming revenue total in the history of Maryland’s casino program and represented an increase of more than $3.99 million (2.3 percent) compared to April 2022.

However, Oceans Downs did not contribute to that revenue stream, as the Berlin casino reported a 3.7 percent decrease from the same time last year.

Total state gaming contributions to the state last month totaled more than $72.37 million, an increase of $522,884 (0.7 percent) compared to last year.

Contributions to the Education Trust Fund in April 2023 were more than $52.62 million an increase of

See OCEAN Page 52

Worcester names Matt Laick deputy director within R&P

(May 12, 2023) The Worcester County Commissioners have promoted Matt Laick to deputy director within Development Review and Permitting.

Laick stepped into his new role on May 1.

“Matt is a welcome addition to the leadership team,” DRP Director Jennifer Keener said in a news release.

“He has an extensive background in project management, which will be an asset to Worcester County, as we move forward with various projects, such as the comprehensive plan.”

Laick, who joined DRP as the geographic information systems analyst III in 2021, brings 23 years of management and local government experience to the position.

He previously served as the 911/GIS coordinator for the Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security where he was responsible for coordinating GIS data across all the 911 centers in the state, as well as managing any special projects.

He also served as the director of the Mapping and Addressing Department for Sussex County where he was responsible for parcel mapping as well as a readdressing project for the entire

See LAICK Page 53