State
General Assembly
A report of all bills followed by AOBA during the 2009 General Assembly session can be found here.
The following bills passed during the 2009 Maryland Legislative Session go into effect October 1, 2009.
SB 625 Maryland Building Performance Standards - Energy Conservation and Efficiency
Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to adopt the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and to consider changes to the International Building Code (IBC) to enhance energy conservation and efficiency before adopting a subsequent version of the Maryland Building Performance Standard (MBPS). DHCD may adopt energy conservation requirements that are more stringent than in the IECC. Local governments must implement and enforce the most current MBPS and any modifications thereto, within 120 days of State adoption. The bill also authorizes a local jurisdiction to adopt a local amendment to MBPS as long as the amendment does not weaken any energy conservation and efficiency provisions in MBPS.
The IBC has been adopted by all 50 states. The IECC residential building code is compliant with the federal Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA), and has been adopted in 36 states, including Maryland. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, a commercial building code, is compliant with ECPA and has also been adopted in 36 states, including Maryland. Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 condition receipt of federal funds from State Energy Program grants on adoption of the 2009 version of the IECC and other building code standards, as well as compliance with other building efficiency provisions by 2017. The final version of the bill addressed several of the concerns raised by AOBA, including the time frame for adoption and implementation, and the percentage of energy savings required.
SB 159 Crossfiled with: HB 99 Commercial Real Property - Action to Abate Drug Nuisance - Prior Notice Requirement
Alters the notification requirements concerning specified drug- related nuisances on commercial real property. The original bill eliminated all notice to commercial properties in all jurisdictions. In response to opposition, the bill was amended. The bill as passed reduces the number of days of notice that must be given to the tenant and owner of record of commercial property before an action to abate a drug nuisance may be filed from 45 days to 30 days except in Baltimore City, the prior notice period is shortened to 15 days.
HB 1532 State Fire Marshal - Fire Sprinkler Contractor - Licensing
Requires any person, business, or contractor who provides services as a fire sprinkler contractor in the State to be licensed by the State Fire Marshal. Under current law, a subcontractor of a licensee can perform such work.
SB 670 Crossfiled with: HB 393 Discrimination in Employment - Expansion of Disability Rights
Expands the definition of disability for provisions of law relating to employment discrimination. Under the bill, “disability” includes a record of having a physical or mental impairment or being regarded as having a physical or mental impairment. The bill prohibits an employer from failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation for the known disability of an otherwise qualified employee; however, an employer is not required to make reasonable accommodations for an employee’s disability if the accommodation would cause undue hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business. The bill prohibits an employer or labor organization from retaliation against any employee, applicant, or member who has opposed any prohibited employment practice or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing relating to a discrimination charge.
SB 408 Crossfiled with: HB 1547 Environment - Water Pollution Control - Incentives and Penalties
Increases from $1,000 to $5,000 the maximum penalty for a violation of any of the water pollution laws in Title 9 of the Environment Article.
SB 364 Crossfiled with: HB 544 Real Property - Mechanic's Lien - Certified Interior Design Services
Establishes that work done for or about a building, for purposes of establishing a mechanic's lien, includes specified interior design services provided by a certified interior designer.
SB 507 Crossfiled with HB 370 Maryland Locksmiths Act
Requires that persons providing locksmith services to be licensed by July 1, 2010. Establishes application and licensing procedures (including criminal background checks and photo identification) for locksmiths. The bill was amended at AOBA’s request to exempt employees of a property owner or management company.
HB 1452 Waiver of Examination Requirements - Stationary Engineers, Plumbers, Gas Fitters, and Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors
Exempts individuals licensed as stationary engineers; plumbers; gas fitters; and heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) contractors in specified jurisdictions outside the State from the State’s licensing examinations in those trades, if these individuals have relocated to the State because of a family member’s reassignment due to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The request for a waiver must be made before July 1, 2012.
HB 420 Environment - Limitation of Actions - Political Subdivisions
Extends the three-year Statute of Limitations in place for the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) on civil suits for violations under the Environment Article to local governments. Thus, a local government must institute an action for which it has authority under the Environmental Article within three years from the date that it knew or should have known of the violation.
SB 47 Crossfiled with HB 1078 Environment - Permit Applications - Notice Requirements
Requires notification by mail to specified record residential property owners of specified permit applications under specified circumstances; requiring the notice to contain specified information; requiring permit applicants to pay the cost of the notice; and authorizing the Department of the Environment to require the permit applicant to publish and send specified notices.
HB 53 Human Relations - Substantive Modifications
Repeals obsolete provisions of law relating to discrimination and the Maryland Commission on Human Relations (MCHR), adds specified classes of people against whom various types of discrimination is prohibited, alters the definition of “disability” in the housing discrimination subtitle, and clarifies certain procedures relating to the filing and appealing of discrimination claims.
HB 54 Human Relations - Civil Actions - Unlawful Employment Practices
Clarifies that certain provisions of law relating to civil actions elected or filed by certain complainants apply only to unlawful employment practices and not to all discriminatory acts.
State Budget
During the Board of Public Works hearing on August 26, the Governor set forth the most recent round of state budget cuts necessitated by state revenues continuing to lag below estimates. The proposed cuts, just two months into the fiscal year, cover: (1) cuts to state agencies; (2) cuts to local aid; and (3) employee furloughs and layoffs. The Governor attributes the revenue shortfalls to the economic recession, and stated that the fiscal year 2011 budget may face a $1 billion deficit if the economy does not rebound. However, Warren Deschenaux, the legislature’s chief fiscal advisor, noted that less than $150 million of the budget cuts approved by the Board of Public Works last month will carry over to future fiscal years, leaving a much higher projected budget gap of $1.5 to $2 billion annually thereafter.
Agency reductions include $21 million in Medicaid cuts, $12 million in cuts to the cigarette restitution fund, and $36 million in cuts to higher education. The cuts will capture a shutdown of non-essential government services during the November and December holiday period. Reductions to local aid include $20.1 million in local health cuts, $20.6 million in cuts to police, $10.5 million in cuts to community colleges, and $159.5 in highway user fund cuts. State employees will be furloughed between three days and five days, based on established income brackets. Finally, 364 employee positions will be abolished, of which 159 are vacant positions.
The proposed cuts, coupled with the fiscal year 2010 cuts authorized by the Board of Public Works in July, total $736 million. Additional cuts are still anticipated, but may be in the Governor’s proposed budget due out in January. The briefing papers may be seen here:
Analysis of Fiscal 2010 Budget Reductions Approved by BPW on July 22, 2009
Overview of Changes to Local Government Revenues and State Aid
Application Fees in Maryland – Heads-Up
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is responsible for the investigation and enforcement of consumer complaints, including those involving housing provider and tenant issues. During a recent meeting with enforcement staff attorneys at the OAG, it was stated that the most recurring complaint it receives involves issues surrounding application fees. If members have any questions about application fees, they should be discussed with your counsel. The information below, taken directly from the AOG’s web-site under Landlords and Tenants: Tips on Avoiding Disputes and aimed at tenants, is offered solely as guidance and is not legal advice:
If a landlord rents five or more units at one location, the lease application must explain what your obligations and rights are if an application fee is taken. An application fee is any fee other than a security deposit paid to a landlord before a lease is signed. You should never sign a lease until your application has been accepted. Landlords use application fees to cover the costs of processing an application, such as running a credit check. A landlord is entitled to keep an application fee of $25 or less. If the fee is more than $25, the landlord must refund any amount that was not actually used to process your application. The excess amount must be returned to you within 15 days after you’ve moved in or after you or the landlord has given written notification that the rental won’t take place. If the landlord withholds more than $25 of an application fee from you, you should ask the landlord to provide a written explanation of exactly what expenses were incurred, and what the cost of each item was. If you are not satisfied with the explanation, you may want to pursue the matter further. If, at the time you fill out an application, a landlord asks for money to hold an apartment, it may not be clear to you that you are being asked for a security deposit. It is not wise to pay a security deposit until your application has been accepted and you are signing a lease. Before you pay any money, you should confirm with the landlord whether it will be refunded if you decide not to rent or if the landlord decides not to rent to you. Ask the landlord to write that information on a receipt. This could save you from having to fight to get the money refunded later.
The entire Landlord and Tenant pamphlet is available in PDF format:
http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/landlords.htm.
Montgomery County
Fire Alarm Audibility Issues
Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service (MCFRS), during recent routine inspections, has been testing alarm audibility. The results of some of the audibility tests show that alarms in some multifamily buildings do not meet the standards in the current code (NFPA 72, 2002 Ed.) Several AOBA members have received Notices of Violation (NOV) ordering that the property’s alarm systems be brought up to current code requirements. AOBA strenuously disagrees with this position. AOBA met with Fire Chief Bowers and several other fire officials to discuss and obtain clarification of the Department’s position regarding applicability of current NFPA 72 to existing buildings, and to discuss the violation and corrective order process.
With regard to the NOV process, MCFRS advises that a NOV is issued to the property stating that the violation must be corrected within 30 days or, alternatively, that an appeal may be noted within 10 days of the order to correct. AOBA pointed out that the types of violations and requested corrective actions in the NOVs for audibility cannot be accomplished within these time frames. MCFRS stated its awareness of the tremendous financial and physical burden of these corrective orders, and that it strongly suggests that property owners call the MCFRS to schedule a meeting to discuss and negotiate a “fire protection agreement.” AOBA pointed out, however, that there is nothing in writing about this alternative, either on the face of an NOV or anywhere else that the general public has been made aware of, nor are any verbal instructions routinely given to the owner about it at the time of citation. AOBA suggested that MCFRS provide the property owner a separate handout or statement, at the time of NOV issuance, providing an explanation of the process, including that such a request acts to suspend an NOV, and can stay both the corrective order and the appeal period as long as timely and productive discussions are occurring between MCFRS and building owners. MCFRS agreed to do so in the future.
It is AOBA’s position that NFPA 72 does not require existing buildings to comply with the audibility standards in the current code but, instead, holds them to the standard in the code at the time of the construction of the building. NFPA 72, Chapter 10 does, however, apply to the inspection, testing, and maintenance of audibility systems of both new and existing buildings. There is no disagreement that this is the intended application of NFPA 72. The sticking point is whether MCFRS, as the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), will attempt to backdoor upgrading or replacing audibility systems by declaring that, where a building fails to meet the current code’s audibility standards, it is an “inimical hazard” and, thus, must be brought up to the current code’s standards.
AOBA strongly argued that essentially branding every building which fails to meet the current code’s audibility standards as an inimical hazard is an abuse of the AHJ’s power. Invoking its power to make such a declaration hazard requires a review of each building and consideration of possible compliance alternatives. The intent of the inimical hazard language in the code is meant to provide the AHJ an extraordinary power to be reserved for use in extraordinary situations, rather than in a wholesale declaration affecting scores of existing buildings.
As a result of AOBA’s meeting, MCFRS issued the following statement to clarify its position on use of its extraordinary power to declare a building an inimical hazard, and on the NOV process:
In many cases, older buildings will have difficulty meeting applicable code requirements because of design flaws at time of construction, natural degradation of the systems or lack of adequate record-keeping. When a building fails to meet the applicable code requirements, the Fire Marshal will issue a Notice of Violation. This is NOT a citation. It is the legal notice that there is a problem and that the building owner or manager needs to repair or replace the system in question. The historical standard for compliance is 30 days and the Fire Marshal inspecting your building is not authorized to provide a longer time frame for compliance.
When you receive a Notice of Violation for a major building system that will require considerable effort to bring into compliance, your first step should be to call (240) 777-2457 and ask to speak to Battalion Chief Mike Hamilton about a fire protection agreement. The typical first meeting discusses the deficiencies that lead to the Notice of Violation, outlines the fire protection agreement process and establishes expectations for all parties.
The Office of the Fire Marshal uses fire protection agreements to bring buildings into compliance while considering the cost and difficulty to the building owner. This process also allows the Office of the Fire Marshal to consider each building as a unique situation and tailor solutions to that building rather than issuing an industry-wide compliance order. Once the process for reaching a fire protection agreement has begun, the 30-day time line for compliance is held in abeyance. When the final fire protection agreement is signed by all parties, the building is considered to be in compliance for the system(s) in question.
Michael A. Donahue, MS, CFPS
Assistant Chief / Deputy Fire Marshal
Office of the Fire Marshal
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service
AOBA members are advised to expect that audibility testing and issuance of NOVs are likely to be a regular feature of MCFRS inspections in the future. Now that we have gotten MCFS to explicitly inform property owners about this new means of proposing compliance alternatives, members are urged to utilize it where they feel it is appropriate and beneficial. All members who do so in the future are asked to contact Lesa Hoover at AOBA and inform her, as well, so that we can monitor how consistently and uniformly the Department implements this important policy and procedure.
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