HB 1168 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission – Service Charges MC/PG 112–25

HB 1168 allows the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) to establish different customer classes for water and sewer service rates, directly affecting property owners and businesses within the WSSC service area. The bill amends Maryland law to require that rates within each class must be uniform across the entire district and permits minimum charges to include an infrastructure investment component. Key provisions include defining "class" by meter size, enabling seasonal surcharges (e.g., summer water conservation fees), and giving WSSC flexibility to base minimum charges on factors like meter size or other criteria set through regulations. The changes take effect July 1, 2025.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 6, 2025 Last action Apr 1, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission – Service Charges MC/PG 112–25 → Third - Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission – Service Charges MC/PG 112–25 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Maryland's Public Utilities Article to give the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission authority to create customer classes for minimum or ready-to-serve charges, moving away from a strict meter-size-based system. The change aims to correct inequities where residential customers with larger meters (required for sprinkler systems) pay disproportionately high charges compared to other residential customers with the same meter size.

Scope change

The bill expands the Commission's authority to establish rates by customer class rather than solely by meter size, allowing for more equitable cost recovery across different customer types within the same meter category.

ELIGIBILITY

Added authority for the Commission to establish customer classes for minimum or ready-to-serve charges, allowing rates to vary by customer type rather than just meter size.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the basis for minimum or ready-to-serve charges to allow them to be based on criteria other than meter size, determined through Commission regulations.

Added new WHEREAS clauses explaining the inequity faced by residential customers with 1.5-inch meters required by fire code sprinkler systems, who currently pay nearly seven times the ready-to-serve charge of other residential customers.

DEFINITION

Modified the definition of 'class' to include customer classes beyond just meter size, enabling the Commission to create classes based on customer type (residential, commercial, industrial) within the same meter size.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 9, 2025

How they voted

134–2

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 139

Mar 9, 2025

D Democratic100

97 Yea 1 Nay 2

97% Yea

R Republican39

37 Yea 1 Nay 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Environment and Transportation

lower

Mar 9, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (134-2-3)

house of delegates

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

First Reading Environment and Transportation

lower

0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors