Sign Up
HB 1523 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Howard County - Room Rental Tax - Maximum Rate and Distribution Ho. Co. 18-25

HB 1523 increases Howard County’s maximum room rental tax rate for transient accommodations (like hotels) from 7% to 8%. It directly affects short-term lodging businesses in Howard County and specifies how tax revenue is distributed: for rates between 5-7%, 2/3 goes to the Howard County Tourism Council and 1/3 to the Economic Development Authority; for rates above 7%, 100% goes to the Tourism Council. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, and amends existing county tax code provisions without changing the underlying tax base or collection process.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesBill increases Howard County's room rental tax rate (7%→8%) and allocates 100% of revenue above 7% to Tourism Council, directly funding public services and economic development through tax revenue.95% confidence
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 20, 2025 Last action Mar 24, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Howard County - Room Rental Tax - Maximum Rate and Distribution Ho. Co. 18-25 → Third - Howard County - Room Rental Tax - Maximum Rate and Distribution Ho. Co. 18-25 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill progressed from first to third reading, gaining committee approval and adoption. The substantive text of the bill itself remained unchanged, with the primary differences being procedural updates reflecting the bill's legislative journey and formatting adjustments to the document header.
TIMELINE

Added procedural milestones including re-referral to Ways and Means committee on February 25, 2025, committee report marked as favorable, and House adoption on March 5, 2025.

TECHNICAL

Changed document header from 'A BILL ENTITLED' to 'CHAPTER ______' and updated bill tracking number formatting, reflecting standard legislative formatting changes between readings.

Added signature lines for Governor, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate at the end of the document, which are standard for bills ready for final approval.

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 9, 2025

How they voted

118–18
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 139
Mar 9, 2025
D Democratic100
98 Yea 2
98% Yea
R Republican39
20 Yea 18 Nay 1
51% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
4
Committee
5
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
Referred Budget and Taxation
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable Report by Ways and Means
lower
Mar 9, 2025
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (118-18-3)
house of delegates
Mar 3, 2025
Committee
Rereferred to Ways and Means
lower
Feb 20, 2025
Committee
First Reading House Rules and Executive Nominations
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.