Committee advances bill to expand local housing reporting to DHCD and notify legislature of denials

Delegate Thomas presented House Bill 356 as a data‑quality and transparency measure to improve the information available to legislators and housing policymakers. The bill would expand an existing code requirement for locality reporting to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to include changes to cash proffer schedules, density and lot coverage, and other items that affect residential land development.

A notable addition requires localities to report counts of housing units they approved and units they denied; the draft defines a project continued 12 months or more as effectively a denial to avoid loopholes created by repeated continuances. The bill also moves the DHCD reporting deadline up by one month to allow legislators more time to use the data during session.

Supporters, including the Home Builders Association and modular housing representatives, said consolidated pipeline data would help identify where lot shortages and bottlenecks occur. Committee members asked about DHCD capacity and whether there is a fiscal impact; the sponsor said the department was notified but did not submit feedback and that no fiscal impact statement was currently on file. The bill was reported by the subcommittee by a vote of 10 to 0.