House approves submetering bill after questions on $1 fee and eviction language

The Maryland House of Delegates passed House Bill 220 on third reading after members raised procedural and policy questions about a $1-per-unit monthly administrative charge and the treatment of unpaid water bills in landlord-tenant law. The clerk announced the final vote as 95 in favor and 34 opposed.

A delegate from Baltimore County asked why the bill sets the administrative charge at $1 per unit per month. The floor leader replied that the provision mirrors an existing charge in state law that governs electric and gas submetering and said that is the primary reason for keeping the same amount.

The delegate also asked whether language in the bill allowing unpaid water bills to be treated in eviction proceedings remained. The floor leader and committee chair explained that a friendly floor amendment struck that eviction-related provision; it is not in the reprint because the amendment was adopted on the floor.

Members on both sides expressed concerns that, despite good intentions, the bill could have unintended effects on housing affordability. After the brief exchange, the House recorded the roll call and declared the bill passed.

The floor exchange clarified that the $1 administrative fee is consistent with existing submetering law for electric and gas meters (which the floor leader said has been on the books for about 20 years), and that eviction-related language had been removed via a floor amendment.