# Maryland SB 0226: Maryland Heritage Area Authority and Heritage Areas - Alterations Maryland SB 0226, Maryland Heritage Area Authority and Heritage Areas - Alterations, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 124) (as of 2026-10-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0226-2026RS - As of: 2026-10-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maryland SB 0226 - State: Maryland - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Maryland Heritage Area Authority and Heritage Areas - Alterations - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-09-16 - Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 124 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Financial Institutions, State Government - Agencies, Offices, and Officials, Agriculture, Department of, Agriculture -see also- Agritourism; Cannabis Prd; Farm; etc., Art, Music, and Cultural Affairs -see also- EthAff; Mus; etc, Boundaries, Education, State Department of, Environmental Matters -see also- Conserv; Nat Resrce; Pollut, Grants, Historical Matters -see also- Archives; Monumts; Museum; etc, Loans -see also- Credit; Mortgages; Scholarships&SFA, Maps and Charts, Natural Resources -see also- Coal; For&Pks; Rivers; etc., Plans and Proposals, Public Officials -see also- Atty Gen; Compt; Coun Admin; etc, Voting -see also- Absentee and Mail-In Voting - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (149 yes, 30 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Simpler filing of heritage area maps: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, the Authority no longer sends boundary maps to county clerks. Maps stay on file with the Authority and are published as required. This reduces paperwork without changing any boundaries. - Stronger state support for heritage areas: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, State agencies must support certified heritage areas and work with their local management groups. Agencies coordinate tourism, planning, education, natural resources, transportation, property, and agriculture work as assigned. They follow approved management plans when pr… - More flexible grants for heritage areas: mixed, medium. Beginning October 1, 2026, the Authority can award grants and loans for planning, design, preservation, restoration, marketing, and programming in recognized or certified heritage areas. Recognized areas are eligible for grants to create management plans. The Authority sets the match and other term… - New members and quorum for Heritage Authority: mixed, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Superintendent of Schools join the Authority. One public member must have strong natural resource or climate resiliency experience. The required Greenways Commission seat is removed. Ten voting members now make a quorum, and acti… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - (none) ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-10 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 105 | 30 | 1 | | 2026-02-12 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 44 | 0 | 1 | ## Actions (15) - 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 124 - 2026-04-10: Returned Passed (Senate) - 2026-04-10: Third Reading Passed (105-30) (House) - 2026-04-08: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House) - 2026-04-08: Favorable Report by Economic Matters (House) - 2026-03-30: Hearing canceled (Government, Labor, and Elections) (House) - 2026-03-26: Hearing 4/07 at 1:00 p.m. (Government, Labor, and Elections) (House) - 2026-02-13: Referred Economic Matters Government, Labor, and Elections (House) - 2026-02-12: Third Reading Passed (44-0) (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Second Reading Passed (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Favorable Adopted (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Favorable Report by Finance (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Hearing 1/29 at 3:00 p.m. (Senate) - 2026-01-14: First Reading Finance (Senate) - 2025-09-16: Pre-filed (Senate) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_124_sb0226t.pdf) - Third Reading, 2026-02-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0226t.pdf) - First Reading, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0226f.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law) - SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law) - SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) - SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law) - SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law) - HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) ## Sources - [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_124_sb0226t.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0226t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0226f.pdf) ## Related - [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS) - [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS) - [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS) - [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS) - [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS) - [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS) - [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills) - [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0226-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).