Md. Senate Votes To End State-Mandated Stormwater Fees

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- The Maryland Senate has passed a measure to end state-mandated stormwater management fees.

The vote was 46-0 Friday, sending the bill to the House.

Nine counties and the city of Baltimore pay the fees, which critics call the "rain tax."

The bill would not require counties to charge a fee to meet federal stormwater requirements to clean up pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. But they would have to show they can meet the requirements.

Gov. Larry Hogan had proposed his own repeal of the fees, but the bill was defeated by House and Senate committees. The Republican governor has said he's not concerned whose name is on the bill, just so long as the fees are no longer mandated by the state.

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