5 Bills Signed by Wes Moore That Will Impact Housing and AI Development in Maryland

On Tuesday, Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed over 270 bills into law. With public scrutiny focused on bills related to crime and immigration, several bills that expand government to address housing shortages and integrate AI into public education have flown under the radar. Here are five examples.

Maryland faces a housing shortage of about 100,000 units. To keep pace with its growing population, the state would need an additional 590,186 units by 2045, according to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. At first glance, the Maryland Housing Certainty Act appears to be a fix to the issue by targeting one of the main barriers to housing construction: ever-changing regulations that increase uncertainty for developers.

It’s a high bar, considering Maryland is the sixth most regulated state for housing development, with construction costs 27 percent higher than the national average. Previously, housing projects were subject to changes in local regulations, even with prior approval. 

The act freezes local zoning laws and land use policies for housing developments, allowing only regulations applicable “at the time of submission” to be considered for project approval. The law also prohibits the collection of development impact fees and excise taxes until after a project is complete, smartly reducing the front-loaded costs of new construction and reducing a barrier to market entry for smaller developers.

Unfortunately, the bill ostensibly undermines its efforts at deregulation by doubling down on local jurisdictions’ ability to “require approvals or permits for each phase of a housing development project.” 

Maryland approved roughly 3,500 fewer permits in 2025 than the previous year—despite admissions from its housing department that the state’s current permitting structure only increases “housing cost burdens,” causing residents to “leave the state to find housing.” 

Instead of cutting regulations that prolong the completion of housing projects, the act merely trades one layer of government control for another.

In the Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act, lawmakers rightly recognize that density restrictions and parking requirements are common regulatory tactics used to prevent the construction of new housing. 

The act designates housing projects centered around public transit areas as “enterprise zones,” subsidizing their development with property and income tax credits. It also includes prohibitions on land-use restrictions for publicly owned land. It prevents local jurisdictions from imposing “off-street parking requirements” on development projects within a quarter mile of a public transportation hub. 

Still, the bill makes clear that none of its provisions should be seen as limiting a local jurisdiction’s authority to deny projects based on “environmental or natural resources concerns,” “public health and safety considerations,” or “adequate public facilities ordinances,” meaning developments can still be denied if the government deems it lacks local infrastructure like schools, roads, water, sewer, and EMS. Meanwhile, the use of tax credits equates to the government picking winners and losers based on location and artificially propping up housing developments that might otherwise fail. 

Any Maryland landlord that “manages or owns five or more residential rental units” is now prohibited from requiring their prospective tenants to submit to drug or alcohol tests until a conditional offer is made. Landlords in the state are also barred from “requesting or requiring” prospective tenants to consent to the release of information about drug prevention or treatment programs. Under the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act, if a landlord checks the criminal history of one prospective tenant, he “must do so for every prospective tenant.”

Rental leases are voluntary agreements. The bill unnecessarily usurps the judgment of private landowners for the government’s. Red tape, such as the bills’ mandatory assessments and reassessments, can translate to real dollars in the form of lawyer fees or lost income while the unit sits vacant. At the same time, the $500-per-violation fine creates a potential money pit for property owners who might unwittingly run afoul of the new regulations.

When it comes to AI, Maryland policies and governance are crafted to “first do no harm.” For lawmakers, that inevitably translates to more regulation. 

The Artificial Intelligence Ready Schools Act creates statewide AI guidance and governance structures for K-12 schools. This includes a requirement that the Maryland State Department of Education provide “local school systems, educators, parents, and students” with guidance on which AI tools are acceptable for use, and a rubric for scoring AI tools used by educators. 

The bill creates a slew of new administrative burdens for schools, including designating AI coordinators, new reporting requirements, guidance systems, training programs, and procurement structures—adding to the administrative layer cake that already devours Maryland’s school funding.

Maryland’s push to regulate AI includes establishing an Artificial Intelligence Partnership with the state’s university system. While the bill aims to support AI innovation and integration in the state’s public institutions, it does so by creating a new regulatory office complete with a director, partnership hubs, subcabinets, fellowships, annual reports, and planning structures.

Prioritizing government-backed innovation hubs over a decentralized approach where the market rewards entrepreneurship is another way for lawmakers to steer resources, such as capital and labor, toward favored projects. Mandating that technology development aligns with the government’s way of thinking is a surefire way to slow innovation in a rapidly growing industry like AI.

Maryland’s road to growth starts with deregulation. Unfortunately, the state will continue to take one step forward and two steps back until lawmakers curb their appetite to feed the administrative state.