SB 74
Department of Legislative Services
Maryland General Assembly
2020 Session
FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
Third Reader
Senate Bill 74 (Chair, Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs
Committee)(By Request - Departmental - Environment)
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Environment and Transportation
Environment - Marine Contractors Licensing Board - Authority, Program
Evaluation, and Termination
This departmental bill (1) explicitly establishes the Marine Contractors Licensing Board as
a unit in the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE); (2) amends the definition
of “marine contractor services” to exclude specified activities located over State or private
tidal wetlands; (3) authorizes the board to establish, by regulation, separate license
categories that specify the marine contractor services that each license authorizes a licensee
to perform; and (4) subjects the board to termination pursuant to the Maryland Program
Evaluation Act (MPEA) after July 1, 2031.
Fiscal Summary
State Effect: Costs associated with any increase in board actions requiring MDE review
as a result of establishing the board as an official unit in MDE are anticipated to be
absorbable with existing resources. Revenues are not materially affected.
Local Effect: None.
Small Business Effect: MDE has determined that this bill has minimal or no impact on
small business (attached). The Department of Legislative Services (DLS) disagrees with
this assessment, as discussed below.
 Analysis
Current Law/Background:
Marine Contractors Licensing Board
Chapter 286 of 2010 established the Marine Contractors Licensing Board within MDE, but
did not explicitly establish the board as a “unit” in MDE. The board is responsible for the
licensing and regulation of individuals and entities that provide marine contractor services
in the State. The board is not subject to review or termination pursuant to MPEA.
“Marine contractor services” means construction, demolition, installation, alteration,
repair, or salvage activities located in, on, over, or under State or private tidal wetlands.
Furthermore, “marine contractor services” includes (1) dredging and filling; (2) the
construction, demolition, installation, alteration, repair, or salvage of structures, including
boathouses, boat or other personal watercraft lifts or ramps, slips, docks, floating platforms,
moorings, piers, pier access structures, pilings, wetland observation platforms,
wetland walkways, and wharfs; and (3) the construction, demolition, installation,
alteration, repair, or salvage of stabilization and erosion control measures, including
revetments, breakwaters, bulkheads, groins, jetties, stone sills, marsh establishments, and
beach nourishment or other similar projects.
Individuals, or the entities they work for, must have a license prior to performing or
soliciting marine contractor services in the State. To qualify for a license, applicants must
meet specified requirements, including having at least two years of experience as a
full-time marine contractor or demonstrating similar contractor experience, having a
federal tax identification number, passing a written marine contractor test, and having
specified insurance. Applicants must provide specified information, complete a specified
application form, and pay a license application fee set by the board. The board only issues
one license, regardless of the type of experience a contractor possesses.
Maryland Program Evaluation Act
Approximately 70 regulatory entities and activities are subject to evaluation under MPEA,
including the State Board of Waterworks and Waste Systems Operators and the State Board
of Well Drillers within MDE. Entities subject to MPEA may be evaluated by DLS only as
directed by specified entities or by legislation. Most such entities are subject to termination.
Accordingly, the evaluation process is better known as sunset review.
SB 74/ Page 2
North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners Ruling
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in N.C. Board of Dental Examiners v.
Federal Trade Commission, which held that in order to invoke state action immunity from
federal antitrust liability, a state board on which a controlling number of decision makers
are active market participants must satisfy the two-pronged test established in California
Retail Liquor Dealers Assn. v. Midcal Aluminum Inc (1) clear articulation of state policy
and (2) active supervision by the state.
Chapters 614 and 615 of 2017 addressed this Supreme Court decision by generally
requiring the Secretary of each principal department to supervise each unit of State
government within the Secretary’s jurisdiction that is composed, in whole or in part, of
individuals participating in the occupation or profession regulated by the unit in order to
(1) prevent unreasonable anticompetitive actions by the unit and (2) determine whether the
decisions and actions of the unit further a clearly articulated State policy to displace
competition in the regulated market.
MDE has three licensing boards: the State Board of Waterworks and Waste Systems
Operators; the State Board of Well Drillers; and the Marine Contractors Licensing Board.
MDE notes that clearly establishing the Marine Contractors Licensing Board as a unit in
the department ensures adequate State supervision of board actions (as required by
Chapters 614 and 615), protects the board from antitrust liability, and brings the board into
statutory alignment with MDE’s other boards.
Small Business Effect: The bill authorizes the board, by regulation, to establish
license categories that specify the marine contractor services each license authorizes a
licensee to perform. Thus, the implementing regulations may change how and whether a
licensee qualifies for a specified type of license. The fiscal impact, if any, on marine
contractors depends on the content and scope of the regulations developed pursuant to the
bill and cannot be reliably estimated at this time. A tiered licensing system and any
potential training or testing requirements established by regulations could benefit qualified
licensees, but could also result in higher costs for other licensees. Thus, for any
marine contractors that are small businesses, the bill has a potential meaningful impact.
Additional Information
Prior Introductions: None.
Designated Cross File: None.
SB 74/ Page 3
Information Source(s): Maryland Department of the Environment; Department of
Legislative Services
Fiscal Note History: First Reader - January 14, 2020
mr/lgc Third Reader - February 6, 2020
Analysis by: Kathleen P. Kennedy Direct Inquiries to:
(410) 946-5510
(301) 970-5510
SB 74/ Page 4
 ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESSES
TITLE OF BILL: Marine Contractors Licensing Board - Unit of State Government
BILL NUMBER: SB 74
PREPARED BY: Maryland Department of the Environment
PART A. ECONOMIC IMPACT RATING
This agency estimates that the proposed bill:
_X__ WILL HAVE MINIMAL OR NO ECONOMIC IMPACT ON MARYLAND SMALL
BUSINESS
OR
WILL HAVE MEANINGFUL ECONOMIC IMPACT ON MARYLAND SMALL
BUSINESSES
PART B. ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
SB 74/ Page 5


Statutes affected:
Text - First - Environment - Marine Contractors Licensing Board - Authority, Program Evaluation, and Termination: 8-403 State Government, 1-406 Environment, 17-101 Environment, 17-201 Environment, 17-305 Environment, 17-401 Environment, 17-501 Environment
Text - Third - Environment - Marine Contractors Licensing Board - Authority, Program Evaluation, and Termination: 8-403 State Government, 1-406 Environment, 17-101 Environment, 17-201 Environment, 17-305 Environment, 17-401 Environment, 17-501 Environment