Anne Arundel County Council overrides stormwater veto, seeks to cap some fees

By ALLISON BOURG abourg@capgaznews.com
 
The Anne Arundel County Council introduced emergency legislation Wednesday afternoon to modify the county’s stormwater fee — dubbed the “rain tax” by opponents — after voting 5-2 to override County Executive Laura Neuman’s veto.

The new bill, which requires five of seven votes to pass and would take effect immediately, would lower the cap for fees on commercial properties and phase in the annual fee for homeowners.

Councilman Pete Smith, D-Severn, who voted against the original bill two weeks ago, said he voted to override the veto after talking with people in the community.

“For the record, the science and data (on which the bill are based) are real,” Smith said.

The original measure, passed by the council 4-3 last month, imposes annual fees on county property owners to pay for pollution cleanup. Stormwater runoff is a major source of water pollution.

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