Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed two executive orders Thursday aimed at addressing the state’s housing shortage by accelerating housing construction and reforming permitting, licensing and certification processes.
The “Housing Innovation” executive order creates a Maryland Housing Innovation Incubator to develop and test new housing policies. It also launches an initiative to expand modular housing in Maryland through updated regulations, statewide pre-approved building plans and technical assistance for local governments.
The order also establishes a Modular Workforce Partnership to develop training programs and create additional opportunities for on-the-job training in housing construction.
A second executive order creates the Governor’s Permitting and Licensing Acceleration Team, known as PLAT, which will work to identify and reduce unnecessary delays in state permitting, licensing and certification. The team will initially focus on multifamily housing and other priority development projects.
The orders build on Moore’s 2025 “Housing Starts Here” initiative, which the administration says has helped reduce multifamily housing application review times by 26% and Maryland Department of the Environment permit processing times by an average of 25%.
