MD Planning Commission Project Charges: The $39M Transfer Lawsuit

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission sued Prince George’s County in June 2026 to block more than $39 million in transfers from its budget, arguing in the project charges lawsuit that state law prohibits both the commission from issuing grants and the County Council from redirecting commission funds to itself or outside recipients. The commission filed in Prince George’s County Circuit Court on June 9, 2026, asking for a declaratory judgment that the transfers are unlawful and an injunction stopping them before their July 1 effective date.¹

What Project Charges Are

Project charges are reimbursement-based contracts M-NCPPC enters with outside organizations, county agencies, and nonprofits. Because the commission is generally not authorized under Maryland law to issue grants, the payments are structured as contracts for services: recipients perform work tied to the commission’s parks, recreation, and planning mission, then invoice for reimbursement up to a cap set in M-NCPPC’s annual operating budget, which the Prince George’s County Council appropriates.²

The commission’s own Inspector General has noted that the legality and use of project charge reimbursements are not actually addressed in the Land Use Article, the state law governing M-NCPPC’s authority.³ That statutory silence sits at the heart of the current fight.

What Triggered the Lawsuit

As part of Prince George’s County’s $6 billion FY27 budget, the County Council directed the transfer of more than $39 million from M-NCPPC’s budget to fund various county programs and initiatives. The budget also imposed roughly $20 million in operating cuts, $8 million in capital cuts, and a $33 million reduction tied to construction and operation of the commission’s new Largo headquarters.⁴

The commission voted unanimously to sue. Chair Artie Harris said “reductions of this magnitude affect the services our communities rely on every day.”⁴

The Commission’s Legal Arguments

M-NCPPC’s complaint rests on two provisions of the Land Use Article. Section 18-106(c)(2) states that the County Council “may not allocate any part of the budgets allocable solely to the county” to the council itself or, unless approved before June 1, to the county government or any third party. Section 25-102 provides that “the county planning board may not make or award grants.”⁵ The commission reads the $39 million transfer as doing exactly what both provisions forbid.

The complaint also argues that taxes collected for M-NCPPC are not county funds but are earmarked by state law for parks, recreation, and planning. It points to a 1973 Maryland Supreme Court ruling, Prince George’s County v. Md.-Nat’l Cap. Park and Plan. Comm’n, which held that M-NCPPC’s departments are not county agencies and that the county cannot use local ordinances to override state law governing the commission’s budget.⁵

How the County Is Defending the Transfer

Prince George’s County says project charge agreements have been in place for more than two decades and have funded programs for Boys and Girls Clubs, senior services, and recreation across the county.¹ County spokesperson Brian Fischer said the county law office “strongly disagrees” with the commission’s reading of its governing statutes and would defend the transfers in court.

County officials have also attacked the commission’s spending priorities. County Executive Aisha Braveboy alleged M-NCPPC had sought a 99 percent increase for its director’s office budget, including a chair salary above $300,000. Council Chair Edward Burroughs criticized the commission for spending more than $100 million on a corporate headquarters while charging a local youth sports club $3,555 in field-lighting fees.⁶ Burroughs, who represents District 8 and championed the fund transfer, has framed the fight as one of equity, pointing to the Oxon Hill Boys and Girls Club’s threatened loss of its field permit over those lighting fees as evidence that M-NCPPC’s priorities are misplaced.⁷ Braveboy ultimately covered the lighting cost herself.⁸

Not every council member is comfortable with how the money moves. At-Large Councilmember Jolene Ivey, while acknowledging recreation funding processes need improvement, called the current method of transferring commission funds to the county “essentially a slush fund for the county council.”⁷

What Happened Before the Lawsuit

Earlier in 2026, the County Council had already moved more than $27 million from M-NCPPC’s accounts, prompting state lawmakers to step in. Governor Wes Moore signed a state budget provision in April 2026 barring the Prince George’s County Council from moving M-NCPPC funds to other uses outside the annual budget cycle.⁹ The legislature also amended the Land Use Article through Senate Bill 284 to reaffirm that the commission does not issue grants and to prohibit the council from directing commission funds to itself.⁵

Despite those restrictions, the council proceeded with the $39 million transfer inside its FY27 budget. The commission characterizes that move as an end-run around the new law.

Where the Case Stands

Judge Krystal Alves of the Prince George’s County Circuit Court heard arguments on the injunction request on June 17, 2026, but declined to rule from the bench, saying she would issue a decision on June 26, 2026.¹⁰ The transfer is scheduled to take effect July 1, leaving a narrow window for the court to act if it chooses to block the money from moving. The county has said it will “vigorously defend” the transfer regardless of outcome.⁶

What’s at Stake if the Transfer Goes Through

M-NCPPC has warned that the combined cuts and transfers threaten its ability to meet basic statutory obligations. According to the commission, the affected items include a 40 percent reduction to the Management Services Division, which handles help desk and permitting functions; a potential hiring freeze for career and seasonal positions; elimination of the Planning Assistance to Municipalities and Communities Program; cancellation of new master plans and studies, including updates to the county’s General Plan; and reduced funding for senior and disability services.⁴ The commission also raised concerns about threats to its AAA bond rating and said some transferred funds would create duplicative services in areas where M-NCPPC already runs programs.

The scope of the dispute is confined to Prince George’s County. M-NCPPC is a bi-county agency that also operates in Montgomery County, but the project charge program and the lawsuit over it are specific to the Prince George’s side of the commission’s work.¹¹

1
The Banner. Prince George’s County Budget Parks Planning Commission Lawsuit
2
M-NCPPC. Project Charge
3
M-NCPPC. Project Charge Program Management Advisory Report
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Prince George’s County Planning Department. M-NCPPC Raises Concerns Over Prince George’s County’s FY27 Budget
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WJLA. M-NCPPC Complaint vs. Prince George’s County
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Maryland Matters. Prince George’s County Goes on Offensive Against Park and Planning Commission
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WJLA. $39M Transfer to Prince George’s County Coffers Spurs Legal Battle
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WJLA. Boys Girls Club Oxon Hill Prince George’s Football Field Light Fees
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WJLA. Maryland Budget Puts New Restraints on Prince George’s County Leaders
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NBC Washington. Court Case M-NCPPC Prince George’s
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Maryland State Archives. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission