The state Senate passed a slightly modified version of the O'Malley administration's growth "indicators" bill today - after yanking the lone tooth the House had inserted into it.

The bill (SB276/HB295) approved by a vote of 45-2 requires counties and municipalities to report every year on various indicators of where and how development is occurring in their communities.  Gone was the House provision requiring counties to concentrate 80 percent of new construction inside designated growth areas or risk having state permits denied.  That had been stripped out late last week by the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.

The Senate version requires localities to set goals for curbing sprawl, but doesn't specify what they should be and doesn't  spell out any consequences if they fail to meet them.  The state Department of Planning, in consultation with the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, must also report annually to the governor on what the localities' reports show.

The de-fanged Senate version, which is only slightly more specific than the original O'Malley administration bill, was worked out in negotiations with administration officials and with the Maryland Association of Counties, said Dru Schmidt-Perkins, executive director of 1000 Friends of Maryland.  MACO had opposed the original bill as demanding too much too fast of local officials, but liked the tougher House bill even less.

Schmidt-Perkins, who along with other activists had successfully lobbied the House to put "accountability" in the administration's bill, indicated she was throwing in the towel - at least for this year.  The "tooth" inserted by the House was so minimal, she said, that it was unlikely to survive intact if delegates had to negotiate a compromise with the Senate.

"It is a disappointment, but I think we knew all along that this wasn't a one-year effort," she said. "We'll be back ... We are in desperate need of more efficient growth patterns in this state, and we need to look ahead to how we're going to get them."