BMC has a rich history as a resource for the Baltimore region. In 1956, the Maryland Department of Planning created the Baltimore Regional Planning Council (RPC). Two years later, the RPC emerged as a separate state agency. Then in 1989, the name of the organization changed to Baltimore Regional Council of Governments (BRCOG) to reflect the RPC’s resolve to serve as the voice of local government.
In 1992, the Maryland General Assembly dissolved BRCOG and created BMC as a private nonprofit organization of the region’s elected executives, to meet the need for a smaller, more efficient organization. Twenty-two years later, the Maryland General Assembly revised BMC’s charter to include additional regional coordination in housing and workforce development. Finally, Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law an expansion of BMC’s membership in April 2017, and Queen Anne’s County officially joined BMC in October 2017.
BMC is an invaluable link between federal funds and regulations, state and regional decision-makers, transportation planning entities, project and initiative stakeholders and the public. The forum and resources BMC provides allows for thoughtful regional planning efforts of short- and long-term projects.