A pet housing bill of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s administration has shed its skin with just days left in the 90-day legislative session, giving a new, less-ambitious proposal a chance at passage.

Once called the Housing for Jobs Act, the original bill would have prevented local governments from arbitrarily spiking or stalling development projects. The new bill, called the Housing Development Act, would instead authorize the state Department of Housing and Community Development to set housing production targets throughout Maryland and assign some regulations around the homebuilding process.

Del. Robbyn Lewis said during a floor session last week that the rewritten bill aims to “strengthen and support” housing production in every jurisdiction without taking powers away from local governments. Maryland lacks at least 96,000 homes, according to state estimates, which has helped drive up costs of homebuilding and rent.

Maryland voters have told pollsters that housing affordability has become so severe that it requires government intervention. Opinion polls show that housing has eclipsed other priorities, such as crime and the economy, as residents’ top concern.

While the Housing for Jobs Act sought to standardize the development process by limiting how much sway communities and local governments could wield over new construction, the Housing Development Act takes a markedly different approach.

If it passes, it would require the state housing agency to post housing targets on its website and publish an annual report assessing the progress. It would also assemble a commission to study and make recommendations for the state and local governments to help them meet their marks, and it would require real estate developments to abide by certain laws.

The bill does not mention any sanctions for jurisdictions that don’t meet recommendations.

Lewis, the state delegate who has voiced support for more government intervention in the housing economy this session, said the bill acknowledges that each jurisdiction would have its own targets — set by the state housing agency — and therefore its own course of action and remedies.

“Every place is different and has different needs,” said Lewis, a Baltimore Democrat.

According to the revised draft, the production targets would be based on several factors, including employment demand and population growth. And once a development project wins approval, it would have the “vested right” to that project for at least five years to safeguard it from economic or political upheaval.

At the same time, if a development lapses after five years without activity, the bill could not prevent its expiration, the amended draft states. It also would permit local governments to intervene in a project if there were immediate threats to a community’s health and safety.

During the Friday floor action, Del. Jesse Pippy, a Frederick County Republican, voiced some opposition to the measure, saying that some jurisdictions — such as his own — had “too much” housing already. Republican Del. Robin L. Grammer Jr. asked to delay a vote to give delegates more time to review the revised bill.

On Tuesday, the Housing Development Act passed the House on a 104-15 margin. It has moved to the Senate.

Maryland Housing Secretary Jake Day said that the modified version still adheres to same, basic principle as its predecessor: More housing supply will help bring costs down.

“It will move the ball down the field,” he said of the amended legislation. “Anything we can do is a positive.”