Some Bills Make Progress In Md General Assembly

The deadlines for introducing bills have passed and close to 3,000 bills have been introduced in the General Assembly. 

Most bills are still in the process of having hearings in front of their respective committees or being discussed by the committee members.  Bills have to be voted on by one of the two legislative chambers by March 23^rd to have a chance of passing the other chamber and going to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

 

This year is unusual in a few important bills have already made progress. 

 

The big news is that the Non-Cooperation with ICE Agents: SB245/HB 444 has already passed the General Assembly and is going to the Governor for his signature.  It’s the first bill to pass by the General Assembly and because it is an ‘emergency’ bill, it will go in as soon as Governor Moore signs it. 

 

Some of the other bills that have passed one of the two chambers:

 

Re-Districting: HB 488 adopts the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory recommendation.  It would make the 1st Congressional District now held by Republican Andy Harris more competitive.  –  Passed the House. It is opposed by the Senate President so its future is in doubt.  Referred to the Senate Rules Committee

 

Utility Cost Recovery Limitations – HB1 would prohibit investor-owned gas and electric companies from paying many employee bonuses with ratepayer dollars, and it would restrict the use of rates for supervisor compensation that exceeds $210,00 a year.  Passed the House of Delegates and Referred to the Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee

 

Removal of Face Masks from ICE Agents: SB1 would prohibit face coverings on law enforcement officials working in the state, including ICE agents who are typically masked. SB 1 passed the Senate and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee

 

Voting Rights Bill – SB 255 would prohibit a municipality or county from attempting to block a protected class from electing their candidate of choice or influencing a local election by diluting the group’s vote. Passed the Senate and referred to the House Government, Labor and Elections Committee.

 

Special Elections to Fill Vacancies: SB 5 Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4-year session.  Passed Senate and referred to House Committee on Government, Labor and Elections

 

 You can find out the status of every bill by going to the Maryland General Assembly website and putting in the bill number in the search box:  mgaleg.maryland.gov

 

Here are some new bills that were introduced since my last newsletter.   

 

Democracy 

Violation of Constitutional Rights (No Kings Act) HB332 Lets people in Maryland sue in civil court if a federal agent violates their constitutional rights. Committee: House Judiciary Hearing Date: 24-Feb

 

Clean Maryland Democracy Amendment HB584 Constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal voting rights, banning foreign donations, and directing the creation of a Maryland Voting Rights Act. Committee: House Government, Labor, and Elections Hearing Date: Hearing Held

 

Environment

Climate Crimes Accountability Act HB572: Authorizes investigations and actions against entities whose unlawful conduct contributes to climate change and creates the Climate Crimes Accountability Fund.  House Judiciary Hearing Date: Hearing Held

 

Gun Control

Machine Gun Convertible Pistols Ban SBn334 Bans the manufacture, sale, purchase, or transfer of pistols that can be converted into machine guns Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Hearing Held

 

Health

Hospital Licensure – Nonprofit Ownership HB 599 Requires any hospital licensed on or after October 1, 2026, to be a nonprofit organization, and restricts future ownership transfers to for-profit entities. House Health Committee – Hearing Held

 

Tax on Social Media Giants – HB 468 -   tax on social media giants like Meta and TikTok to fund children's mental health services statewide. The proposed legislation targets companies with over one million monthly users or $500 million in annual revenue, directing tax proceeds into a dedicated fund for youth mental health programs. Referred to House Ways and Means Committee. 

 

Immigration

Limitations on Stops, Detentions and Arrests Near a Judicial Facility HB 309 Prohibits stops, detentions, or arrests for certain civil offenses in or within one mile of a judicial facility when someone is attending official proceedings. House Judiciary Committee Hearing Held

 

Immigration Detention Facilities – HB 630 Prohibits operating an immigration detention facility in any building that wasn’t originally designed and constructed for detaining people, like warehouses for example. Committee: House Judiciary Committee Hearing Date: 17-Feb

 

Labor

 

Worksite Enforcement Act of 2026 – HB 516: Directs the Maryland Department of Labor to establish clear procedures for receiving and investigating workplace complaints and requires hiring regional investigators. Committee: House Government, Labor, and Elections Hearing Date: 10-Feb

 

Renters

 

Local Good Cause Eviction SB 462 Allows counties to adopt local “good cause” protections so landlords can’t refuse to renew leases or end holdover tenancies without a legitimate reason. Committee: Senate Judicial Proceedings Hearing Date: 12-Feb

Environment

 

Revenue

 

Tax Package That Would Decouple MD from Trump Tax Breaks So MD Wouldn’t Lose Tax Revenue

 

HB 801  Eliminates the "qualified small business stock" deduction, which allows wealthy venture capitalists and others to receive a 100 percent tax exemption when they cash out their early-stage investments in companies that have soared in value. Additional background from ITEP

 

HB 880 - Decoupling from additional expanded and accelerated deductions for certain business expenses and interest payments

 

HB 1080 - Decouples from a provision providing lower effective corporate tax rate for profits from the sale abroad of goods and services embodying intangible assets (like patents and brands) developed and held in the U.S. Also prevents the state from designating additional Opportunity Zones, which are used to provide tax breaks to developers.

 

HB 926  - decoupling from the new higher cap on the state and local tax deduction. Allowing the cap to increase would only benefit people who own very expensive property. Additional background from ITEP

 

HB 930 - Decoupling from education-related changes that benefit private schools, including prohibiting the governor from joining the new federal voucher program  

 

Social Justice

 

Cheltenhem Veterans Center – HB 552 calls for an investigation of property near the Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery in Prince George’s County that may hold unmarked graves of youth from the former House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children. Referred to House Committee of Government, Labor and Elections.

 

Youth Charging Reform Act – SB323/HB 409 - raises the age at which a juvenile would be tried as an adult for certain crimes, from 14 to 16. Referred to House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.  Hearings Held

Utilities

Broadband Accountability and Affordability Act HB 1037/SB605 – Allows the state to regulate broadband.  At this time the Public Service Commission can only regulate the old copper wire lines but no one uses those lines anymore so there is no regulation on phone and internet service.  This bill would change that.  Referred to House Environment and Transportation Committee – Hearing March 3; Senate Finance Committee – Hearing Feb 26.

 

 

Here is the status of bills that I have previously reported on.

 

Consumer Protection

The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Predatory Pricing Act – SB 387  Senate Finance Committee – Hearing Held

 

Criminal Justice

Protection of Identity of Victim of Sexual Assault or Stalking SB 294/HB 450  Senate Judicial Proceedings; House Judiciary Committee – Hearings Held

 

Environment

Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program – SB 345/HB 331 - would create a beverage container deposit program in Maryland with a 10- or 15-cent refundable deposit on metal, glass, and plastic beverage containers, depending on container size. Hearings Held

Housing

Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act – SB 389/HB 894 - aims to accelerate transit-oriented development (TOD) by rezoning 300+ acres of state-owned land, eliminating parking minimums near transit, and encouraging mixed-use, affordable housing projects to increase ridership and housing supply. Hearing Held

 

Starter and Silver Homes Act – SB 36 This legislation, requested by the Governor, aims to restrict local zoning authority regarding lot sizes, setbacks, and design elements to encourage more affordable housing. Hearings Held

Labor

Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors and graduate students at the University of Maryland: HB 106 & HB 141/SB 6 & SB 84: House Committee on Government Labor and Elections – Feb 10; Senate Finance Committee:  Hearing Held

 

Arbitration Reform for State Employees HB604/SB 28: proposes to reform collective bargaining for state employees by introducing binding arbitration to resolve impasses. House Government, Labor and Elections; Senate Budget and Taxation Hearing Feb 18

 

Renters

Discrimination in Housing - Income-Based Housing Subsidies – HB 315/SB 335 – This bill would prohibit a landlord may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant who pays rent with the assistance of an income-based housing subsidy.  House Economic Matters: Senate Judicial Proceedings: Hearings Held 

 

Transportation

Required Crew for Movement of Freight - SB 156 establishes minimum crew requirements for freight rail operations, strengthening safety standards and protecting railroad workers and the communities rail lines run through. Senate Finance Committee: Hearing Held

 

 

HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS

When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact.

members of the Committee. The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information. Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite) and click on the Committees tab.

Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found. Here is where you can find out who your Delegates and Senator are:

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District .

 

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.

 

Dear (legislator),

My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you.

know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders. I

would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get.

passed quickly.

 

Over 1,000 Bills Introduced in First Two Weeks of the 2026 General Assembly Session

 

Jimmy Tarlau	11:46 AM (3 hours ago)
to Jimmy, bcc: me

The 2026 General Assembly is 18 days into its 90 day session.

The  General Assembly Session goes through 5 phases.

 

1.      Introduction of Bills: In phase one (Jan 14 – Feb 12), Delegates and Senators introduce legislation.  So far about 1,100 bills have been introduced.  Usually there are about 3,000 introduced in both the Senate and House of Delegates.  The deadline for introducing bills is Feb 9^th for the Senate and Feb 13^th for the House.  After that date, bills have to go to the Rules Committee and need special permission to be released

2.      Committee Hearings: (Jan 20 – Mar 10) Every bill has to be heard by one of the standing committees and some of the bills get voted on by the full Senate and House.

3.      Rush to Cross-over: (March 3-March 17) For a bill to be voted on in a timely manner by the other chamber, it has to pass out of one of the two chambers by cross-over day.  Cross-over day is March 17^th.

4.      Hearings by the Other Chamber: (March 17 – March 31) Each bill that passes one of the two houses has to have a hearing by the other chamber

5.      Rush to Sine Die.  (April 1- April 13) This is the last day of the General Assembly.  This year it will be on April 13^th Every bill has to be passed by the two houses with exactly the same wording.  After it passes the General Assembly, the bill goes to the Governor for signature or his veto.  Overrides of vetoes usually take place at the beginning of the next year’s session but because there will be a new General Assembly elected in November, the new legislature cannot vote to override a veto.

 

There is a lot of important legislation being discussed in Annapolis.  You can look at all the bills on the General Assembly web-sites:

 

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/senate  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/house

 

I have chosen in this newsletter to focus on a dozen bills. Over the last few years, I have been working with the Maryland Legislative Coalition ( https://mdlegislative.com ).  We regularly review the bills that have been introduced and then let people know about them and how they can advocate for them.  I often will be copying their material rather than rewriting what’s already been done. If there is a bill or issue you want to know about, please email me.

 

Consumer Protection

The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Predatory Pricing Act – SB 387 - Corporations use “surveillance pricing” to charge certain consumers more based on factors such as their purchase histories. They also use electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to change the price of items in store in real time. This legislation will prohibit the use of ESLs and surveillance pricing and requires the use of analog shelf pricing in any retail establishment larger than 10,000 sq ft (ex. grocery stores). Senate Finance Committee – Feb 12^th

Criminal Justice

Protection of Identity of Victim of Sexual Assault or Stalking SB 294/HB 450 aims to protect the privacy of sexual assault or stalking victims by prohibiting courts and parties in criminal or juvenile cases from disclosing identifying information in records to nonparties. It requires the redaction of such information unless specific exceptions are met.  Senate Judicial Proceedings: Feb 5; House Judiciary Committee Feb 10

Elections

Re-Districting: HB 488 adopts the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory recommendation.  It would make the 1^st Congressional District now held by Republican Andy Harris more competitive. This is in response to Republican led redistricting efforts in other states throughout the country.  It the House this week. The Senate President is opposing the bill so if you support redistricting, you should contact your local Senator and ask him/her to support the bill.

 

Special Elections to Fill Vacancies: SB 5/HB 50 Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4-year session. Senate Education, Energy and the Environment – Hearing Held, House Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment: Hearing Feb 4

 

Environment

Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program – SB 345/HB 331 - would create a beverage container deposit program in Maryland with a 10- or 15-cent refundable deposit on metal, glass, and plastic beverage containers, depending on container size. The deposit is refunded to the customer when the beverage container is.

returned for recycling. The program would rely on reverse vending machines and other new technologies for convenient container redemption to achieve at least a 90% recovery rate. Senate Education, Energy and Environment: Feb 10; House Environment and Transportation: Feb 11

Housing

Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act – SB 3892 - aims to accelerate transit-oriented development (TOD) by rezoning 300+ acres of state-owned land, eliminating parking minimums near transit, and encouraging mixed-use, affordable housing projects to increase ridership and housing supply. Senate Finance Committee: Feb 12th

 

Starter and Silver Homes Act – SB 36 This legislation, requested by the Governor, aims to restrict local zoning authority regarding lot sizes, setbacks, and design elements to encourage more affordable housing. Senate Education Energy and Environment Committee Feb 17; House Economic Matters Committee: Feb 12

 

Immigration

Non-Cooperation with ICE Agents:  SB245/HB 288:  These bills would prohibit the State, a unit of local government, a county sheriff, or any agency, officer, employee, or agent of the State or a unit of local government from entering into an immigration enforcement agreement; and requiring the termination of an existing immigration enforcement agreement on or before July 1, 2026.  The Senate Bill was voted out of Committee and should be voted on by the full Senate this week.  The House Bill had a hearing on the bill this week.  You can write to your Senators and Delegates to support this legislation.

 

Removal of Face Masks from ICE Agents: SB1/HB155 would prohibit face coverings on law enforcement officials working in the state, including ICE agents who are typically masked. The bill would ban items such as a balaclava, ski mask or neck gaiter for officers on duty. Exceptions would be made for officers “actively engaged in an undercover operation,” someone wearing a motorcycle helmet, a garment worn for religious purposes or when health-related matters are involved. SB 1 was voted out by Committee.  HB 155 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

 

 

Labor

Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors and graduate students at the University of Maryland: HB 106 & HB 141/SB 6 & SB 84: House Committee on Government Labor and Elections – Feb 10; Senate Finance Committee:  Feb 5

 

              One of my neighbors asked me to send out a special request:

 

“I’m Dan Greene, lifelong Marylander, professor at UMD, and Vice President of United Academics of Maryland AAUP-AFT—the union for all faculty. VP JD Vance said, “The professors are the enemy,” and he’s followed through on this threat by deporting our students, slashing our funding, and policing our teaching and research. Can you write some testimony to the state legislature, telling them we deserve to collectively bargain contracts that will keep us safe when we’re under attack?

 

“So many of us are alums, employees, or parents connected to the University System of Maryland—from UMD to Towson to Morgan State. But did you know that academic workers are the only state employees still forbidden from signing a union contract? Especially for the majority of workers on semester-to-semester contracts, this keeps them from building relationships with students (if they even have an office to do so from) and exploring politically sensitive topics like climate change and environmental racism. This year, the statehouse is once again considering giving all 27,000 of us the right to collectively bargain with bill SB006/HB106, but we need your help to do it. 

 

“If you could please take five minutes to fill out this form and tell the legislature you support union rights for University faculty, it would do a lot to show we have the public behind us. Do mention your connection to the system if you have one, and talk about why well-paid, secure faculties are essential for our state's economy and democracy. Don’t worry about the bill number or addressing particular senators—we will package and bulk-submit testimony from members and supporters across the state.” 

 

Arbitration Reform for State Employees HB604/SB 28: proposes to reform collective bargaining for state employees by introducing binding arbitration to resolve impasses. It mandates that the Governor fund negotiated or arbitrated contracts in the annual budget and requires a 2026 ballot referendum for a constitutional amendment to authorize this mandatory spending. House Government, Labor and Elections; Senate Budget and Taxation.

 

Renters

Discrimination in Housing - Income-Based Housing Subsidies – HB 315/SB 335 – This bill would prohibit a landlord may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant who pays rent with the assistance of an income-based housing subsidy.  House Economic Matters: Feb 5, Senate Judicial Proceedings: Feb 10. 

 

Transportation

Required Crew for Movement of Freight - SB 156 establishes minimum crew requirements for freight rail operations, strengthening safety standards and protecting railroad workers and the communities rail lines run through. Senate Finance Committee: Feb 4^th

 

Utilities

Utility Cost Recovery Limitations – HB1 would prohibit investor-owned gas and electric companies from paying many employee bonuses with ratepayer dollars, and it would restrict the use of rates for supervisor compensation that exceeds 110% of the maximum salary of a Maryland Public Service Commission member. Commissioners on the PSC, which regulates utilities in the state, earn $191,900 a year.  House Environment and Transportation Committee – Hearing Held

 

HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS

When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact.

members of the Committee. The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information. Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite) and click on the Committees tab.

Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found. Here is where you can find out who your Delegates and Senator are:

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District .

 

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.

 

Dear (legislator),

My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you.

know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders. I

would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get.

passed quickly.

 

Maryland General Assembly Starts Its 2026 Session

 The Maryland General Assembly opened its 448^th Session on Wednesday, January 14^th .  The session lasts 90 days ending on April 13^th.  All bills introduced have to be signed by the House of Delegates and the Senate with exactly the same wording before they can be sent to the Governor for his signature.   As of the first day over 500 bills have already been introduced.  You can see all the bills that have been introduced on the House and Senate links:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/house https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/senate

              The big news this year is the election of a new Speaker of the House of Delegates, Joseline Pena-Melnyk.  After she was elected, she made a lot of new appointments.  The biggest structural change is Peña-Melnyk’s decision to split the House Health and Government Operations Committee  into a  Health Committee and a separate standing committee on Labor, Elections and Government. Here are the new Committee Chairpersons:

Appropriations Committee – Ben Barnes (D-Prince Georges and Anne Arundel)

Economic Matters  - Del. Kriselda Valderrama (D-Prince George’s

Environment and Transportation  - Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery)

Judiciary Committee – Sandy Bartlett (D- Anne Arundel)

Labor, Elections and Government Committee  -Del. Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City) 

Health Committee  -Del. Heather Bagnall (D-Anne Arundel)

Rules Committee, Dels. Anne Healey (D – Prince George’s)

Ways and Means – Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D – Montgomery)

 

There are a number of important issues that the General Assembly hopes to address in its 90-day session.  Top of the list is how to respond to the Trump Administration Federal Action.  I’ll be discussing some of those in the upcoming weeks as we review specific legislation but here are some of the big issues:

o   Budget Deficit

§  The State is facing a $1.4 billion deficit, and the Legislative leadership is not inclined to vote for any tax increases in a budget year, so it will be interesting to see how they manage the deficit without cutting needed programs. 

o   Redistricting will be discussed this year.

§  Some Democrats want to push for a new map that would reduce the Republican Congressional Reps from 1 to 0 in response to Republican redistricting plans in other states.  The Governor and Speaker support some version of redistricting, but the Senate President is against it.  We’ll see.

o   Immigration:

§   There will be legislation to eliminate 287(g) Partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE that make it easier for authorities to arrest and deport people that officials say are in the country illegally. Eight Maryland counties currently participate in such collaborative agreements.

§  Another bill would forbid ICE agents from wearing face masks that shield their identity.

o   Health Care

§  A bill to enable the State Health Secretary to recommend vaccines.

§  Legislation to help the 140,000 Marylanders who may lose Medicaid coverage because of new work and redetermination requirements passed in Trump’s tax legislation.

o   Affordability

§  Governor Moore will support legislation to lower housing costs by clearing the way for transit-oriented development on state-owned land.

§   Moore also will support legislation to go after corporate grocery stores artificially raising prices, a practice known as dynamic pricing.

o   Environmental Issues

§  Bottle Recycling Bill

o   Elections

§  Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4 year session

o   Renters Rights

§  Good Cause Evictions

o   Labor Issues

§  Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors and graduate students at the University of Maryland

§  Binding arbitration for Maryland state workers.  

The Maryland Legislative Coalition has produced a more comprehensive agenda that includes many of the bills that advocates will be supporting. You can see the whole list with this link: https://mdlegislative.com/legislation/legislative-agenda

 

HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS

 

When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact members of the Committee.  The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information.  Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite ) and click on the Committees tab.

 

Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found.   Here is where you can find out who are your Delegates and Senator:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District .

 

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.

 

Dear (legislator),

My name is _________ and my address is ______________.  I am writing to let you know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders.  I would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get passed quickly. 

Each of these bills is important for Maryland and I support them and would like your help in getting them passed.  If you are not on the relevant committee, I would appreciate your voting for them during the session.  If you are on the relevant committee, I hope you will fight for them and support the sponsors as much as possible.

Thank you for your consideration,

(name)