HB 1443 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Local Government - Hiring and Promotion Preferences for Veterans and Spouses of Service Members and Veterans (Families Serve Act)

HB 1443 allows Maryland counties and municipalities to create local laws granting hiring and promotion preferences to eligible veterans and specific family members. It authorizes a 10-point credit on selection tests for veterans, spouses of veterans with service-connected disabilities, spouses of active service members, and surviving spouses of veterans. The bill specifies that current government employees and veterans convicted of crimes after military service are excluded from these preferences. Local governments must adopt a formal local law before implementing these hiring or promotion options.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Feb 7, 2025 Signed May 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Local Government - Hiring and Promotion Preferences for Veterans and Spouses of Service Members and Veterans (Families Serve Act) → Third - Local Government - Hiring and Promotion Preferences for Veterans and Spouses of Service Members and Veterans (Families Serve Act) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add a new sponsor (Delegate Guyton) and include a committee report indicating favorable passage with amendments. The substantive legal text includes technical corrections to section references and volume citations, while also modifying how local governments must implement hiring preferences for veterans and their spouses.

Scope change

The bill's scope was modified to add a new sponsor and include committee approval status, while the legal provisions were adjusted to clarify implementation requirements for local governments.

TECHNICAL

Added Delegate Guyton as a new sponsor to the bill

Added committee report showing favorable action with amendments and house adoption status

Updated Annotated Code of Maryland volume references from 2013 to 2016 Replacement Volume

Removed duplicate or conflicting section references and formatting inconsistencies

REQUIREMENT

Changed language regarding county/municipal adoption of local laws from mandatory to optional ('shall' to 'may') for implementing hiring preferences

Added clarification that local laws must clarify application of special credits under Section 1-205 if necessary

Floor votes · House of Delegates Mar 7, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 6, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 273

executive

Apr 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Returned Passed

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed

upper

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Report by Finance

upper

Mar 17, 2025

Committee

Referred Finance

upper

Mar 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Environment and Transportation

lower

Mar 7, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (134-0-5)

house of delegates

Feb 7, 2025

Committee

First Reading Environment and Transportation

lower

10 primary · 0 co-sponsors