HB 466 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Health Equality for Service Members Act

HB 466, the "Health Equality for Service Members Act," expands eligibility for Maryland's health, housing, and occupation programs to include members of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as "veterans" under state law. The bill revises definitions to clarify that "uniformed services" encompasses all such branches - not just the armed forces - and requires health, housing, and licensing laws to apply uniformly to all covered service members. This directly affects Public Health Service and NOAA personnel who previously lacked access to state programs designed for veterans. The law modifies specific sections of Maryland’s health, housing, and occupation codes to ensure consistent coverage across all uniformed services.

Sub-Topics: Public Health

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Jan 20, 2025 Signed May 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Health Equality for Service Members Act → Third - Health Equality for Service Members Act · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to add multiple sponsors and include a committee report indicating favorable action with amendments. The text was reorganized to consolidate provisions under the Health and Government Operations committee, removing references to Housing and Community Development and State Government articles while adding new sections to the Health Occupations article. These changes reflect a streamlined legislative structure focusing on health-related provisions for service members.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing references to Housing and Community Development and State Government articles, while expanding the Health Occupations article to include additional sections.

TECHNICAL

Added multiple sponsors to the bill, including Delegates Alston, Bagnall, Bhandari, Chisholm, Cullison, Guzzone, Hill, Hutchinson, S. Johnson, Kaiser, Kerr, Lopez, Martinez, M. Morgan, Pena-Melnyk, Reilly, Rosenberg, Ross, Szeliga, Taveras, White Holland, Woods, and Woorman.

Added committee report indicating favorable action with amendments and house action adopted status.

SCOPE

Removed provisions related to Housing and Community Development and State Government articles from the bill's scope.

Reorganized the bill to focus primarily on Health and Health Occupations articles, consolidating provisions under the Health and Government Operations committee.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 16, 2025 · House of Delegates Feb 28, 2025

How they voted

45–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 46

Mar 16, 2025

D Democratic33

32 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican13

13 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 6, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 259

executive

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Returned Passed

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Adopted

upper

Mar 31, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable Report by Finance

upper

Mar 16, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (45-0-1)

senate

Mar 12, 2025

Committee

Referred Finance Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 10, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Health and Government Operations

lower

Feb 28, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (136-0-4)

house of delegates

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

First Reading Health and Government Operations

lower

23 primary · 0 co-sponsors