HB 784 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

Baltimore City - Alcoholic Beverages Licenses - Alterations

HB 784 requires businesses seeking new alcoholic beverage licenses or license transfers in Baltimore City's 46th Alcoholic Beverages District to first obtain a written agreement (memorandum of understanding) with a local community association within the district. It also extends expiration dates for specific licenses at designated locations (like O'Donnell Street, Eastern Avenue, and Boston Street) to allow time for ownership transfers or location changes. The bill directly affects bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments in the 46th district seeking to open, move, or transfer licenses. Key provisions include the community association agreement requirement and temporary extensions for certain licenses through 2028.
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 29, 2025 Signed May 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - Baltimore City - 46th Alcoholic Beverages District - Licenses Enrolled - Baltimore City - Alcoholic Beverages Licenses - Alterations · 5 edits · May 20, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was finalized as an Enrolled Bill and moved from a specific focus on the 46th Alcoholic Beverages District to a broader scope covering all alcoholic beverage licenses in Baltimore City. Key substantive changes include expanding the requirement for a Memorandum of Understanding with community associations to apply to any license holder near places of worship or schools, rather than just those in the 46th District. Additionally, the bill added a new definition for 'restaurant' requiring a 40% food sales threshold and created a waiver process for this requirement in specific bounded areas. The bill also repealed several temporary extensions for specific licenses that were previously enacted in 2024.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from applying only to the 46th Alcoholic Beverages District to applying to all alcoholic beverage licenses in Baltimore City.
ELIGIBILITY

The requirement for a Memorandum of Understanding with a community association now applies to any license holder within 300 feet of a place of worship or school, regardless of district.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'restaurant' was added, requiring establishments to have food sales of at least 40% of total receipts.

REQUIREMENT

A new waiver process was created allowing the Board to exempt specific restaurants in defined bounded areas from the 40% food sales requirement.

TIMELINE

Temporary license extensions for specific addresses in the 2800 block of O'Donnell Street, 1600 block of Eastern Avenue, and 3500 block of Boston Street were repealed.

SCOPE

The bill title and purpose were updated to reflect the expansion from the 46th District to the entire city.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 19, 2025 · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

How they voted

420
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 46
Mar 19, 2025
D Democratic33
29 Yea 4
87% Yea
R Republican13
13 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
16
Key actions
11
Committee
6
Amendments
1
May 20, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 813
executive
Apr 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed Enrolled
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Introduced
House Concurs Senate Amendments
lower
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Third Reading Passed
upper
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
upper
Apr 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance
upper
Mar 24, 2025
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (136-0-3)
house of delegates
Mar 19, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (42-0-4)
senate
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
Referred Finance
upper
Mar 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
lower
Mar 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable Report by Economic Matters
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Committee
First Reading Economic Matters
lower
3 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors