SB 578 Maryland Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Business Regulation - Home Improvement Guaranty Fund - Alterations

SB 578 modifies Maryland's Home Improvement Guaranty Fund rules to allow claimants to recover attorney fees from the Fund, up to the amount of their actual loss. It requires courts or arbitrators to explicitly state the "actual loss" value in final judgments or awards for claims to be processed. This affects homeowners who need to claim against contractors for unworkmanlike home improvements and the Maryland Home Improvement Commission that administers the Fund. The bill amends sections 8-405(e)(4) and 8-409(a) of the Maryland Annotated Code to clarify these requirements.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 24, 2025 Last action Mar 18, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Business Regulation - Home Improvement Guaranty Fund - Alterations → Third - Business Regulation - Home Improvement Guaranty Fund - Alterations · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill moved from first reading to third reading with favorable amendments, adding committee approval and adoption dates. The substantive text shows reorganization of sections with minor formatting changes but no major policy shifts in funding amounts, eligibility criteria, or enforcement mechanisms.

TIMELINE

Added committee report status showing favorable approval with amendments, Senate adoption, and second reading date of February 11, 2025

TECHNICAL

Reorganized section numbering and formatting with explanatory notes about capitalization, brackets, and underlining conventions

Minor text reordering in § 8-409 regarding Commission payment conditions with slight wording adjustments for clarity

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2025

How they voted

45–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 46

Feb 13, 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

Feb 28, 2025

Committee

Referred Economic Matters

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Feb 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (45-0-1)

senate

Jan 24, 2025

Committee

First Reading Finance

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors