HB 11 Maryland House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Anne Arundel County - Sheriff - Appointment of Majors

HB 11 requires Anne Arundel County's Sheriff to appoint deputy sheriffs (referred to as "majors" in the bill title) at salaries determined solely by the Anne Arundel County Council, rather than the Sheriff. This bill amends Maryland law to explicitly state that the County Council sets the salary for these deputies, while clarifying that the Sheriff may appoint a chief deputy at their discretion. The change directly affects the Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office by shifting salary authority from the Sheriff to the County Council for this specific rank of deputies. The bill takes effect October 1, 2026.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Oct 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Oct 31, 2025 Signed May 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - Anne Arundel County - Sheriff - Appointment of Majors → Enrolled - Anne Arundel County - Sheriff - Appointment of Majors · 3 edits · May 12, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized and enrolled for the Governor's signature. The most significant substantive change is in Section 2-315(c)(3), which was modified to authorize the Sheriff to appoint three majors who serve at the pleasure of the Sheriff, whereas the previous version only stated the Sheriff shall appoint three majors at a set salary. The bill also includes standard formatting updates required to convert a House bill into an enrolled bill.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Anne Arundel County and the appointment of Sheriff's Majors, but the specific conditions of service for the new majors were altered.

REQUIREMENT

Section 2-315(c)(3) was amended to explicitly state that the three appointed majors shall serve at the pleasure of the Sheriff, adding a condition regarding their tenure that was not present in the original draft.

TECHNICAL

The document was updated from a House Bill draft to an Enrolled Bill format, including the addition of proofreader lines, seal presentation details, and signature blocks for the Governor and legislative leaders.

Minor text corrections were made to the purpose section, changing 'requiring that the Sheriff... appoint' to 'requiring that authorizing the Sheriff... to appoint' to better reflect the bill's intent.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 21, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2026

How they voted

43–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 49

Mar 21, 2026

D Democratic36

30 Yea 6

83% 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

Amendments

May 12, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 567

executive

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed Enrolled

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Introduced

House Concurs Senate Amendments

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Judicial Proceedings

upper

Mar 24, 2026

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (132-0-10)

house of delegates

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Referred Judicial Proceedings

upper

Mar 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed

lower

Mar 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Favorable Report by Judiciary

lower

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

First Reading Judiciary

lower

Oct 31, 2025

Introduced

Pre-filed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors