SB 93 Maryland Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Annotated Code - Terminology - Clergy and Churches, Faith Institutions, and Places of Worship

SB 93 updates Maryland law to replace gendered and narrow terms like "clergyman" with "member of the clergy" and "churches" with "faith institutions and places of worship" across multiple legal sections. It specifically revises terminology in laws covering alcohol permits, cemetery ownership, professional services, retirement communities, and religious corporations. The bill affects how Maryland statutes reference religious entities, ensuring consistent language that better reflects diverse faith groups. This is a terminology update only, not a change to religious rights or policies. The bill passed all legislative readings in early 2026.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Aug 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Aug 1, 2025 Last action Feb 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Annotated Code - Terminology - Clergy and Churches, Faith Institutions, and Places of Worship → Third - Annotated Code - Terminology - Clergy and Churches, Faith Institutions, and Places of Worship · 3 edits

MINOR

SB 93 has progressed from a pre-filed bill to an adopted Senate bill with a favorable committee report. The bill's scope has been significantly reorganized, with sections on repealing and reenacting various Maryland Annotated Code articles shuffled in a different order than the original version. Additionally, specific language regarding 'protected building' definitions for faith institutions in the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis article has been modified to clarify the terminology.

Scope change

The bill's scope of repealed and reenacted statutes has been reordered; the sequence of articles affected (Corporations, Courts, Criminal Law, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Family Law, Health, Labor, Natural Resources, Public Safety, Real Property, State Government, Tax, and Transportation) has been rearranged compared to the original version.

TECHNICAL

The order of sections repealing and reenacting various Maryland Annotated Code articles was rearranged, changing the sequence in which different legal articles are addressed.

New procedural information was added indicating the bill has a favorable committee report and was adopted by the Senate on February 3, 2026.

DEFINITION

In the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis article, the definition of 'protected building' was modified to change the text from 'a [church or other] place of worship' to 'a [church] event HELD BY A FAITH INSTITUTION' in a related subsection, altering how faith institutions are referenced in licensing contexts.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 5, 2026

How they voted

38–8

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 49

Feb 5, 2026

D Democratic36

34 Yea 2

94% Yea

R Republican13

4 Yea 8 Nay 1

61% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

Referred Rules and Executive Nominations

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable Adopted

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Committee

First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Aug 1, 2025

Introduced

Pre-filed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors