Maryland Bills

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 845: Income Tax - Individual Income Tax Credit Eligibility Awareness Campaign

This Maryland law requires the Comptroller to run a campaign helping individuals find out if they qualify for certain personal income tax credits. The Comptroller will identify people who might be eligible but have not yet claimed these credits, potentially by sharing data with other state agencies to locate them. To fund this effort, the Governor must include $300,000 in the state budget for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. The Comptroller will also report to the General Assembly every two years on how many people claimed credits as a result of the campaign.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 315: Regulated Firearms - Maryland Judiciary - Reporting Requirements

This Maryland bill changes how the Department of State Police reports data on specific firearm violations, moving the responsibility from the State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy to the Governor and the General Assembly. The law requires the department to submit annual reports by October 1 detailing the number of charges, convictions, and sentences for violations of two specific firearm statutes. These reports must include detailed statistics broken down by jurisdiction, race, and gender to provide a clearer picture of enforcement patterns. The changes take effect on June 1, 2024, and apply to data collected on or after that date.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 1009: Public Health – Federally Qualified Health Centers Grant Program – Recovery of Funding

This bill updates Maryland's rules for recovering funds from the Federally Qualified Health Centers Grant Program when a funded property is sold or stops operating as a health center. It reduces the time limit for the state to reclaim money from 30 years to 15 years for most properties, while keeping a 30-year limit for buildings owned directly by the health center. The change also clarifies that the state cannot recover funds if a leased property is sold more than 15 years after the project was finished. These adjustments apply to counties, cities, and nonprofit organizations that received grants for building, renovating, or equipping health centers.

signed · Maryland · Senate May 16, 2024

SB 1120: University System of Maryland – Academic Facilities Bonding Authority

This bill authorizes the University System of Maryland to issue up to $30 million in bonds to fund specific infrastructure and facility renewal projects. The funds will be used for campus-wide building system improvements at the University of Maryland, College Park, and for general upgrades to existing facilities across the university system. The legislation clarifies that these bonds are a debt only of the university system, not the state of Maryland, and they do not pledge the state's credit. The act becomes effective on June 1, 2024.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 127: Public Health - Nonoccupational Postexposure Prophylaxis (nPEP) Standing Order Program - Establishment

This Maryland bill establishes a program that allows licensed pharmacists and healthcare providers to prescribe and dispense HIV post-exposure prophylaxis medication without a traditional doctor's prescription. Under the new rules, these professionals can provide the medication to individuals who have had a potential HIV exposure within the last 72 hours, following specific screening steps and Centers for Disease Control guidelines. The Maryland Department of Health will manage the program, set training standards for participants, and collect fees to cover administrative costs unless the patient is a rape victim. Additionally, the bill ensures that patients receive referrals to specialists for ongoing care and lists of primary care providers if they do not already have one.

signed · Maryland · Senate May 16, 2024

SB 13: Public Health - Maryland Pediatric Cancer Fund and Commission

This bill modifies the Maryland Pediatric Cancer Fund to restrict its use exclusively for pediatric cancer research, removing previous provisions that allowed funding for prevention and treatment. It also establishes a new Pediatric Cancer Research Commission to oversee the awarding of competitive grants from the fund to eligible medical and research entities in the state. The Commission is composed of a mix of health officials, scientists from major universities, physicians, and representatives from cancer organizations and patient families, with strict rules regarding conflicts of interest and term limits. Additionally, the law mandates an annual report to the General Assembly detailing how the fund is administered and how promotional efforts are conducted.

signed · Maryland · Senate May 16, 2024

SB 675: Individual Tax Preparers - Code of Ethics, Notification of Actions, Enforcement, and Penalties (Stop Scam Tax Preparers Act)

This bill establishes a formal code of ethics and rules of professional conduct for individual tax preparers in Maryland, which the State Board must publish by January 1, 2026. It strengthens enforcement by requiring the Board to notify the Comptroller and the Field Enforcement Bureau within five business days of any violations or disciplinary actions taken against a preparer. The legislation also grants Bureau employees peace officer powers specifically for enforcing income tax preparation laws and mandates that fines collected under the act be directed to a fund supporting tax clinics for low-income residents.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 501: Charter Counties - Enforcement of Local Laws

HB 501 increases the maximum fines that charter counties in Maryland can impose to enforce their local laws. Under this bill, counties can now levy civil or criminal fines of up to $5,000 per violation, up from the previous limit of $1,000, and may also impose jail sentences of up to six months for criminal offenses. The law specifically allows counties to enforce ordinances, resolutions, bylaws, and regulations related to fair housing, employment discrimination, and public accommodations. These changes take effect on October 1, 2024, giving local governments greater financial tools to ensure compliance with their own rules.

signed · Maryland · Senate May 16, 2024

SB 36: Correctional Services - Investigation of Suspected Homicide - Reporting

This bill establishes the Maryland Deaths in Custody Oversight Board within the Governor's Office to investigate and review every death of an incarcerated person in the state. The board will be composed of formerly incarcerated citizens, family members of incarcerated individuals, justice reform advocates, and medical professionals who will conduct administrative and clinical reviews of each death. These reviews will examine facility conditions, staff responses, medical care quality, and mental health support, with findings and recommendations published online within 37 days of a death. Additionally, the board will create compliance plans for any facilities found to have violated laws or regulations and will report its findings to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the families of the deceased.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 1229: Public Health - Kratom Consumer Protection Act

This Maryland law regulates the sale of kratom products by requiring retailers to clearly label the factual basis for any health claims and prohibiting the sale of contaminated or adulterated items. The bill sets specific limits on alkaloid content, bans the sale of synthetic derivatives, and restricts sales to individuals under the age of 21. It also forbids advertising kratom as having therapeutic benefits and prohibits marketing materials that appeal to minors, such as cartoons or images of people appearing under 27. Retailers who violate these rules face civil penalties, fines, or misdemeanor charges, while the state health department is tasked with reporting adverse health events related to kratom use.

signed · Maryland · House of Delegates May 16, 2024

HB 887: Maryland Department of Health - Health Commissions and Maryland Insurance Administration - Study

This bill directs the Maryland Department of Health to hire an independent consultant to study four state health and insurance agencies: the Health Services Cost Review Commission, the Maryland Health Care Commission, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission, and the Maryland Insurance Administration. The consultant will examine overlaps in their duties, suggest ways to streamline operations, and analyze how their functions align with state healthcare models. The study must include input from the agencies themselves and conclude with a report to the Governor and relevant legislative committees by January 1, 2026.

signed · Maryland · Senate May 16, 2024

SB 361: Creation of a State Debt - Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2024, and the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loans of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023

This bill authorizes the state of Maryland to create a new consolidated capital bond loan of approximately $1.79 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, while also updating the terms for similar loans issued between 2015 and 2023. The funds generated from these loans will be used to finance state building projects, renovations, equipment purchases, and grants to local subdivisions for development, provided that recipients meet specific matching fund requirements. To pay for this debt, the legislation imposes a tax on all assessable property within the state and includes administrative rules to ensure projects are completed by set deadlines. Additionally, the bill allows for the transfer of unused funds from previous years to new projects and clarifies how bond proceeds can be utilized for various capital improvements.

Bill results