SB 679 requires Maryland nursing homes to spend at least 75% of their nursing and residential care revenue on direct care staff wages and benefits (including nurses, dietary, therapy, and social workers). It mandates that nursing homes submit annual cost reports by September 1 each year (starting in 2026) to the Maryland Department of Health, including proof of wage payments and other required details. The reports must be signed under penalty of perjury, and failure to comply or submit inaccurate reports could lead to enforcement actions like recouping funds or suspending the facility from state programs. This bill directly affects all nursing homes in Maryland that receive state funding, aiming to increase transparency around staffing costs.
SB 757, the Genetic Testing Protection Act, prohibits Maryland life, long-term care, and disability insurance companies from using genetic test results or an applicant's decision to undergo genetic testing to deny coverage, increase premiums, cancel policies, or change terms. It directly affects insurance carriers and policyholders seeking these insurance types by banning discrimination based on genetic information. The law allows insurers to review medical records and consider diagnoses (even if based on genetic tests) but forbids them from using genetic test results themselves to make coverage decisions. It also prevents insurers from requiring policyholders to avoid genetic testing to maintain coverage. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025.
SB 394 prohibits individuals from intentionally concealing a death by failing to report it to emergency services or law enforcement, cutting up or destroying human remains, or burying/disposing of a dead body. It directly affects people who attempt to hide a death, such as in cases of homicide or accidental death. The bill adds these actions as felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison, with sentences served consecutively to other related crimes. The law aims to prevent the obstruction of death investigations by requiring timely reporting and prohibiting the alteration or disposal of remains.
SB 569 allows Anne Arundel County public schools to operate without early dismissal days for certain schools, provided they meet the state's minimum 1,080-hour school year requirement. The bill amends Maryland's education code to grant the Anne Arundel County Board of Education specific scheduling flexibility, exempting them from standard school-day scheduling rules under this provision. This change directly affects Anne Arundel County schools that choose to adopt this scheduling model, eliminating early dismissal days while maintaining the required instructional hours. The policy does not alter funding or the 180-day requirement, focusing solely on scheduling structure.
SB 216 updates Maryland's nursing loan repayment program by renaming it the "Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program for Nurses" (removing "and Nursing Support Staff" from the name). It modifies education requirements for nursing licensure, removes a requirement for the State Board of Nursing to approve training sites within a specific timeframe, and extends deadlines for several existing provisions. The bill specifically extends the termination date for the State Board of Nursing's authority under the Maryland Program Evaluation Act (Sunset Law) and prolongs tax credit expiration dates for nursing preceptorship programs. These changes primarily affect registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other qualifying nursing professionals who participate in the loan repayment program.
SB 671 requires Maryland's Office of Cemetery Oversight to study the environmental and public health impacts of deathcare practices, in collaboration with health, labor, and environmental agencies. The study will examine nine specific practices - including traditional burials, cremation, water cremation, and green burial - to assess their effects on land use, soil/water quality, air pollution, worker safety, costs, and equity. It will also review permitting processes and collect data through site visits, stakeholder input, and comparisons with other states. The study will produce an interim report by December 2025 and a final report by July 2026, which may inform future policy recommendations but does not enact new regulations.
SB 541 allows veterans' organizations and eligible fraternal organizations (like nonprofit groups with 300+ members) to operate up to five instant lottery machines at their main meeting location in most Maryland counties, with restrictions in nine specific counties. It changes revenue distribution: veterans' groups keep 50% of sales after costs, while fraternal groups send all proceeds to the state for allocation. The bill removes the prior requirement that veterans' groups must purchase or lease machines. This directly affects how these organizations raise funds through lottery machines statewide.
This bill requires licensed hospitals in Maryland to create clinical staffing committees with equal representation from management and employees, including frontline staff such as nurses, patient care technicians, and dietary workers. These committees must develop staffing plans that specify the number of healthcare workers needed on each unit during each shift based on patient volume and acuity levels, with guidelines ideally based on national evidence-based standards. Hospitals must review and update their staffing plans annually by July 1, implement them by January 1, 2026, and publicly post both the plan and daily staffing numbers on patient units and their websites. The bill also establishes a complaint process allowing nurses and other frontline staff to report when staffing assignments do not meet the plan, with committees required to resolve these complaints through a majority vote. State hospitals are exempt from these requirements.
HB 61 requires Maryland public schools to include underground infrastructure in new construction or major renovation projects involving parking lots, starting after December 31, 2025. This infrastructure must be designed to support future installation of solar canopies over parking areas. The bill directly affects all public school projects that include parking lot construction or renovation after the 2025 deadline. It does not mandate solar canopies themselves but ensures the necessary underground systems are built in advance. The law takes effect July 1, 2025.
HB 1556 delays Maryland's implementation of the Advanced Clean Trucks Program until a required needs assessment and deployment plan is published. It prohibits the Department of the Environment from enforcing penalties against motor vehicle manufacturers for failing to meet 2027 and 2028 model year requirements under California's Advanced Clean Trucks regulations, unless manufacturers representing 40% of the state's market share agree to enforcement terms. The bill extends the deadline for publishing the needs assessment to December 1, 2025 (with implementation starting in 2028 if met) or 2026 (starting in 2029 if missed). This directly affects vehicle manufacturers and the state agency responsible for environmental regulations.
HB 911 allows landlords to charge a security deposit of up to two months' rent if a tenant operates a family child care home (caring for up to eight children) on the property. It prohibits landlords from unreasonably restricting or banning such homes in single- or multifamily rentals (excluding owner-occupied small units or condo/co-op rules), requires tenants to notify landlords 30 days in advance, and mandates providing insurance certificates naming the landlord as an additional insured. Landlords are also shielded from civil liability for issues related to the tenant’s child care operations. The bill applies to residential leases starting October 1, 2025, and does not override local zoning laws.
HB 429 allows counties in Maryland to request the Department of Health to delegate authority for inspecting nursing homes (including site visits and full surveys) to county staff. If a county makes such a request, the Department and the county must equally share the costs of these inspections. This bill directly affects nursing homes (which may be inspected by county staff instead of state staff) and counties that choose to assume this responsibility. It does not change existing inspection frequency requirements but adds a new option for conducting inspections.
