Rep. Anne Kaiser

Maddy summaryThis bill prohibits placing children in unlicensed settings (such as hotels, motels, or nonresidential offices) under Maryland's out-of-home placement program for foster care, with limited exceptions for kinship caregivers or parental placements. It creates a new Child and Youth Placement Review Panel within the Governor’s Office to oversee placements and requires the Placement Manager to convene a Rapid Response Team for urgent cases. The bill also establishes an Advisory Council to improve Maryland’s system of care for children and families and modifies hospital overstay protocols for pediatric patients. These changes directly affect children in foster care, hospitals, and the agencies managing their care, aiming to ensure safer, licensed placements.

Maddy summaryHB 1483 repeals Maryland's requirement for out-of-state clinical counselors to obtain a temporary telehealth license. It allows licensed counselors from other states to provide telehealth counseling to clients who relocated to Maryland (or returned after relocating), for up to six months, if they already had an established client-counselor relationship before the move. This exempts these counselors from Maryland's standard licensure rules during the six-month continuity period, but only for existing clients who relocated - not for new clients. The bill does not change regular licensing requirements for ongoing practice in Maryland.

Maddy summaryHB 1357 requires manufacturers of menstrual hygiene products (such as pads, tampons, and menstrual cups) sold in Maryland to list all ingredients on product packaging. The ingredient list must be displayed prominently in clear, easy-to-read text and in the order of the amount present (from most to least). Violations would be treated as unfair or deceptive trade practices under Maryland law, subject to enforcement and penalties. The requirement takes effect on October 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 1071 requires Maryland's Department of the Environment to create regulations and a model ordinance for local stormwater management programs to enforce rules on agricultural land. It mandates that local programs must work with soil conservation districts to implement these rules and specifies that farm-related uses (like on-farm processing) must be clearly distinguished from commercial development in stormwater regulations. The bill also adds flexibility for enforcing stormwater management on agricultural land, rather than applying standard commercial development rules. This directly affects farmers, local governments, and soil conservation districts by changing how agricultural land is regulated under stormwater management.

Maddy summaryHB 1389 updates Maryland law to explicitly include female genital mutilation (FGM) under the legal definition of "abuse" for child protection purposes. This requires healthcare workers, educators, and others to report suspected FGM cases - just like other forms of child abuse - and increases penalties for violations. The bill also allows victims to file civil lawsuits and mandates the Maryland Department of Health to create educational materials about FGM. These changes directly affect mandated reporters, medical professionals, and individuals at risk of FGM.

Maddy summaryHB 957 requires all Maryland local school systems to designate a cybersecurity point of contact, comply with state minimum cybersecurity standards set by the Department of Information Technology (DOIT), and conduct a cybersecurity maturity assessment every two years starting in 2027. It repeals a prior requirement that county boards prioritize purchasing digital devices with certain funds, shifting focus toward cybersecurity compliance. Schools must annually certify compliance with DOIT’s standards by June 30 and report cybersecurity spending details by August 15 each year. The bill also mandates DOIT to annually review and update the state cybersecurity standards. This directly affects all local school systems and their technology budgeting and reporting practices.

Maddy summaryHB 478 modifies Maryland's income tax by expanding the existing $250 deduction for unreimbursed classroom supply expenses to include prekindergarten teachers. Previously, only K-12 classroom teachers qualified; this bill explicitly adds prekindergarten teachers employed full-time in state programs. The deduction remains limited to $250 per year for supplies used by students or for teaching preparation, excluding expenses already deducted federally. This change affects prekindergarten teachers statewide who purchase classroom supplies without reimbursement, effective for taxable years starting after December 31, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 393 requires health insurers, nonprofit health plans, HMOs, and managed care organizations in Maryland to cover scalp cooling systems when they provide coverage for chemotherapy treatments for cancer. This applies directly to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who use scalp cooling to prevent hair loss, and to the insurers that must now include this coverage. The bill defines scalp cooling systems as medical devices designed for repeated use to preserve hair during cancer treatment. Coverage must be provided for these systems as part of chemotherapy treatment plans, effective January 1, 2027. The law amends Maryland’s Insurance Article (Section 15-864) to mandate this coverage for qualifying health plans.

Maddy summaryHB 892 allows descendant community organizations (DCOs) to legally challenge cemetery owners who propose selling, transferring, or changing the use of cemetery land. Currently, only cemetery owners or government entities could initiate such actions; this bill expands standing to DCOs - groups with cultural ties to interred individuals or ancestral connections. The law amends Maryland statutes (Business Regulation §5-101 and Real Property §14-121) to require courts to consider DCO concerns when reviewing these proposals. This change directly affects cemetery owners seeking to repurpose land and DCOs seeking to preserve burial sites as permanent sacred spaces.

Maddy summaryHB 450 protects victims of sexual assault or stalking by requiring courts and parties in criminal or juvenile cases to redact identifying information (like names or addresses) from public court records and filings. It directly affects victims, courts, and legal parties by prohibiting disclosure of such information to nonparties unless the court finds "clear and convincing evidence" of good cause to allow it. The bill mandates redaction of victim identifiers in all filings - including charging documents - and requires courts to redact existing records upon written request from the victim. Exceptions only apply when a court specifically authorizes disclosure after reviewing evidence of necessity. The law takes effect October 1, 2026.