Del. Jheanelle Wilkins

Maddy summaryHB 1083 requires Maryland's Department of Health to convene a workgroup by December 2025 to create a plan implementing federal child behavioral health screening and treatment rules (EPSDT). The workgroup must include behavioral health professionals, childhood mental health specialists, parents/caregivers, children with behavioral health needs, and advocates. It will develop strategies for screening, using a specific diagnostic tool for children under 5, and expanding community-based services to address early symptoms, routine care, and crisis needs. The plan must align with federal best practices for children’s behavioral health care access. The department must submit the final plan to the legislature by December 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 767, the Tenant Possessions Recovery Act, updates Maryland landlord-tenant eviction procedures. It requires landlords to provide tenants with notice before an eviction order is executed and mandates that tenants' belongings be safely stored (not discarded) after eviction. The bill sets a 60-day deadline for landlords to act on eviction orders or risk losing the judgment, includes weather-related stays for extreme conditions (like freezing temps or storms), and prioritizes completing evictions within 5 days after weather ends. This directly affects landlords and tenants involved in eviction cases under Maryland law.

Maddy summaryHB 707 (Eric’s ID Law) requires Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration to add a voluntary notation for nonapparent disabilities - such as developmental or intellectual disabilities - on driver’s licenses, ID cards, and moped permits. Applicants can choose to indicate this disability without providing proof or paying extra fees, and the notation will appear on the document’s bottom. The law prohibits the Administration from disclosing this information to insurers or using it to refer applicants to medical boards. It also mandates public outreach to inform people about this option. This directly affects individuals with nonapparent disabilities who apply for or renew these documents.

Maddy summaryHB 527 requires the Maryland Transit Administration to provide three months of free rides on the Purple Line for residents living within a quarter-mile of the tracks, and free advertising space on Purple Line vehicles and stations for businesses within the same quarter-mile radius. The program would begin when Purple Line service starts and last for three months, applying to all qualifying residents and businesses near the transit line. It takes effect October 1, 2025, and directly affects local residents and small businesses adjacent to the Purple Line corridor. The bill creates a temporary incentive to encourage ridership and support nearby commercial activity during the initial service period.

Maddy summaryHB 809 creates a temporary exception to standard child placement limits for foster care providers when a child enrolled in college must leave campus due to academic breaks, temporary closures, or approved leave. The exemption applies only if the child, foster care provider, and agency agree to the living arrangement. This directly affects youth in foster care attending college and their foster care providers. The law requires the state to update placement regulations by July 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 930 establishes Maryland's Public Health Abortion Grant Program to improve access to abortion care by redirecting excess funds from health insurance coverage. It requires insurance carriers in Maryland to transfer 90% of unused funds from their abortion coverage accounts (after covering patient costs) into a new special fund. This fund will support abortion clinical services, particularly where federal funding is restricted, benefiting individuals seeking abortion care in Maryland. The program mandates annual reporting by insurers and transfers existing excess funds starting in 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 426 changes Maryland's post-election audit process by replacing mandatory manual audits with risk-limiting audits for statewide elections. It requires the State Board of Elections, working with local election boards, to conduct a risk-limiting audit after every statewide election - auditing at least one statewide contest and one local contest per county. The bill repeals the previous requirement for manual audits of paper ballots and allows (but does not mandate) automated software audits. This directly affects the State Board of Elections and local election boards, shifting their post-election verification process to a statistically-based method focused on detecting discrepancies in key contests.

Maddy summaryHB 945 changes Maryland's law for the gubernatorial primary election date, moving it from the "last fourth Tuesday" in June to simply the "fourth Tuesday" in June during even-numbered years when a governor is elected. This bill directly affects voters and candidates in Maryland's gubernatorial races, as it standardizes the primary date without the "last" qualifier. The key provision amends Section 8-201 of Maryland's Election Law to specify the fourth Tuesday in June as the fixed date for these primaries. The change takes effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 983 requires Maryland's State Board of Elections to determine if local election boards need to provide language assistance based on census data showing significant limited English proficiency among voters. Specifically, a county must provide assistance if either: (1) over 2% of its voting-age population (but at least 100 people) shares a non-English language and has limited English proficiency, or (2) over 4,000 people share a non-English language and have limited English proficiency. Local election boards must then provide translated voting materials, bilingual election judges where available, and multilingual signage at polling places in designated languages. This policy directly affects voters with limited English proficiency in qualifying counties, ensuring access to election materials and assistance.

Maddy summaryHB 325 allows adults seeking a high school diploma through the GED exam to take all test components in either English or Spanish, directly affecting adult learners, particularly English language learners with interrupted education. The bill requires Maryland's Department of Labor to study offering the exam in additional languages and submit a report to legislative committees by December 2026. It amends existing law to expand language options for the exam while maintaining other eligibility requirements, such as not having previously earned a diploma. The policy change focuses on improving access to the diploma pathway through language flexibility.