Rep. Seth Howard

Maddy summaryHB 972 establishes the Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund, a permanent fund to provide annual grants supporting agricultural fairs and education. The fund will receive lottery proceeds (before allocation to the general fund) and replace previous requirements for horse racing fund allocations. It directs specific annual grants: $825,000 to the Maryland Agricultural Fair Board, $75,000 to the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, $550,000 to the Maryland State Fair Society (for youth programs like 4-H and FFA), and $50,000 to the Maryland FFA Association. These grants aim to advance agricultural fairs, education, and youth programs across Maryland.

Maddy summaryHB 720 repeals the expiration date for the Douglas J. J. Peters Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts Scholarship, removing the current cutoff of June 30, 2030, for awarding new scholarships and eliminating restrictions on renewing scholarships for recipients who received their initial award before that date. This change directly affects eligible veterans, active service members, or their dependents (spouses, children) who served in the Afghanistan or Iraq conflicts and meet Maryland residency and enrollment requirements at participating institutions. The bill maintains all existing provisions, including the 50% tuition coverage limit, 2.5 GPA requirement, and 5-year full-time renewal period. It ensures the scholarship program continues indefinitely without time-based restrictions on new awards or renewals.

Maddy summaryHB 1463 requires Anne Arundel County to hire a constituent services liaison for its school board by the start of the 2026-2027 school year. The position must have special education experience and will connect community members to school services, help access education resources, and partner with local organizations to support school goals. The county board president negotiates the liaison’s employment terms, salary (set by the board), and removal process. This directly affects Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ operations and community engagement efforts.

Maddy summaryHB 844 exempts unemployable disabled veterans with service-connected disabilities from Maryland's vehicle registration fees for one personally used vehicle. The bill amends Maryland's vehicle registration code to add a new exemption category (Section 13-903(a)(11)) specifically for veterans deemed unemployable due to a service-connected disability. This change directly affects qualifying veterans who own or lease a vehicle for personal use, removing a recurring cost. The exemption takes effect October 1, 2026, and does not apply to additional vehicles. The bill replaces the previous exemption for veterans with specific physical disabilities under Section 13-903(a)(8).

Maddy summaryHB 952 requires operators of "companion chatbots" (AI systems designed to meet social needs through human-like interactions) to establish safety protocols, including preventing harmful content like self-harm discussions and sexually explicit material for minors. Operators must publish these protocols online, display clear warnings that chatbots are AI (not human), and provide crisis resource referrals for users expressing suicidal thoughts. The bill also mandates that operators of chatbots used by minors display mandatory break reminders after 3 hours of continuous use. It excludes business customer service bots, video game features, and basic voice assistants from these requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 1375 requires Maryland health insurers, nonprofit health plans, and health maintenance organizations to cover the full duration of long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease and related tick-borne illnesses (like babesiosis or ehrlichiosis) when ordered by a licensed physician for therapeutic purposes. It prohibits these entities from imposing caps or time limits on such treatment or denying coverage solely because the treatment is labeled "unproven," "experimental," or "investigational." The law applies to all health insurance policies issued, delivered, or renewed in Maryland after January 1, 2027. This directly affects patients with chronic Lyme disease or related conditions who rely on extended antibiotic therapy and their insurers.

Maddy summaryThis Maryland bill establishes a grant program to help American Legion posts purchase and install automated external defibrillators on their property. The Maryland Department of Health will administer the program and seek funding to award grants to eligible posts that currently lack at least two AEDs on-site. Posts with no AEDs will be prioritized for funding over those with only one, and the program will include simplified application procedures and accommodations for posts with limited resources or language barriers. The law takes effect on October 1, 2026, and allows the Governor to include funding for the program in the annual budget.

Maddy summaryHB 1334, the Maryland Public Education Parental Partnership Act, requires each county board of education to create a written parent and family engagement policy by the start of the 2027-2028 school year. This policy must include parental input, provide translation services, and outline how schools will collaborate with families. Additionally, starting in the 2028-2029 school year, every public school must develop a Parent-School Compact detailing shared responsibilities - such as school curriculum quality, parental support for learning, teacher qualifications, and regular communication between parents and staff. The bill directly affects all Maryland public school systems and their families by mandating structured, written frameworks for parental involvement.

Maddy summaryHB 1500 requires Maryland state agencies to finalize regulations implementing a program before collecting any fees under that program. It directly affects state agencies that collect fees for programs authorized by law, such as licensing or permitting services. The bill's key provision states agencies cannot collect fees until they have completed the regulatory adoption process. This change takes effect October 1, 2026, ensuring fees are only collected once rules are formally established. The law applies to all state programs requiring regulatory implementation under Maryland law.

Maddy summaryHB 976 changes how Maryland calculates state education funding for public schools by altering the definition of "full-time equivalent enrollment." It replaces the previous method with an average of enrollment on September 30 and May 31 of the prior school year, directly affecting all public schools receiving state aid based on this metric. The bill also requires the State Department of Education to publish annual reports online and submit detailed data to legislative committees, showing enrollment counts, student categories (including "whereabouts unknown"), and funding allocations by county. These changes aim to standardize enrollment data used for funding calculations starting in fiscal year 2028.