Rep. Andre Johnson

Maddy summaryHB 800 modifies Maryland's income tax code to provide a tax deduction for military retirement income. It sets a $12,500 annual deduction for military retirees under age 55, while those aged 55 or older receive a $20,000 deduction. This change directly affects Maryland residents who receive military retirement income and are under 55. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024.

Maddy summaryHB 768 requires counties to verify incorporation petitions and establish clear procedures for new municipalities. It mandates that a petition must be signed by at least 25% of registered voters in the proposed area (or 20% plus 25% of property value) and be verified by county officials within 60 days. The organizing committee must then study the fiscal impact on residents and services, report findings online, and the county must approve the referendum request if the petition meets requirements. This bill directly affects unincorporated communities seeking to form new municipalities and county commissioners or councils handling these requests.

Maddy summaryHB 488 requires Maryland's State Department of Education to collect and publish detailed discipline data for all public schools, broken down by student characteristics including race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, socioeconomic status, and English language proficiency. The data must be available as an electronic spreadsheet on the Department's website at the state, school system, and individual school levels. The bill also mandates annual reporting on schools with high suspension rates for specific student groups to identify potential disparities in discipline. This policy increases transparency around school discipline practices without changing disciplinary procedures.

Maddy summaryHB 495 requires Maryland schools with existing antidiscrimination policies to update those policies to include specific information, such as reporting options for sexual violence, school contact details, investigation processes, victim resources, and medical facility locations. It mandates that policies be written in plain, age-appropriate language, printed for readability, available in common languages spoken by students/staff (5%+ of population), and accessible via oral interpretation for less common languages. Schools must distribute policies annually through handbooks, email, campus postings, and websites, and provide mandatory training to students at the start of each school year and to employees within four weeks of hire. This applies to all public/private K-12 schools, preK programs receiving state funding, and colleges in Maryland.

Maddy summaryHB 631 prohibits the State or its political subdivisions from using eminent domain to take privately owned property subject to a permanent agricultural or conservation easement. This directly affects landowners who hold such easements, protecting their property from forced acquisition for public projects. The bill amends Maryland’s real property law (specifically Section 12-101(b)(2) of the Annotated Code) to add this explicit prohibition. It does not apply to existing legal processes for state roads or Baltimore City. The law takes effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 640 requires Maryland's Public Service Commission to consider how proposed overhead transmission line projects affect properties already protected by conservation easements during certificate approval reviews. It mandates applicants to evaluate alternative routes that avoid these easements or minimize impacts on them, and to document route choices. This directly affects landowners with conservation easements near planned transmission lines and utilities seeking project approvals. The bill updates existing review criteria (Section 7-207(f)) to include this new requirement, effective October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 382 prohibits Maryland's Medicaid program (Maryland Medical Assistance Program) and certain insurers, health plans, and managed care organizations from requiring prior authorization, step therapy, or "fail-first" protocols for specific mental health medications. It directly affects adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, PTSD, or medication-induced movement disorders linked to serious mental illness. The law bans these coverage barriers starting July 1, 2025, ensuring immediate coverage for prescribed medications treating these conditions without extra approval steps. This applies to all covered plans under Maryland law, removing administrative hurdles for these essential treatments.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes fees on telephone and mobile service providers to fund Maryland's behavioral health crisis response system. It requires traditional phone companies to pay a fee per subscriber and prepaid wireless providers to pay a fee on each retail transaction, with all collected money going into a dedicated state trust fund. The fund is designated to cover the costs of maintaining the 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline and supporting statewide crisis services such as call centers, mobile teams, and stabilization facilities. Additionally, the legislation mandates that the state Comptroller audit how these fees are collected and limits the amount of revenue that can be used for administrative expenses.

Maddy summaryHB 531 repeals the requirement for individuals on parole in Maryland to pay a monthly supervision fee of $50 and removes the authorization for them to cover the costs of drug and alcohol testing. This change directly affects people supervised by the Division of Parole and Probation, eliminating these specific financial obligations that were previously enforced as conditions of their release. The bill takes effect on October 1, 2024, and does not alter other existing court costs, fines, or the authority of the parole commission to revoke supervision for non-compliance with other rules.

Maddy summaryHB 575 reformulates Maryland's Criminal Injuries Compensation Board by expanding it from five to seven members and mandating that the new composition reflect the state's racial, ethnic, geographic, and gender diversity. The bill specifically requires at least one board member to be a survivor of violence from a community facing high rates of violence and incarceration, while another must represent an organization assisting victims with compensation applications. It also updates the definition of "victim" to include individuals who suffer physical or psychological injury while trying to prevent a crime, apprehend an offender, or assist law enforcement or emergency services. Additionally, the legislation clarifies which crimes are eligible for compensation and outlines the qualifications for third-party professionals who can assist in claims. Finally, the act grants the Governor the authority to include funding for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund in the annual state budget.