Del. Kevin Hornberger

Maddy summaryHB 886 requires Maryland's Medicaid program (Maryland Medical Assistance Program) and certain health insurers to cover services provided by certified peer recovery specialists starting January 1, 2027. It directly affects Medicaid beneficiaries, health insurance plans, and certified peer recovery specialists who provide mental health or substance use recovery support. The bill mandates coverage for these services in any setting and creates a workgroup to improve certification processes for specialists. The workgroup, convened by the Maryland Department of Health, must report on streamlining certification by 2026. This policy change ensures standardized coverage for a specific type of recovery support service under state health programs.

Maddy summaryHB 1074 updates Maryland's public ethics law to expand the definition of "qualifying relative" to include son-in-law and daughter-in-law for conflict of interest rules. It requires local governments and school boards to adopt ethics rules that meet or exceed state standards, including provisions for judicial relief when conflicts occur and mandating that ethics commissions publicly report certain recommendations. The bill also ensures local lobbying regulations align with state law and clarifies restrictions on officials participating in matters involving relatives or businesses tied to their personal interests. These changes directly affect local government officials, school board members, and employees in Maryland who must comply with updated conflict-of-interest requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 1429 requires car and farm equipment manufacturers to provide independent repair shops and vehicle owners with the tools, information, and data needed for diagnosis, service, and repair. Specifically, it mandates that manufacturers install open data platforms in vehicles with wireless diagnostic systems to allow third parties access to repair data, and prohibits farm equipment makers from withholding or misrepresenting part numbers. The bill also requires manufacturers to give consumers a document explaining their rights to access vehicle data at the time of purchase. These provisions aim to make repairs more accessible by reducing manufacturer control over repair information.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Maryland's Department of Human Services to develop a process for identifying and reducing administrative errors in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Department must systematically analyze SNAP processing mistakes, create strategies to improve eligibility determination, and monitor progress toward reducing errors. It also mandates that Maryland work to achieve SNAP error rates matching the best-performing state, as measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The law directly affects the Department of Human Services and local county offices administering SNAP benefits.

Maddy summaryHB 1179, the Consumer Protection - Application Store Accountability Act, requires app store providers (like Apple App Store or Google Play) and developers operating in Maryland to implement age verification for minors under 18 and obtain verified parental consent before enabling certain transactions. It mandates clear disclosures about an app's age rating and content description to parents before purchases, prohibits enforcing contracts with minors without verified consent, and bans misleading parental consent disclosures. The bill also authorizes Maryland's Consumer Protection Division to enforce these rules under the state's consumer protection laws. This directly affects app stores, developers, parents, and minors using mobile apps in Maryland.

Maddy summaryHB 1502 regulates the sale and possession of consumer fireworks in Maryland while establishing a new sales tax. It defines specific safety standards for "consumer fireworks" (like small firecrackers meeting federal safety rules) and separates these from professional "display fireworks." The bill creates a new sales tax rate for qualifying fireworks, directs the revenue to state funds, and allows counties to opt out of certain local sales regulations. This directly affects consumers buying fireworks, retailers selling them, and local governments managing enforcement. The law updates existing safety and tax codes to standardize rules and generate dedicated funding.

Maddy summaryHB 1301 modifies Maryland's historic preservation law to give local jurisdictions the option of allowing people who disagree with a historic preservation commission's decision to appeal directly to their local board of appeals or circuit court (in addition to the existing appeal route). This bill directly affects property owners, developers, or residents challenging preservation rulings. The key provision (added via Section 8-308(B)) authorizes local governments to create this new appeal pathway, though it does not require them to do so. Local jurisdictions would decide whether to implement this option for appeals. The bill takes effect October 1, 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 609 repeals a requirement that $25 million of State Transfer Tax revenue be allocated to the General Fund for fiscal years 2026 through 2029. Instead, the bill redirects this funding to remain in the Land Preservation Special Fund, increasing resources for conservation programs. The fund's revenue is allocated as follows: 75.15% for Program Open Space land acquisition, 17.05% for Agricultural Land Preservation, 5% for Rural Legacy, and 1.8% for Heritage Conservation. This change directly affects state land conservation efforts by ensuring more funds stay dedicated to these programs during the specified years.

Maddy summaryHB 1386, "Victoria, Scottie, Ashleigh, and Yader’s Law," makes it a felony for repeat drug distributors to provide heroin, fentanyl, or similar drugs when that distribution causes death or serious injury to another person. It applies only to individuals with prior convictions for distributing controlled substances under Maryland law. The law holds every person who transferred the drugs before the harm occurred liable, mandates a maximum 20-year prison sentence (served consecutively to other sentences), and clarifies that the law covers cases where drugs were mixed with other substances or distributed directly to the victim. This bill directly affects repeat drug distributors whose actions result in fatal or severe injuries, not general users or first-time offenders.

Maddy summaryHB 1518 changes Maryland's property tax assessment cycle from every three years to every five years for most real property. This affects all Maryland property owners by reducing how frequently their property values are reassessed for tax purposes. The bill maintains that revaluation is still required if specific events occur, such as zoning changes, major improvements adding $100,000+ in value, or errors in calculation. It also preserves property owners' rights to appeal assessments and request re-inspections during the five-year cycle. The bill amends multiple sections of Maryland's tax code to implement this extended cycle.