Del. Barry Beauchamp

Maddy summaryHB 156, the "Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act," requires Maryland public and nonpublic high schools competing against public schools to designate interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity sports teams based solely on biological sex. It prohibits schools from allowing students assigned male at birth to participate on teams designated for students assigned female at birth. The bill also prevents government agencies or athletic organizations from penalizing schools for maintaining separate teams for females, and allows students or schools harmed by violations to file civil lawsuits seeking damages, attorney fees, or injunctions. This law directly affects high school athletic programs and takes effect July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 622 (Juvenile Justice Restoration Act of 2025) requires law enforcement officers to consult with an attorney before questioning a child in custody. Specifically, officers must ensure the child has spoken with an attorney (either retained by parents or provided by the Public Defender) and make reasonable efforts to notify the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian before interrogation. Exceptions exist only for immediate public safety threats (with limited questions) or if the parent/guardian consents to skip the attorney consultation. Violating these rules creates a rebuttable presumption that any statement made by the child is inadmissible in court, though the state can overcome this with clear evidence the statement was voluntary. The bill directly affects children under 18 during police questioning and all Maryland law enforcement agencies.

Maddy summaryHB 652 prohibits Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services from hiring or retaining employees convicted of specific serious crimes, directly affecting individuals seeking or holding jobs in juvenile services. The bill bans hiring for 14 offenses including abduction, kidnapping, murder, rape, child abuse, sexual offenses against minors, and certain violent assaults. An exception allows hiring if the conviction was reversed or vacated. The law takes effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act of 2025, prevents Maryland state and local governments from suing businesses for financial or economic damages caused by global warming or climate change. It achieves this by adding a new legal provision that explicitly bars government agencies from filing such lawsuits, while clarifying that the law does not stop governments from enforcing existing environmental, health, or zoning regulations. The legislation defines "business" broadly to include various entities and financial institutions, and it takes effect on October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 1414 amends Maryland's building energy standards to exclude certain public safety, emergency, and public utility buildings from the definition of "covered building." This means police stations, fire departments, emergency shelters, and utility facilities (like power substations) will no longer be subject to the state's energy performance requirements. The bill modifies existing law by adding specific exclusions to the "covered building" definition, removing these facilities from the annual emissions reporting and reduction targets that apply to other large commercial buildings. The policy change takes effect October 1, 2025, without altering the energy standards for other covered buildings.

Maddy summaryHB 773, the "Right to Teach Act of 2025," allows public middle and high school teachers in Maryland to remove students from their classroom under specific conditions: if a student repeatedly disrupts learning (with prior documentation) or exhibits severely disruptive, abusive, or unruly behavior that significantly interferes with teaching or other students' learning. Teachers must document the behavior, submit it to the principal, and send the student to the principal or guidance counselor. The bill prohibits county school boards from disciplining teachers for following these removal procedures and requires principals to use restorative methods for students referred to counselors. This law directly affects teachers, students, and school administrators by changing classroom discipline protocols and protecting educators from retaliation. It takes effect July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 1396, the Property Rights Protection Act of 2025, prohibits condemnation for specific energy infrastructure projects. It blocks the state, utilities, or local governments from using eminent domain to acquire property for constructing power lines (Section 7-103(c)), wind or solar generating stations (Section 7-207(b)(2)(II)), or properties encumbered by conservation easements (new Section 12-101(e)). The bill directly affects property owners, particularly those with conservation easements or land near proposed renewable energy sites. It replaces existing condemnation rules with these new restrictions to limit government and utility authority over private land use for energy projects.

Maddy summaryHB 1101 reduces Maryland's corporate income tax rate over time to lower tax burdens for businesses operating in the state. It phases in a gradual reduction, lowering the rate from 8.25% (effective 2025) to 7.75% (2026), 7.25% (2027), 6.75% (2028), and finally 6.25% (starting 2029). The bill directly affects corporations filing Maryland corporate income tax returns by changing their tax liability calculation. The rate changes apply to taxable income earned within Maryland, with the first reduced rate taking effect July 1, 2025. This is a straightforward tax rate adjustment with no additional provisions or program requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 1024 authorizes Maryland's Department of Agriculture to take extraordinary measures to control local deer populations after deer cause catastrophic crop damage, defined as the loss of 50% or more of crops in a single field. The bill directly affects farmers who suffer such severe damage and the Department of Agriculture, which must create regulations to implement the program. Key provisions include the department’s authority to act following a verified 50% crop loss threshold and the requirement for the department to adopt implementing regulations. The law aims to prevent recurring crop losses from deer without specifying particular control methods or funding mechanisms.

Maddy summaryHB 651 increases Maryland's Public Service Commission from five to seven commissioners and establishes specific geographic residency requirements for each position. It requires one commissioner to represent Western Maryland (five counties), one for Southern Maryland (three counties), one for the Eastern Shore (nine counties), two for Central Maryland (five counties and Baltimore City), and two for the Capital Region (two counties). The bill also mandates the Commission submit a slate of nominees for the two new Western and Southern Maryland seats to the Governor by August 1, 2025, and alters the process for appointing the Commission's Chair from among its members. These changes take effect July 1, 2025, applying only to future appointments, not current commissioners.