Del. Josh Stonko

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 summaryHB 1385 requires Maryland county school boards to create and implement policies promoting parental involvement in students' education. The bill mandates that these policies include specific provisions: parents must have access to curricula and instructional materials (via website or written copy), the right to withdraw students from certain activities or instruction, consent for gender pronoun usage differing from biological sex, and access to all student records. It also establishes a formal complaint process where parents can report violations to the county superintendent, who must investigate and respond within 14 days, followed by an appeal to the county board. The policy directly affects parents, students, and school personnel across Maryland’s public school system.

Maddy summaryHB 1349 prohibits using drones to intentionally enter another person’s property within 50 feet of a dwelling with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or secretly photograph/video the property or people there. It directly affects drone operators who target residential areas for these purposes, while exempting those with property owner consent or operating under federal law. Violations are classified as misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both. The law aims to protect residents from unauthorized drone surveillance and harassment by defining clear criminal boundaries for drone use near homes. It 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 1321 creates a refundable state income tax credit for Maryland small businesses (defined as entities with 50 or fewer employees, including those with no employees) to offset costs for specific cybersecurity measures. It allows a credit of up to $1,000 for an initial cybersecurity risk assessment and implementation, or up to $500 annually for recurring measures like antivirus software, multi-factor authentication, and data encryption. If the credit exceeds the business’s income tax liability, the excess is refundable. Businesses must submit proof of qualifying costs with their tax return to claim the credit, which applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024.

Maddy summaryHB 1397 requires Maryland's Public Service Commission to consider "grid enhancing technologies" - specifically high-performance conductors and storage used as transmission - when reviewing applications for overhead transmission line construction. This affects utility companies seeking permits for new transmission infrastructure, as the commission must now evaluate these technologies as a mandatory factor. The bill amends existing law (Section 7-207(f)) to explicitly add these technologies to the list of requirements for certificate approvals. The policy change ensures new transmission projects must address capacity, efficiency, reliability, and resilience improvements during the review process.

Maddy summaryHB 1224 modifies Maryland's Forest Conservation Act to exclude new electric transmission and distribution lines (constructed on or after October 1, 2025) from the definition of "linear project." This change directly affects electric companies, as it removes their requirement to comply with tree replacement and forest conservation rules for these new infrastructure projects. The bill revises specific sections of the law to clarify that such utility lines no longer trigger afforestation obligations, while maintaining the rules for other linear projects like roads or pipelines. The effective date is October 1, 2025, meaning the exemption applies only to new projects built after that date.

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.