Del. Robin Grammer

Maddy summaryHB 630, the Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act, requires all Maryland county school boards to create and implement policies by the 2026-2027 school year that limit student cell phone use during instructional time (excluding lunch). The policy must prohibit phone use and require secure storage, ban social media apps during school hours, and include disciplinary measures like warnings for first violations. Exceptions allow phone use for students with IEPs/504 plans, health monitoring, emergencies, or for educational purposes directed by staff. The bill directly affects public school students and county boards of education across 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 739 requires local governments to approve solar energy projects before the state can approve them. The bill prohibits the Public Service Commission from granting state approval for a solar generating station unless every county or city where the project is proposed has provided written consent. This directly affects solar developers, who must now secure local written approvals, and local governments, which gain formal authority to approve or deny projects. The key provision mandates that local consent is a mandatory step in the state approval process for solar energy facilities.

Maddy summaryHB 742 prohibits solar energy developers from using eminent domain to acquire private land for constructing solar generating stations. The bill amends Maryland's public utilities code (specifically sections 7-207, 7-207.1, 7-207.2, and 7-208) to explicitly state that no person may exercise eminent domain rights for solar energy projects. This directly affects solar energy companies seeking to build facilities without landowner consent. The law takes effect October 1, 2025, and removes an existing legal pathway for solar developers to compel land purchases.

Maddy summaryHB 680 requires all Maryland municipalities to implement voter registration for local elections and mandates that only U.S. citizens may register to vote in municipal elections. It repeals previous exceptions allowing municipalities to operate without registration (e.g., those using pre-1990 voter lists) and removes provisions for supplemental voter lists. The bill directly affects every city, town, and municipal election in Maryland by standardizing registration rules and enforcing citizenship requirements. It takes effect October 1, 2025, and amends Maryland’s Election Law and Local Government Code to reflect these changes.

Maddy summaryHB 695 repeals a requirement that Maryland's motor fuel tax rates automatically increase annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), changing how fuel tax revenue is calculated. The bill bans vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) taxes and similar fees, including requiring devices to track mileage in private vehicles. It also sets specific farebox recovery targets for the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), limits when MTA can raise fares, and removes public hearing requirements for certain fare changes. This directly affects drivers (through fuel tax changes), MTA (via fare rules), and local governments (by prohibiting new transportation fees). The bill modifies existing tax and transportation laws without adding new funding mechanisms.

Maddy summaryHB 549 clarifies legal pathways for addressing rodent infestations on property. It allows individuals to sue property owners, agents, or managers for damages caused by "rodent harborage" (defined as conditions providing shelter/reproduction that cause property damage, health risks, or obstruct property use), except on properties zoned and actively used for agriculture. Landlords can also sue tenants for behavior causing rodent issues under existing lease breach rules. The bill adds these provisions to Maryland law without creating new penalties, focusing on existing legal remedies for property-related rodent problems. It takes effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 706 reclassifies the offense of intercepting or disclosing wire, oral, or electronic communications from a felony to a misdemeanor under Maryland law. It extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting such violations from one year to five years (via new Section 5-106(jj)) and ensures victims can receive full restitution without limitation (per amended Section 10-402(b)(2)). The bill directly affects individuals who illegally intercept or share communications, and it modifies existing penalties and legal procedures for these offenses. The changes take effect October 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 589 establishes legal liability for individuals or entities that design or create artificial intelligence software capable of causing physical injury or death. It makes such creators strictly liable for civil damages if their AI causes harm, and imposes criminal penalties based on intent: intentional design is a felony (up to 20 years or $100,000), while knowing or negligent design is a misdemeanor (up to 10 or 5 years and $50,000 or $25,000 fines). The bill directly affects AI developers and creators by requiring them to ensure their software does not pose such risks. It takes effect October 1, 2025, and amends Maryland’s Civil and Criminal Law codes to address AI-related harm.

Maddy summaryHB 471 prohibits nonresident aliens, businesses, and government employees from countries subject to U.S. arms embargoes (as listed under 22 C.F.R. § 126.1) from purchasing agricultural land in Maryland or participating in non-food-safety state agricultural programs. The bill directly affects these specific foreign entities by restricting their access to farmland and certain state agricultural initiatives. Key provisions add these restrictions to Maryland’s agricultural code, explicitly excluding programs related to food or food safety regulations. The law takes effect October 1, 2025, and automatically ends if federal law permits states to enforce such restrictions.