2026 Legislation

HB0962: Local Public Campaign Financing - County Boards of Education

Allows counties to expand their existing public campaign financing systems to include candidates for elected school boards, giving local governments the option to provide public funding for those races just as they already can for county executive and council elections. Participation would remain voluntary, but candidates who opt in would follow stricter campaign finance rules and rely more on small-dollar contributions rather than large private donations. Overall, the goal is to make school board elections more accessible, transparent, and less dependent on big money, while aligning them with public financing models already used in several Maryland counties.

HB0963: Registers of Wills – Appointment of Personal Representatives

Removes an outdated provision in our Estates and Trusts Article that prevents certain otherwise qualified individuals from serving as personal representatives based solely on citizenship status. It ensures families can manage their loved ones’ estates while maintaining all existing safeguards and court oversight.

HB 965 Office of Health Care Quality Stakeholder Advisory Council - Establishment

Establishes a stakeholder advisory council within the Office of Health Care Quality to provide ongoing feedback on oversight of hospitals and long-term care facilities. It brings together frontline workers, patients, advocates, and industry representatives to review data, elevate concerns, and improve accountability, while maintaining existing regulatory authority and oversight structures. The council would also hold regular public meetings, increase transparency, and issue recommendations to strengthen the quality of care across Maryland’s health care system

HB1042: Health Occupations – Structural Racism Training – Funding Sources

This bill clarifies that a structural racism training requirement for health professionals we passed last year must be funded through external sources, not the State budget, helping protect the policy in a tight fiscal year.

HB1083: Montgomery County Board of Elections – Membership

This bill would alter the membership of the Montgomery County Board of Elections to consist of seven regular members, turning the substitute members into regular members.

HB1438: State Board of Education – Public High School Graduation Requirements

This bill requires the State Board of Education to review graduation requirements for public high school students to ensure that they align with that students actually need to succeed after graduation. This helps ensure our educational policies reflect real-world career readiness.

HB1530: Higher Education – Undocumented Students – Out–of–State Tuition Exemption Eligibility

This bill reduces the number of years of tax documentation undocumented students must provide to qualify for in-state tuition, making higher education more accessible while maintaining accountability.

HB1569: Parking Enforcement - Vehicles in Custody or Control of Auto Repair or Storage Facility

This bill establishes clear rules for parking and enforcement when a vehicle is in the custody of an auto repair or storage facility, providing clarity for both businesses and consumers.

2025 Legislation

HB 1069 – Insurance Discretionary Clauses Prohibition

Prohibits insurance companies and health plans from including “discretionary clauses” in life, health, disability, and annuity contracts that allow them to unilaterally interpret policy terms or decide when benefits are owed. By removing this authority, the bill strengthens consumer protections and ensures that disputes over coverage are reviewed fairly under Maryland law. Applies to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.

HB1070 Maryland Department of Health - Access to Telephones - Study

HB 1248 Revenge Pornography and Intimate Visual Depictions - Prohibition and Removal

Requiring certain online platforms to establish a process for an individual or an individual's representative to provide certain notice of and request the disabling of access to or removal of certain visual depictions; requiring a certain online platform to comply with a request under the Act as soon as possible, but not later than 48 hours after receiving a request and to establish certain data logging requirements; and altering the prohibition against revenge pornography.

HB1272 Youth Sports Safety Advisory Commission

Establishing the Youth Sports Safety Advisory Commission to study and make recommendations to minimize risk and maximize safety for youth athletes; and requiring the Commission to submit a report of its findings and recommendations on or before December 31, 2026.

HB409 Health - Medical Care Facilities - Electronic Monitoring Devices

Providing for an exception to the prohibition against willfully intercepting wire or electronic communication for a resident in a medical care facility under certain circumstances; requiring a medical care facility to allow electronic monitoring of a resident if requested by the resident or the resident's legal representative; and providing for the admissibility of a recording made through electronic monitoring in a civil or criminal court of the State.

HB1420 Registers of Wills - Appointment of Personal Representatives - Noncitizens

Repealing the prohibition on a register of wills or court granting letters in administrative or judicial probate to certain individuals who are not citizens of the United States.

HB 1476 Labor and Employment - Disclosure of Employee's Immigration Status - Prohibition

Prohibiting an employer from disclosing or threatening to disclose an employee's immigration status to a public body for the purpose of concealing an employer's violation of certain labor, benefit, or tax laws; authorizing the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to investigate a violation of the Act on the Commissioner's own initiative or on receipt of a written complaint; and authorizing an alleged violator to request an administrative hearing.