HB 699 Maryland House of Delegates · 2025 Regular Session

General Provisions - Veterans Benefits - Honorable Discharge

HB 699 defines "honorable discharge" for Maryland veterans' state benefits to include discharges that were less than honorable due to specific, protected factors. It directly affects veterans who received such discharges solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or based on disclosures related to those factors (including statements/acts prohibited at the time), or because of PTSD/TBI diagnoses or sexual trauma disclosures made at VA facilities. The bill requires veterans to submit documentation supporting their discharge basis to access state benefits. It amends Maryland law to take effect October 1, 2025.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Jan 24, 2025 Signed May 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - General Provisions - Veterans Benefits - Honorable Discharge → Enrolled - General Provisions - Veterans Benefits - Honorable Discharge · 1 edit · May 6, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized and enrolled for the Governor's signature, updating the header to reflect its official status. A substantive policy change was made to the eligibility criteria for veterans with non-honorable discharges: the requirement for a discharge upgrade to qualify for state benefits was broadened to include any individual deemed eligible under federal criteria, rather than limiting it strictly to cases where the Department of Veterans and Military Families actively determines an upgrade should occur.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding eligibility for state veterans benefits was expanded to cover a wider range of discharge scenarios.

ELIGIBILITY

The criteria for receiving state benefits based on a discharge upgrade were changed from requiring a specific determination by the Department of Veterans and Military Families to simply requiring that an individual is eligible for an upgrade based on federal regulations.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 21, 2025 · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

How they voted

40–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 46

Mar 21, 2025

D Democratic33

27 Yea 6

81% Yea

R Republican13

13 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 6, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 270

executive

Apr 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed Enrolled

lower

Apr 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Apr 7, 2025

Introduced

House Concurs Senate Amendments

lower

Apr 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Apr 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Apr 5, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 24, 2025

House Of Delegates · Passed

House of Delegates Vote: pass (137-0-2)

house of delegates

Mar 21, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (40-0-6)

senate

Mar 12, 2025

Committee

Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Mar 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third Reading Passed

lower

Mar 11, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

lower

Mar 10, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Health and Government Operations

lower

Jan 24, 2025

Committee

First Reading Health and Government Operations

lower

35 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role

Legislator

Party

State

District