Family Investment Program - Child Support
HB 881 requires all child support payments received in a month to fully pass through to families enrolled in Maryland's Family Investment Program (FIP) and prohibits local agencies from counting child support when calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This bill amends Maryland law to ensure child support payments do not reduce FIP assistance amounts or SNAP benefits for eligible households. It specifically updates Section 5-310(a)(4) of the Maryland Code to disregard all child support in benefit calculations, rather than the current partial disregard. The law takes effect October 1, 2025, directly affecting low-income families receiving FIP or SNAP benefits.
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 30, 2025
Signed May 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
First - Family Investment Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits - Child Support
→
Third - Family Investment Program - Child Support
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3 edits
MINOR
This bill was amended to phase in a new requirement that child support payments must pass directly to families receiving assistance under the Family Investment Program, rather than being counted as income. The original version required this immediately, but the amended version spreads the requirement over several years to ease the transition.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on child support and assistance programs, but the timing of when the new requirements apply has been significantly altered.
TIMELINE
The requirement for child support to pass through to families is now phased in over multiple years instead of taking effect immediately.
REQUIREMENT
Fiscal years 2027 through 2031 have specific thresholds for how much child support must pass through to families, starting with fixed dollar amounts and gradually increasing to 25%, 50%, and 75% before requiring all child support to pass through in 2031 and beyond.
ELIGIBILITY
The original bill required all child support to pass through immediately for all families; the amended version creates a gradual rollout that applies different rules based on the fiscal year.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 24, 2025 · House of Delegates Mar 5, 2025
How they voted
45–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 46
Mar 24, 2025
D
Democratic33
96% Yea
R
Republican13
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
17
Key actions
10
Committee
6
May 6, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 373
executive
Apr 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Returned Passed
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Third Reading Passed
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable Adopted
upper
Apr 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable Report by Finance
upper
Mar 24, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (45-0-1)
senate
Mar 17, 2025
Committee
Referred Finance
upper
Mar 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Appropriations
lower
Mar 5, 2025
House Of Delegates · Passed
House of Delegates Vote: pass (104-31-4)
house of delegates
Jan 30, 2025
Committee
First Reading Appropriations
lower
9 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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