SB 26 Maryland Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act

SB 26 creates a new Assistant Commissioner for Public Employees’ Safety and Health and establishes a dedicated unit within Maryland’s Labor and Industry Division to oversee workplace safety for all public employees, including government workers in schools, hospitals, and public works. It requires new regulations to prevent workplace violence in government settings, removes a ban on applying safety penalties to public bodies, and redirects civil penalty revenues to fund the state’s apprenticeship program. The bill modifies existing safety laws to specifically apply to public employers, ensuring government workplaces must meet the same safety standards as private businesses. This directly affects all public employees across Maryland’s state and local government agencies.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2024
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House of Delegates Passage
Apr 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Oct 23, 2024 Signed May 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Third - Labor and Employment - Occupational Safety and Health - Revisions (Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act) Enrolled - Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act · 6 edits · May 20, 2025
MODERATE
The bill was converted from a draft version to an enrolled version, adding formal signatures and proofreading details. Substantively, the bill's scope was significantly expanded to include body-worn camera regulations for correctional officers, while the specific focus on workplace violence for public employees was moved to a different section of the code. The bill also added exemptions for local correctional facilities and updated the list of repealed and reenacted laws to reflect these new additions.
Scope change
The bill now applies to correctional officers regarding body-worn cameras in addition to public employees regarding workplace safety. It also includes a specific exemption for local correctional facilities from mandatory camera adoption.
REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the Correctional Training Commission to adopt regulations for body-worn cameras, including testing, failure procedures, recording mandates, consent rules, and data storage.

Required each correctional unit to develop a written policy for body-worn camera use, with a specific exception allowing local correctional facilities to opt out.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions regarding body-worn camera usage, privacy expectations, and notification requirements for recorded communications.

SCOPE

Reorganized the bill's structure by moving workplace violence prevention provisions for public employees to a new subtitle and adding correctional services provisions to a different article.

TECHNICAL

Updated the list of repealed and reenacted statutes to include new sections related to correctional services and courts, and removed specific sections related to workplace violence definitions.

Changed the bill header from a draft status to 'Enrolled Bill' and added fields for the Governor's signature and proofreader signatures.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 23, 2025 · House of Delegates Mar 23, 2025

How they voted

420
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 46
Mar 23, 2025
D Democratic33
30 Yea 3
90% Yea
R Republican13
12 Yea 1
92% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
1
May 20, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 608
executive
Apr 7, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed Enrolled
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Introduced
Senate Concurs House Amendments
upper
Apr 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Apr 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Appropriations
lower
Mar 23, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (42-0-4)
senate
Mar 7, 2025
Committee
Referred Appropriations
lower
Mar 6, 2025
Upper · Passed
Third Reading Passed
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
upper
Mar 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance
upper
Jan 8, 2025
Committee
First Reading Finance
upper
Oct 23, 2024
Introduced
Pre-filed
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ben Kramer
Ben Kramer
DDemocratic
MD
19