HB 2100 Maryland House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to clarify that specific Maryland districting standards, such as compactness and equal population, apply only to state legislative districts and not to congressional districts. It also authorizes the General Assembly to grant the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction to review the state's congressional districting plan. Additionally, the amendment states that the Maryland Constitution does not provide its own criteria for drawing congressional district boundaries, leaving those decisions to federal laws. The measure would be put to a vote by Maryland voters in November 2026.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jul 2026
Committee Review
Aug 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Aug 2026
Senate Passage
Aug 2026
Signed into Law
Aug 2026
Introduced Jul 29, 2026 Signed Aug 5, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress Third - Election Districts - General Assembly and Representatives in Congress · 3 edits
MINOR
HB 2100, a Maryland constitutional amendment clarifying that state districting standards apply only to General Assembly districts and not congressional districts, was adopted by the House with amendments. The most significant substantive change tightens the ballot question requirement from allowing a 'substantially similar' question to mandating the exact specified language, overriding any other law. The WHEREAS clauses were also reordered to lead with the Szeliga v. Lamone case reference and the constitutional clarification.
REQUIREMENT

The ballot question requirement in Section 3(b)(2) was changed from 'a question substantially similar to the following shall be submitted' to 'Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the following question shall be submitted.' This makes the exact ballot language mandatory and preempts any statute that might require different wording.

TECHNICAL

The WHEREAS clauses were reordered so that the Szeliga v. Lamone case reference and the clarification that Article III Section 4 governs only General Assembly districting now appear first, followed by the remaining justifications (communities of interest, no demographic targets, no challenge to the 2022 plan).

Procedural language was added reflecting House adoption: rules suspended, committee report favorable with amendments, house action adopted, read second time on August 3, 2026. The bill title changed from 'A BILL ENTITLED' to 'CHAPTER' format, and an approval signature block for the Governor, Speaker, and Senate President was added at the end.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 4, 2026 · House of Delegates Aug 3, 2026

How they voted

3113
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 46
Aug 4, 2026
D Democratic33
31 Yea 2
93% Yea
R Republican13
13 Nay
100% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Aug 5, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by the Governor, assigned a chapter number, enactment subject to constitutional referendum - Chapter 881
executive
Aug 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Returned Passed
lower
Aug 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Motion Rules Suspend Two Readings Same Day Const/Rule 24 (Senator Feldman) Adopted
upper
Aug 4, 2026
Introduced
Floor Amendment {
upper
Aug 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable
upper
Aug 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
upper
Aug 4, 2026
Committee
Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
upper
Aug 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third Reading Passed
lower
Aug 3, 2026
Introduced
Floor Amendment {
lower
Aug 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments {
lower
Aug 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion Rules Suspend Two Readings Same Day (Delegate Moon) Adopted
lower
Aug 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
lower
Aug 3, 2026
Committee
First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.