SB 301 Maryland Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Veterans' Discounts Act

SB 301, the Veterans' Discounts Act, authorizes Maryland state agencies to waive certain fees set by law for veterans. It requires these agencies to adopt specific regulations before implementing fee waivers, ensuring consistent application. The bill affects veterans seeking reduced fees for services like business licenses, professional registrations, and recreational permits managed by various state departments. It amends multiple sections across Maryland’s code (including Agriculture, Business Regulation, and Natural Resources) to establish this waiver framework. The law creates a formal process for fee reductions but does not specify which fees or veterans qualify.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Veterans' Discounts Act → Third - Veterans' Discounts Act · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was reorganized and expanded to include additional sponsors and a committee report indicating favorable action with amendments. The legislative instructions were significantly restructured, shifting from a mix of repeals and additions to a clearer pattern of repealing and reenacting existing sections without amendments, while adding new sections to specific articles in the Annotated Code of Maryland. This suggests the bill's substantive policy content regarding veterans' discounts remains largely the same, but the procedural path and codification strategy have been adjusted.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's impact on existing Maryland law was reorganized; sections previously marked for repeal and reenactment with amendments are now marked for repeal and reenactment without amendments, while new sections are added to various articles covering business occupations, business regulation, environment, financial institutions, natural resources, public safety, and state government.

TECHNICAL

Added new sponsors (Harris and Hester) to the list of bill authors and included a committee report indicating favorable action with amendments.

Reorganized the bill's legislative instructions, changing the order and method of repealing and reenacting existing law sections across multiple articles.

Added new sections to the Annotated Code of Maryland covering business occupations, business regulation, environment, financial institutions, natural resources, public safety, and state government.

Removed the initial instruction to repeal and reenact certain sections without amendments, which was replaced by a new set of instructions.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 3, 2026

How they voted

47–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 49

Mar 3, 2026

D Democratic36

34 Yea 2

94% 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

Mar 20, 2026

Committee

Referred Rules and Executive Nominations

lower

Mar 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Mar 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Mar 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 3, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (47-0-2)

senate

Jan 21, 2026

Committee

First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment and Finance

upper

11 primary · 0 co-sponsors