HB 704 expands eligibility for Maryland's Graduate and Professional Scholarship Program to include students attending the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. The bill amends existing law to add Meritus as a qualifying institution for osteopathic medicine programs, alongside established schools like the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins. This change directly affects full-time or part-time osteopathic medicine students at Meritus who meet residency, financial need, and enrollment requirements. The policy update does not alter scholarship amounts ($1,000-$5,000 annually) or the 8-semester maximum award period. The amendment takes effect July 1, 2025.
SB 645 changes Maryland's election law to require the gubernatorial primary election to be held on the "last fourth Tuesday" in June (meaning the fourth Tuesday of June). This directly affects all Maryland voters participating in gubernatorial primaries by setting a specific election date for governor races. The bill does not alter the existing date for the presidential primary election (which remains the fourth Tuesday in April). The new date takes effect October 1, 2025, for the 2026 election cycle.
SB 162 repeals Maryland's existing agricultural regulations specifically governing cantaloupe identification, inspection, and sale. It removes Sections 10-901 through 10-909 and "Subtitle 9. Cantaloupes" from the state's Annotated Code of Maryland, which previously required Department of Agriculture oversight for these activities. This bill directly affects cantaloupe growers, sellers, and inspectors who were subject to these specific regulatory requirements. The repeal takes effect on October 1, 2025, eliminating the state's regulatory framework for cantaloupes without creating new rules.
HB 41 changes Maryland's process for forming new political parties by restricting when petitions can be filed and preventing signature reuse. It prohibits submitting petitions during specific closed registration periods before/after primaries and general elections, and bans resubmitting signatures from petitions previously rejected for not meeting legal requirements. This directly affects new political parties seeking official recognition by limiting their signature-gathering windows and eliminating the ability to correct rejected petitions. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
HB 618 repeals a ban on internet-based lottery sales, specifically authorizing Maryland's State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to allow electronic purchases of subscription plans through devices like smartphones or computers. The bill directly affects the Lottery Agency, which gains the authority to establish such systems, and Maryland residents who buy subscription lottery plans online. Key provisions remove the existing prohibition (Section 9-111(e)(1)) and add an exception permitting internet subscription sales (Section 9-111(e)(2)). The change takes effect July 1, 2025, enabling new electronic purchasing options for recurring lottery subscriptions.
SB 308 would require Maryland election directors to appoint chief election judges at each polling place from the majority political party and the principal minority party, whenever feasible. If election directors cannot secure appointments from both parties at least 45 days before early voting begins, they must appoint one chief judge from one of those parties and one unaffiliated with either party. This rule applies to all polling places statewide and affects how local election officials staff voting locations. The changes would take effect on October 1, 2025.
HB 1069 prohibits Maryland insurers from including clauses that grant them sole discretion to interpret policy terms in health insurance, life insurance, and annuity contracts. It applies to all insurers, nonprofit health plans, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) selling policies in Maryland. The law amends state insurance regulations to ban such clauses, requiring interpretations to align with Maryland law rather than insurer preferences. The prohibition applies to policies issued, delivered, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026.
HB 1204 (Ace's Law) requires public and nonpublic schools in Maryland to notify a student's parent or guardian within 24 hours if a student leaves school grounds without permission ("elopement"), except for students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Behavior Intervention Plan addressing wandering/elopement. Schools must also submit annual reports starting in 2026 detailing elopement incidents by student demographics (disability, race, gender, etc.) and steps taken to prevent them, including staff training on identifying and addressing such behavior. The State Department of Education will collect these reports from school districts and nonpublic schools, verifying data accuracy for zero-incidence reports. This law directly affects schools, parents/guardians, and state education officials through mandatory notifications and data reporting requirements.
SB 276 updates Maryland's education laws to include all uniformed services members (not just military personnel) in eligibility for educator certification. It revises definitions to clarify that "veteran" includes those discharged within one year of applying for certification, and expands "eligible spouse" to cover spouses of uniformed services members. The bill creates an expedited process for service members, veterans discharged within one year, and their spouses to obtain teaching licenses, requiring only a valid out-of-state license and meeting basic qualifications. This affects applicants for educator certificates across Maryland's public schools and aligns state law with broader federal definitions of uniformed services.
HB 839 modifies Maryland's election law to clarify when provisional ballots for nonpartisan school board elections must be counted. Specifically, it requires local election boards to count a voter's ballot in a nonpartisan school board contest if the voter listed a different political party affiliation than on file but selected a candidate in that nonpartisan race. This applies only to school board contests (which are not partisan), not to partisan races or other ballot choices. The bill ensures these votes are not rejected solely due to a mismatched party affiliation, while maintaining other provisional ballot rules. The change takes effect October 1, 2025.
HB 3 revises Maryland's State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners by clarifying the definition of "physical therapist assistant" and increasing the board's membership from 8 to 9 members. The bill requires the Board to send license renewal notices electronically (to the licensee's last email address) unless the licensee specifically requests first-class mail. These changes directly affect licensed physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and all current and future licensees of the State Board. The bill also updates procedural requirements for board appointments and renewal notices, effective July 1, 2025.
HB 226 authorizes the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to operate certain public schools using a schedule that eliminates early dismissal days (e.g., before holidays or events), provided the school meets Maryland’s minimum 1,080-hour instructional requirement. This bill amends Maryland’s Education Code to specifically grant Anne Arundel County this scheduling flexibility, which other counties do not automatically receive under current law. The key provision allows the county to structure school days without early dismissals while still fulfilling the state’s mandated instructional hour and day requirements. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, and directly affects Anne Arundel County public schools operating under this new schedule model.
