SB 709 creates Maryland's Purple Star Colleges Program to recognize institutions of higher education that provide strong support for military-connected students. The bill updates the definition of "military-connected student" to include service members, veterans, and their spouses/dependents, and establishes specific requirements for colleges seeking designation. To qualify, colleges must designate a uniformed services liaison, maintain a dedicated webpage with transition resources, offer student-led transition programs, and provide staff training on military-connected student needs. Administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, this program complements the existing Purple Star Schools Program and directly affects colleges and military-connected students statewide.
SB 242, the Modernizing Civil Relief for Service Members Act, allows active-duty service members and their spouses to practice in Maryland under an occupational or professional license issued by another state, without needing to meet all of Maryland’s usual licensing requirements. It also expands eligibility for veterans’ licensing benefits to include former service members who were discharged more than a certain period before applying for a license. The bill creates new provisions (Subtitle 14A) in Maryland law to streamline this process and updates definitions to clarify who qualifies under these rules. These changes directly affect military personnel, their families, and veterans seeking to work in licensed professions across Maryland.
SB 46 clarifies the definition of "interment" in Maryland law to include earth burials, mausoleum entombment, and columbarium niches for veterans' cemeteries. It requires the Department of Veterans and Military Families to provide an outer burial receptacle (instead of a grave liner) or a columbarium niche with marker at no cost for every burial. The bill also mandates funeral homes and crematories to share identifying information about unclaimed cremated remains with veterans service organizations to determine if they belong to veterans or eligible dependents, ensuring proper burial arrangements. This directly affects veterans, their families, funeral service providers, and cemetery administrators.
HB 721, the Uniformed Services Spouses Act, extends existing Maryland benefits for military service members and veterans to include their spouses. It adds "eligible spouse" as a defined term to priority registration at public colleges (within 15 years of service member’s last active duty, max four academic years), community college resource centers with tailored support, and senatorial/Delegate scholarships for spouses of active service members. The bill also modifies hiring preferences for state public service roles to include spouses of veterans. These changes directly affect spouses of active-duty service members and veterans living in Maryland who seek education, career support, or scholarships. The law updates multiple sections of Maryland’s education and employment codes to include spouses in eligibility criteria previously limited to service members themselves.
SB 42 protects registered reduction operators (who process human remains into soil via natural organic reduction) and veterans service organizations from civil liability when transferring or receiving unclaimed hydrolyzed or soil remains of veterans or their eligible dependents, as long as they act in good faith. It amends Maryland law to clarify that these entities are not legally responsible for handling such remains for disposition purposes. The bill specifically replaces the term "cremated remains" with "hydrolyzed or soil remains" in relevant legal sections to align with new processing methods. This change directly affects veterans' remains management without altering existing disposition procedures or creating new requirements.
HB 623 creates Maryland's Purple Star Colleges Program to recognize colleges providing strong support for military-connected students, while updating the existing Purple Star Schools Program. The bill directly affects military-connected students (including service members, veterans, and their spouses/dependents) and colleges, including both public/private higher education institutions and private career schools. Key provisions require colleges to appoint a military liaison to assist new military-connected students with transitions, and maintain an easily accessible website with resources on relocation, enrollment, academic planning, and support services. The Maryland Higher Education Commission will administer the program and establish minimum criteria for colleges to earn Purple Star designation.
HB 720 repeals the expiration date for the Douglas J. J. Peters Veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Conflicts Scholarship, removing the current cutoff of June 30, 2030, for awarding new scholarships and eliminating restrictions on renewing scholarships for recipients who received their initial award before that date. This change directly affects eligible veterans, active service members, or their dependents (spouses, children) who served in the Afghanistan or Iraq conflicts and meet Maryland residency and enrollment requirements at participating institutions. The bill maintains all existing provisions, including the 50% tuition coverage limit, 2.5 GPA requirement, and 5-year full-time renewal period. It ensures the scholarship program continues indefinitely without time-based restrictions on new awards or renewals.
SB 273 expands eligibility for Maryland's Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program to include individuals currently eligible for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Benefit. This change directly affects family members of veterans or military personnel who qualify for Chapter 35 benefits but were previously excluded from the scholarship program. The bill adds a new verification method: applicants can submit a copy of their Chapter 35 eligibility certificate, or school officials can verify their Chapter 35 status if a certificate is unavailable. These updates simplify the process for qualifying individuals to access the scholarship, which supports education costs for dependents of military personnel, veterans, 9/11 survivors, and school employees injured or killed in line of duty.
HB 100 would expand eligibility for Maryland's Edward T. and Mary A. Conroy Memorial Scholarship Program to include individuals who were eligible for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Chapter 35 Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Benefit. This change would directly affect current or former Chapter 35 beneficiaries applying for the scholarship, who previously lacked automatic eligibility under the program. The bill adds a new qualifying category to the existing criteria (such as military dependents, 9/11 victims' families, and school employee dependents) and establishes two verification methods: submitting a Chapter 35 certificate or having a school official verify eligibility. The proposed changes would take effect July 1, 2026, if enacted.
SB 192, the Military Family Inclusion Act, modifies membership requirements for four Maryland state commissions and boards to include military family representation. It adds a "family caregiver of a service-disabled veteran" to the Commission on Caregiving, designates an "organization representing military families" as a voting member on the Trust Fund Board, and requires the Veterans Commission to include such an organization in its appointment list. The bill also adds a "service member" position to the Maryland Youth Advisory Council, appointed by the Department of Veterans and Military Families. These changes, effective October 1, 2026, adjust who serves on existing advisory bodies without creating new programs or benefits. The bill directly affects how these state boards are composed but does not alter funding or services for military families.
