Over 1,000 Bills Introduced in First Two Weeks of the 2026 General Assembly Session

 

Jimmy Tarlau	11:46 AM (3 hours ago)
to Jimmy, bcc: me

The 2026 General Assembly is 18 days into its 90 day session.

The  General Assembly Session goes through 5 phases.

 

1.      Introduction of Bills: In phase one (Jan 14 – Feb 12), Delegates and Senators introduce legislation.  So far about 1,100 bills have been introduced.  Usually there are about 3,000 introduced in both the Senate and House of Delegates.  The deadline for introducing bills is Feb 9^th for the Senate and Feb 13^th for the House.  After that date, bills have to go to the Rules Committee and need special permission to be released

2.      Committee Hearings: (Jan 20 – Mar 10) Every bill has to be heard by one of the standing committees and some of the bills get voted on by the full Senate and House.

3.      Rush to Cross-over: (March 3-March 17) For a bill to be voted on in a timely manner by the other chamber, it has to pass out of one of the two chambers by cross-over day.  Cross-over day is March 17^th.

4.      Hearings by the Other Chamber: (March 17 – March 31) Each bill that passes one of the two houses has to have a hearing by the other chamber

5.      Rush to Sine Die.  (April 1- April 13) This is the last day of the General Assembly.  This year it will be on April 13^th Every bill has to be passed by the two houses with exactly the same wording.  After it passes the General Assembly, the bill goes to the Governor for signature or his veto.  Overrides of vetoes usually take place at the beginning of the next year’s session but because there will be a new General Assembly elected in November, the new legislature cannot vote to override a veto.

 

There is a lot of important legislation being discussed in Annapolis.  You can look at all the bills on the General Assembly web-sites:

 

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/senate  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/house

 

I have chosen in this newsletter to focus on a dozen bills. Over the last few years, I have been working with the Maryland Legislative Coalition ( https://mdlegislative.com ).  We regularly review the bills that have been introduced and then let people know about them and how they can advocate for them.  I often will be copying their material rather than rewriting what’s already been done. If there is a bill or issue you want to know about, please email me.

 

Consumer Protection

The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Predatory Pricing Act – SB 387 - Corporations use “surveillance pricing” to charge certain consumers more based on factors such as their purchase histories. They also use electronic shelf labels (ESLs) to change the price of items in store in real time. This legislation will prohibit the use of ESLs and surveillance pricing and requires the use of analog shelf pricing in any retail establishment larger than 10,000 sq ft (ex. grocery stores). Senate Finance Committee – Feb 12^th

Criminal Justice

Protection of Identity of Victim of Sexual Assault or Stalking SB 294/HB 450 aims to protect the privacy of sexual assault or stalking victims by prohibiting courts and parties in criminal or juvenile cases from disclosing identifying information in records to nonparties. It requires the redaction of such information unless specific exceptions are met.  Senate Judicial Proceedings: Feb 5; House Judiciary Committee Feb 10

Elections

Re-Districting: HB 488 adopts the Governor’s Redistricting Advisory recommendation.  It would make the 1^st Congressional District now held by Republican Andy Harris more competitive. This is in response to Republican led redistricting efforts in other states throughout the country.  It the House this week. The Senate President is opposing the bill so if you support redistricting, you should contact your local Senator and ask him/her to support the bill.

 

Special Elections to Fill Vacancies: SB 5/HB 50 Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4-year session. Senate Education, Energy and the Environment – Hearing Held, House Committee on Education, Energy and the Environment: Hearing Feb 4

 

Environment

Maryland Beverage Container Recycling Refund and Litter Reduction Program – SB 345/HB 331 - would create a beverage container deposit program in Maryland with a 10- or 15-cent refundable deposit on metal, glass, and plastic beverage containers, depending on container size. The deposit is refunded to the customer when the beverage container is.

returned for recycling. The program would rely on reverse vending machines and other new technologies for convenient container redemption to achieve at least a 90% recovery rate. Senate Education, Energy and Environment: Feb 10; House Environment and Transportation: Feb 11

Housing

Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act – SB 3892 - aims to accelerate transit-oriented development (TOD) by rezoning 300+ acres of state-owned land, eliminating parking minimums near transit, and encouraging mixed-use, affordable housing projects to increase ridership and housing supply. Senate Finance Committee: Feb 12th

 

Starter and Silver Homes Act – SB 36 This legislation, requested by the Governor, aims to restrict local zoning authority regarding lot sizes, setbacks, and design elements to encourage more affordable housing. Senate Education Energy and Environment Committee Feb 17; House Economic Matters Committee: Feb 12

 

Immigration

Non-Cooperation with ICE Agents:  SB245/HB 288:  These bills would prohibit the State, a unit of local government, a county sheriff, or any agency, officer, employee, or agent of the State or a unit of local government from entering into an immigration enforcement agreement; and requiring the termination of an existing immigration enforcement agreement on or before July 1, 2026.  The Senate Bill was voted out of Committee and should be voted on by the full Senate this week.  The House Bill had a hearing on the bill this week.  You can write to your Senators and Delegates to support this legislation.

 

Removal of Face Masks from ICE Agents: SB1/HB155 would prohibit face coverings on law enforcement officials working in the state, including ICE agents who are typically masked. The bill would ban items such as a balaclava, ski mask or neck gaiter for officers on duty. Exceptions would be made for officers “actively engaged in an undercover operation,” someone wearing a motorcycle helmet, a garment worn for religious purposes or when health-related matters are involved. SB 1 was voted out by Committee.  HB 155 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

 

 

Labor

Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors and graduate students at the University of Maryland: HB 106 & HB 141/SB 6 & SB 84: House Committee on Government Labor and Elections – Feb 10; Senate Finance Committee:  Feb 5

 

              One of my neighbors asked me to send out a special request:

 

“I’m Dan Greene, lifelong Marylander, professor at UMD, and Vice President of United Academics of Maryland AAUP-AFT—the union for all faculty. VP JD Vance said, “The professors are the enemy,” and he’s followed through on this threat by deporting our students, slashing our funding, and policing our teaching and research. Can you write some testimony to the state legislature, telling them we deserve to collectively bargain contracts that will keep us safe when we’re under attack?

 

“So many of us are alums, employees, or parents connected to the University System of Maryland—from UMD to Towson to Morgan State. But did you know that academic workers are the only state employees still forbidden from signing a union contract? Especially for the majority of workers on semester-to-semester contracts, this keeps them from building relationships with students (if they even have an office to do so from) and exploring politically sensitive topics like climate change and environmental racism. This year, the statehouse is once again considering giving all 27,000 of us the right to collectively bargain with bill SB006/HB106, but we need your help to do it. 

 

“If you could please take five minutes to fill out this form and tell the legislature you support union rights for University faculty, it would do a lot to show we have the public behind us. Do mention your connection to the system if you have one, and talk about why well-paid, secure faculties are essential for our state's economy and democracy. Don’t worry about the bill number or addressing particular senators—we will package and bulk-submit testimony from members and supporters across the state.” 

 

Arbitration Reform for State Employees HB604/SB 28: proposes to reform collective bargaining for state employees by introducing binding arbitration to resolve impasses. It mandates that the Governor fund negotiated or arbitrated contracts in the annual budget and requires a 2026 ballot referendum for a constitutional amendment to authorize this mandatory spending. House Government, Labor and Elections; Senate Budget and Taxation.

 

Renters

Discrimination in Housing - Income-Based Housing Subsidies – HB 315/SB 335 – This bill would prohibit a landlord may not refuse to rent to a prospective tenant who pays rent with the assistance of an income-based housing subsidy.  House Economic Matters: Feb 5, Senate Judicial Proceedings: Feb 10. 

 

Transportation

Required Crew for Movement of Freight - SB 156 establishes minimum crew requirements for freight rail operations, strengthening safety standards and protecting railroad workers and the communities rail lines run through. Senate Finance Committee: Feb 4^th

 

Utilities

Utility Cost Recovery Limitations – HB1 would prohibit investor-owned gas and electric companies from paying many employee bonuses with ratepayer dollars, and it would restrict the use of rates for supervisor compensation that exceeds 110% of the maximum salary of a Maryland Public Service Commission member. Commissioners on the PSC, which regulates utilities in the state, earn $191,900 a year.  House Environment and Transportation Committee – Hearing Held

 

HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS

When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact.

members of the Committee. The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information. Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite) and click on the Committees tab.

Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found. Here is where you can find out who your Delegates and Senator are:

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District .

 

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.

 

Dear (legislator),

My name is _________ and my address is ______________. I am writing to let you.

know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders. I

would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get.

passed quickly.

 

Maryland General Assembly Starts Its 2026 Session

 The Maryland General Assembly opened its 448^th Session on Wednesday, January 14^th .  The session lasts 90 days ending on April 13^th.  All bills introduced have to be signed by the House of Delegates and the Senate with exactly the same wording before they can be sent to the Governor for his signature.   As of the first day over 500 bills have already been introduced.  You can see all the bills that have been introduced on the House and Senate links:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/house https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Index/senate

              The big news this year is the election of a new Speaker of the House of Delegates, Joseline Pena-Melnyk.  After she was elected, she made a lot of new appointments.  The biggest structural change is Peña-Melnyk’s decision to split the House Health and Government Operations Committee  into a  Health Committee and a separate standing committee on Labor, Elections and Government. Here are the new Committee Chairpersons:

Appropriations Committee – Ben Barnes (D-Prince Georges and Anne Arundel)

Economic Matters  - Del. Kriselda Valderrama (D-Prince George’s

Environment and Transportation  - Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery)

Judiciary Committee – Sandy Bartlett (D- Anne Arundel)

Labor, Elections and Government Committee  -Del. Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City) 

Health Committee  -Del. Heather Bagnall (D-Anne Arundel)

Rules Committee, Dels. Anne Healey (D – Prince George’s)

Ways and Means – Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D – Montgomery)

 

There are a number of important issues that the General Assembly hopes to address in its 90-day session.  Top of the list is how to respond to the Trump Administration Federal Action.  I’ll be discussing some of those in the upcoming weeks as we review specific legislation but here are some of the big issues:

o   Budget Deficit

§  The State is facing a $1.4 billion deficit, and the Legislative leadership is not inclined to vote for any tax increases in a budget year, so it will be interesting to see how they manage the deficit without cutting needed programs. 

o   Redistricting will be discussed this year.

§  Some Democrats want to push for a new map that would reduce the Republican Congressional Reps from 1 to 0 in response to Republican redistricting plans in other states.  The Governor and Speaker support some version of redistricting, but the Senate President is against it.  We’ll see.

o   Immigration:

§   There will be legislation to eliminate 287(g) Partnerships between local law enforcement and ICE that make it easier for authorities to arrest and deport people that officials say are in the country illegally. Eight Maryland counties currently participate in such collaborative agreements.

§  Another bill would forbid ICE agents from wearing face masks that shield their identity.

o   Health Care

§  A bill to enable the State Health Secretary to recommend vaccines.

§  Legislation to help the 140,000 Marylanders who may lose Medicaid coverage because of new work and redetermination requirements passed in Trump’s tax legislation.

o   Affordability

§  Governor Moore will support legislation to lower housing costs by clearing the way for transit-oriented development on state-owned land.

§   Moore also will support legislation to go after corporate grocery stores artificially raising prices, a practice known as dynamic pricing.

o   Environmental Issues

§  Bottle Recycling Bill

o   Elections

§  Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4 year session

o   Renters Rights

§  Good Cause Evictions

o   Labor Issues

§  Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors and graduate students at the University of Maryland

§  Binding arbitration for Maryland state workers.  

The Maryland Legislative Coalition has produced a more comprehensive agenda that includes many of the bills that advocates will be supporting. You can see the whole list with this link: https://mdlegislative.com/legislation/legislative-agenda

 

HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS

 

When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact members of the Committee.  The General Assembly website lists all the committees, the members of each committee and their contact information.  Go to the main page (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite ) and click on the Committees tab.

 

Call or send an email to your legislators using the contact information found.   Here is where you can find out who are your Delegates and Senator:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District .

 

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above. You are also encouraged to include any details of why you think this bill is important.

 

Dear (legislator),

My name is _________ and my address is ______________.  I am writing to let you know that the following bill(s) is(are) important to me and to all Marylanders.  I would like to request that you be a champion for these bills and help them get passed quickly. 

Each of these bills is important for Maryland and I support them and would like your help in getting them passed.  If you are not on the relevant committee, I would appreciate your voting for them during the session.  If you are on the relevant committee, I hope you will fight for them and support the sponsors as much as possible.

Thank you for your consideration,

(name)

 

New Maryland Laws Effective January 1, 2026

 No time limits on anesthesia coverage

House Bill 1086 states that if medical insurers in Maryland cover anesthesia for a procedure, they must cover it for the duration of the procedure and also cover care related to anesthesia delivery immediately before and after the procedure. Insurance carriers and Medicaid may not impose time limits on anesthesia delivery.

Ending fail-first protocols for diabetes, metastatic cancer side effects

Starting Jan. 1, 2026 medical insurance providers are prohibited from requiring step therapy, also known as fail-first protocols, for Type 1, Type 2 or gestational diabetes, or for symptoms or side effects of advanced stage four metastatic cancers.

Fail-first protocols require patients to use one or a sequence of typically cheaper prescription drugs before their insurance company covers medication prescribed by their providers.

For patients with diabetes, the new statute prohibits step therapy for FDA-approved insulin and insulin analogs. For advanced cancer patients, the new law expands coverage to symptoms and side effects, as existing law already prohibited step therapy for treatment of advanced stage four cancer itself.

No prior authorization for pediatric transfers

House Bill 1301 prohibits insurers, nonprofit health service plans, health maintenance organizations, Medicaid and the Maryland Children’s Health Program from requiring prior authorization for transfers to special pediatric hospitals. The law defines special pediatric hospitals as in-state facilities that provide nonacute medical, rehabilitation, therapy or palliative services to patients younger than 22, or those ages 2 to 23 with co-occurring physical and behavioral health conditions.

Cancer screenings for firefighters

This law requires counties that offer self-insured employee health plans to provide firefighters coverage for preventive cancer screenings without copays, coinsurance or deductibles.

Counties may either provide a no-cost annual exam for firefighters following the latest guidelines from the International Association of Firefighters or apply for a grant to pay for “innovative cancer screening technologies, including a multi-cancer early detection blood test,” the statute says. Under the law, counties must also collect data on cancer screenings provided in 2026 and 2027 and report that information to the Maryland Health Care Commission.

 

Domestic violence awareness for barbers, cosmetologists

Barbers and cosmetologists in Maryland must now complete domestic violence awareness training in order to become licensed. Trainings must be at least an hour online or in-person and include guidance on how to recognize the signs of domestic violence, how to speak with clients who might be victims and connecting clients with resources and support groups for victims of domestic violence.

A 2023 research paper noted that the social atmosphere of hair salons and barbershops cultivates trust between client and stylist. This, researchers said, encourages people to disclose domestic violence they’re experiencing and receive social support. Some stylists even noted that, due to their physical proximity to clients, they’re equipped to notice signs of abuse, such as scarring, early on.

Cancer screenings for firefighters

A new law will require certain counties to cover the costs of preventive cancer screenings for firefighters, through either a no-cost annual examination or grants from the state’s Professional and Volunteer Firefighter Innovative Cancer Screening Technologies Program.

The legislation applies to counties that offer self-insured employee health benefit plans. It requires screening for bladder, breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, oral, prostate, skin, testicular and thyroid cancers.

Ride-hailing companies to report earnings to drivers and state

Starting next year, transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft must send drivers a weekly report detailing their earnings based on fares collected and additional fees charged to passengers. House Bill 861 will also require the ride-sharing companies to provide an annual report on their fares, operators and earnings to the state Public Service Commission by Feb. 1.

The purpose of this legislation is to increase transparency from ride-hailing companies about how much of the fares and fees paid by passengers actually reaches drivers.

Home health care reimbursements

Residential service agencies can now be reimbursed by the Maryland Department of Health for personal assistance services if the person providing the service is classified as an employee.

The law, known as the Homecare Workers Rights Act, is meant to protect personal care aides, such as nurses and physical, occupational and speech therapists, from being misclassified as independent contractors by residential service agencies.

Testing for heart disease

House Bill 666 requires insurers to cover coronary calcium score testing, which is a scan that can detect early heart disease before a cardiac event occurs.

The bill states that a  coronary artery calcium test is a "CT scan of the heart that shows any calcium deposits in the coronary arteries ("calcium score")," and, "the calcium score may help predict the risk of a future heart attack and help determine risk for cardiovascular disease."

Homeowner protections

House Bill 59 offers new protections for "heirs" living in family homes that will prevent properties from being sold at tax sales. The new law adds homeowner protections, establishing a registry for heir properties and modifies tax sale redemption rules.

New health carrier law regarding cancellations of coverage

Another new law, House Bill 936, requires that health care providers send a cancellation or non-renewal notice at least 90 days in advance.

The new law says those notices will also include information on additional health benefit coverage options as well.

This newsletter was compiled from various area news sources.