Bills That Made It Through Crossover

Monday, March 23rd was crossover day. It was the deadline for bills to be voted on by one of the two chambers to have a real chance of passage. A lot of bills have made it through one of the two chambers of the General Assembly. Bills that did not make it through are pretty much ‘dead’ until next session. Here are some of the bills that are still in play to be passed in 2026. Just because they passed one chamber, does not mean they will pass the General Assembly. Many bills pass one House and never make it through the other House. If you’re interested in any piece of legislation, you should contact the people on the Committee in the other chamber that the bill has been referred to. Consumer Protection The Protecting Consumers and Jobs from Predatory Pricing Act SB387/HB 895– prohibits a food retailer from engaging in dynamic pricing or using consumer surveillance data to set a price for goods or services. Passed the Senate – Referred to House Economic Matters. Passed the House – Referred to Senate Finance. Video Streaming Services - Loudness of Commercial Advertisements – SB 528 - Prohibiting video streaming services from transmitting to a consumer the audio of a commercial advertisement in a manner that is louder than the audio of the accompanying video programming. Passed the Senate. Referred to House Economic Matters Criminal Justice Protection of Identity of Victim of Sexual Assault or Stalking SB 294/HB 450 Passed Senate – Referred to House Judiciary Committee. Youth Charging Reform Act - SB323 - The bill requires 16- and 17-year-olds charged with 12 offenses–including murder and carjacking – begin their cases in adult court. Other charges will now start in juvenile court. It also ends the automatic adult charging of 14- and 15-year-olds, starting all cases in juvenile court. Passed he Senate; Referred to House Judiciary Committee Democracy Violation of Constitutional Rights (No Kings Act) SB 346 Lets people in Maryland sue in civil court if a federal agent violates their constitutional rights. Passed the Senate. Referred to Judiciary Committee Education Phone Free School Act HB 525/SB 928- requires each county board of education to implement a policy limiting the student cell phone use during the school day. Passed the House and the Senate. Referred to the Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee and Ways and Means Committee. Elections Voting Rights Bill – SB 255 would prohibit a municipality or county from attempting to block a protected class from electing their candidate of choice or influencing a local election by diluting the group’s vote. Passed the Senate and referred to the House Government, Labor and Elections Committee. Special Elections to Fill Vacancies: SB 5 Constitutional amendment to require special elections for legislative vacancies to fill vacancies who are appointed in first year of a 4-year session. Passed Senate and referred to House Committee on Government, Labor and Elections Allowing Unaffiliated Voters to Change Their Party Affiliation to Vote in A Primary – HB 156 - The bill would allow unaffiliated voters to change their voter registration to affiliate with a political party in person during early voting or on Election Day. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Committee on Elections, Energy and the Environment Local Board of Elections Employees SB 670/HB 1001– Authority at Polling Places Gives local election board employees authority over on‑duty police officers. Both versions of the Bill passed. Referred to Senate Committee on Elections, Energy and the Environment and House Committee on Government, Labor and Elections Energy Utility RELIEF Act HR 1532 will make electric bills more affordable (by at least $150 annually) by strengthening oversight of utilities, limiting excessive utility executive compensation from being passed onto customers, reforming rate-setting practices, and ensuring large energy users (e.g. data centers) pay for the infrastructure needed to support their demand. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Committee on Elections Energy and the Environment. Gun Control Machine Gun Convertible Pistols Ban SB334 Bans the manufacture, sale, purchase, or transfer of pistols that can be converted into machine guns Passed the Senate. Referred to House Judiciary Committee. Phasing out lead ammunition for hunting – HB 1067 would require the Department of Natural Resources to require the use of only non-lead ammunition for the hunting of all game species by July 1, 2029. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Health Recommendations for Immunizations, Screenings, and Preventive Services – HB 637/S835 - bill to grant the state health secretary authority to issue vaccine recommendations based on guidance from national medical societies, state health groups and federal agencies — a response to the narrowing of vaccine recommendations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Passed the House of Delegates. Passed the Senate. Referred to House Health Committee Hospital Licensure – Nonprofit Ownership HB 599 Requires any hospital licensed on or after October 1, 2026, to be a nonprofit organization, and restricts future ownership transfers to for-profit entities. Passed the House of Delegates. Referred to Senate Finance Committee. Chain Restaurants - Disclosure and Notice to Customers of Sodium and Added Sugars SB866/HB1048– would require chain restaurants to signify which food items have high added sugar or sodium content. Passed the Senate and House. Referred to House Health Committee and Senate Finance Committee. Housing Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act – SB 389/HB 894 - 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. Passed the House and Senate. Referred to Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee and House Environment and Transportation Committee. Short term Rental Safety Act – HB 1221 - would require Airbnb and other short-term rentals to have fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide detectors. Unfortunately, Marylanders have died in short-term rentals that didn't have proper safety features. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee Immigration Non-Cooperation with ICE Agents: SB245/HB 444 has already passed the General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Moore. Private Immigration Detention Facilities - Zoning Requirement HB 1017/SB984 - Prohibiting the State or a unit of local government from approving the use of a building or structure as an immigration detention facility by a private entity. Passed both the House and the Senate. Referred to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and House Judiciary Committee. Correctional Services - Correctional Facilities and Immigration Detention Facilities - Minimum Mandatory Standards – HB 1018 Requiring the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services to adopt regulations establishing certain minimum mandatory standards governing the care, custody, and conditions of civil detainees in immigration detention facilities. Passed the House of Delegates/Referred to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Digitally Unmasking Agents for Lawsuits - HB351 allows residents & the Attorney General to sue government agents for violating your rights. If the agents are anonymous, the bill uses police technology to help identify who to sue. Passed the House of Delegates/Referred to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Removal of Face Masks from ICE Agents: SB1 would prohibit face coverings on law enforcement officials working in the state, including ICE agents who are typically masked. SB 1 passed the Senate and referred to the House Judiciary Committee Labor Collective bargaining rights for graduate students at the University of Maryland: HB 141/SB 81: Passed the House. Passed the Senate. Referred to Senate Finance Committee and House Government, Labor and Elections Committee. Collective bargaining rights for non-tenured professors at the University of Maryland: SB 6: Passed the Senate. Referred to House Government, Labor and Elections Committee. Arbitration Reform for State Employees HB604/SB 28: proposes to reform collective bargaining for state employees by introducing binding arbitration to resolve impasses. Passed the House and the Senate. Referred to Senate Finance and Budget and Taxation and House Government, Labor and Elections Committee Renters Residential Lease Fee Disclosure HB 80: This bill requires landlords to clearly disclose all mandatory and optional fees upfront, so renters are not surprised by hidden costs after signing a lease. Passed the House. Referred to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Air Conditioning Requirements for Rental Apartments -HB 153/SB12 This bill requires landlords to provide functioning air conditioning in larger apartment buildings. Passed the House and Senate. Referred to Senate Judicial Proceedings and House Economic Matters 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. Passed the Senate and Passed the House – Referred to Judicial Proceedings and House Economic Matters. Safe and Health Homes for All Act- HB 1218/SB941 - Requiring the State to develop a plan to identify severe health and safety risk properties and take related actions; and requiring the Department to submit the plan and certain recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before August 31, 2027. Passed the Senate and House. House bill referred to Senate Judicial Proceedings. Senate Bill referred to House Economic Matters Social Justice Cheltenham Veterans Center – HB 552 calls for an investigation of property near the Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery in Prince George’s County that may hold unmarked graves of youth from the former House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Judicial Proceedings Placement of Foster Children: HB 1559 will prohibit the placement of foster children in unlicensed settings such as hotels, homeless shelters, and social services offices. Passed the House. Referred to Senate Finance Committee Birth Certificate Modernization Act – SB 6262 would create a new category of “X” on birth certificates, to recognize individuals who are transgender or nonbinary. It makes it easier for adults to request a new birth certificate with a gender designation different from the original document, by removing the current requirement that a physician attests to the gender transition of an individual. A physician would still have to attest to the transition for a minor. Passed the Senate. Referred to the House Health Committee 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 $210,00 a year. Passed the House of Delegates and Referred to the Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee Broadband Accountability and Affordability Act HB 1037 – Requires the Public Service Commission to study how they can regulate broadband and voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Right now the PSC can only regulate the old copper wire lines, but no one uses those lines anymore so there is no regulation on phone and internet service. This bill would change that. Passed the House of Delegates. Referred to Senate Finance Committee. You can find out the status of every bill by going to the Maryland General Assembly website and putting in the bill number in the search box: mgaleg.maryland.gov. HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR BILLS When there is a Committee Hearing on A Bill Scheduled, it is important to contact. members of the Committee. Even if the hearing has been held or has not been scheduled, it is important to contact the same Committee to urge that it be voted out of 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.