Hundreds of new laws hit the books Tuesday in the state of Maryland, following their approval earlier this year by the Maryland General Assembly.

Portions of the state budget take effect July 1, including a new 3% sales tax on the sale of certain IT services. A complete list of the services now subject to the tax can be found here from the Maryland Comptroller's office. The tax is one of several lawmakers approved in Governor Wes Moore’s budget to close a deficit that started at around $3-billion at the beginning of the legislative session.

A list of laws taking effect Tuesday is below. It also includes a handful of measures that were supposed to take effect, but were vetoed instead by Governor Moore.

HB3/SB47 - Makes various revisions to state board of physical therapy examiners, including the definition of a physical therapist assistant

HB12/SB214 - Prohibits sale or distribution of a product that is advertised as containing more than 0.5 milligrams of THC per serving or more than 2.5 milligrams of THC per package; creates penalties for offenses

HB18 - Extends to June 30, 2028 the timeframe Montgomery & Prince George’s Counties can use automated noise abatement monitoring systems and issue tickets along state and local highways

HB41/SB267 - Expands by a month the time period prior to presidential and gubernatorial general elections during which a petition to form a new political party, or any additional signatures to such a petition, may not be filed

HB71 - Establishes the Holocaust Education Assistance Grant Program

HB131/SB117 - Gives priority to funding for septic tank upgrades in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area and then a Maryland Chesapeake Bay 8-digit watershed that has a relative effectiveness for total nitrogen reduction of 9.24 or higher based on the Chesapeake Bay watershed model

HB150/SB252 - Allows Maryland State Department of Education to lower requirement for child care centers to have one staff member certified in first aid and CPR per 20 children to one for every 30 children

HB161 - Prohibits local school systems from opting out of specified curriculum developed by Maryland State Department of Education - Read more: Maryland lawmakers gut inclusive health education bill

HB170/SB213 - Extends the Maternal & Child Health Population Health Improvement Fund through 2027

HB197/SB68 - Requires Maryland State Department of Education to develop plan for the creation of Restorative Practices Schools

HB199/SB257 - Expands timeframe state Board of Elections must send written communication to voters on permanent absentee ballot list to confirm address and method to receive ballot from 90 to 120 days before an election

HB239/SB184 - Specifies how Maryland Secretary of State can cancel registration of charitable organizations that fail to file specified reports; allows Secretary of State to suspend or waive late filing fees

HB249/SB125 - Prohibits local governments from enforcing existing laws that cap the amount of calls for emergency services to rental properties

HB265/SB456 - Adds part-time dentists and dental hygienists to those eligible for Maryland Dent-Care program

HB277/SB96 - Requires beginning on October 1, 2025, with specified exceptions, that at least one “water bottle filling station” or a combined water bottle filling station and drinking fountain be installed in all new construction at each location where a drinking fountain is required under the current version of the International Plumbing Code (IPC); be installed in any building undergoing a renovation if the installation of a drinking fountain is required under the current version of IPC

HB297/SB5 - Makes subsidies permanent for people aged 18-37 who buy health insurance on the state marketplace and make up to 400% of the federal poverty level - Read more: Bill helping young Marylanders pay for health insurance passes major legislative hurdles

HB324/SB293 - Requires each member of a local board of education to complete an anti-bias training program at least once during their term

HB325/SB451 - Allows individuals to take all components of a GED exam in English or Spanish; Maryland Department of Labor must identify other languages to offer all GED components in and study cost and give recommendations to General Assembly by December 1, 2026

HB334/SB156 - Establishes the Workgroup on Newborn Nursing Home Visiting Services; must produce study with recommendations to be sent to Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2025

HB458/SB603 - Authorizes Governor to include $350-thousand in state budget starting in FY27 TerpsEXCEED program at University of Maryland-College Park to provide educational and employment opportunities to students with intellectual disabilities

HB502 - Establishes the Office of Disability Employment Advancement and Policy in the Maryland Department of Disabilities to, among other things, implement the Maryland as a Model Employer Initiative

HB504 - Excellence In Maryland Public Schools Act; delays funding and deadlines for portions of the Blueprint For Maryland’s Future including for teacher collaborative time

HB506 - Chesapeake Bay Legacy Act; makes changes regenerative practices and traditions, and healthy soils; finfish harvested and processed by ike jime; water quality monitoring; fishery management plans; aquaculture leases; water quality trading; and stream and floodplain restoration project requirements

HB508/SB795 - Adds “packaged” and “repackaged” janitorial products to the list of janitorial products that a contractor on a maintenance contract with the State must purchase from Blind Industries and Services of Maryland

HB553/SB94 - Requires Medicaid in Maryland starting January 1, 2026 to provide coverage for self-measured blood pressure monitoring to patients who are are pregnant, postpartum, or have been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, or a cardiometabolic disease

HB580/SB164 - Replaces references in Maryland code to Maryland State Firemen’s Association with Maryland State Firefighters Association; makes similar replacements for Disabled Firemen and Rescue Squadmen lists to Disabled Firefighters and Rescue Squad Person

HB599/SB373 - Proposed amendment to Maryland state constitution that requires Governor to include in annual budget money to pay for collective bargaining agreements or binding arbitration between state and unions representing the BWI-Marshall Airport Fire & Rescue Department; proposed amendment will be put to voters on 2026 general election ballot

HB603/SB663 - Allows Maryland Comptroller’s office to send via email notices to employers about which of their workers qualify for earned income tax credits

HB618 - Allows individuals to buy subscriptions to play lottery games through Maryland Lottery with devices such as computers or smartphones

HB619 - Exempts the Maryland sales and use tax on sales of cannabis between a licensed cannabis business and a registered cannabis nursery

HB633/SB667 - Alters definition of a slot machine to exclude skills-based devices that give out cumulative awards that do not exceed a minimal wholesale value of $599

HB634/SB295 - Maryland Fair Taxation for Justice-Involved Individuals; establishes an Income Tax Reconciliation Program to allow individuals who are unable to file a state income tax return while incarcerated to establish installment payment plans and receive a waiver of accrued interest and penalties for tax years 2025 through 2029

HB643/SB318 - Expands eligibility for the Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program to include veterinary practitioners and veterinary technicians who received a graduate, professional, or undergraduate degree from any accredited veterinary college or university

HB678/SB358 - Requires Governor starting in fiscal year 2026 to include $450-thousand in state budget for Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library

HB704/SB597 - Expands eligibility for Maryland Graduate and Professional Scholarship Program to individuals attending the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine

HB728/SB495 - Includes in authorized use of opioid restitution funds paying operating and personnel costs of the Opioids Enforcement Unit in the Maryland Attorney General’s office

HB729/SB594 - Allows state Opioid Restitution Fund to cover opioid overdose response training and programs to address racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery services

HB731 - Creates the Maryland Connectivity Coalition to improve wildlife habitats and reduce wildlife and motor vehicle collisions in the state

HB757/SB859 - Increases amount Governor must include in annual state budget for the Professional and Volunteer Firefighter Innovative Cancer Screening Technologies Program from $500-thousand to $1-million

HB795 - Establishes procedures for purposes of the public service loan forgiveness program for certifying employment of adjunct or tenured professors in institutions of higher education that are also public service employers; requires the Student Loan Ombudsman to develop and disseminate employee certification and awareness materials and requires public service employers to share those materials as specified

HB809/SB765 - Allows foster children attending an institute of higher learning or residential vocational program to return to foster parents residences

HB819/SB653 - Allows Maryland Stadium Authority, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Baltimore City Community College to offer employee stock ownership program

HB840/SB511 - Pregnant and Parenting Student Support Act; requires most public four-year institutions of higher learning to adopt plans for pregnant or parenting students that include referrals for government assistance programs, referrals for adoption services, and a referral network of health care service providers; University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies, University of Maryland Global Campus, and University of Baltimore are exempt from bill

HB857 - Allows licensed hunters to pursue and kill deer they’ve wounded after legal hunting hours; permits use of lighting equipment in pursuit of wounded deer

HB879 - Creates the Task Force to Improve Attendance and Reduce Chronic Absenteeism in Schools; task force must submit report to Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2025

HB888 - Allows an individual seeking an initial teacher certificate to fulfill their portfolio-based assessment from a nationally accredited teacher preparation program

HB930/SB848 - Establishes the Public Health Abortion Grant Program to provide grants to improve access to abortion care clinical services

HB939/SB674 - Establishes the Maryland Collaborative to Advance Implementation of Coverage of Over-the-Counter Birth Control; must submit interim report to Governor and General Assembly by January 1, 2026

HB962/SB696 - Requires the Maryland Department of Health to ensure that a “pediatric hospital overstay patient” is transferred to and treated in the least restrictive setting when clinically indicated and when possible

HB979 - Requires a self-service storage facility operator to provide an occupant a notice 10 days before conducting a lien sale of personal property; notice must include the time, place, and terms of the sale by hand delivery, verified mail, or electronic mail at the occupant’s last known address

HB1010 - Allows grants and donations be made to the African American Heritage Preservation Grant Fund of the Maryland Historical Trust; allows for the grant/donation funding to be used to award grants for preserving or sharing African American history or culture in the state

HB1036/SB931 - Renewable Energy Certainty Act; sets state requirements for solar energy developments; prohibits local governments from taking specified actions to block solar energy developments Read more: Baltimore County solar farm vote delayed after state bill

HB1111 - Makes solar energy generating systems located on or over a water retention pond or quarry currently or previously designated for industrial use eligible for Small Solar Energy Generating System Incentive Program

HB1126 - Creates the Child Support Arrearage to Work Pilot Program to connect individuals who are unemployed and in arrears under a child support order with employment opportunities in the state, including in state government

HB1131 - Establishes the Buprenorphine Training Grant Program to assist a county with offsetting the cost of training paramedics to administer buprenorphine

HB1145 - Establishes in Baltimore County that if an alcoholic beverages license application is denied, another license application for the same location may not be made for one year after the denial, and for two years after the second denial

HB1193 - Maryland Housing Data Transparency Act; requires each county with at least 150,000 residents to report to the Maryland Department of Planning, quarterly, beginning January 1, 2027, specified information relating to building or development permits that include a residential housing component

HB1204 - Ace’s Law; requires that each time a student attempts or accomplishes an elopement (leaving a school campus without the permission of a responsible school staff member), the school must notify the student’s parent or guardian on the same day as the incident; bill applies to public schools, the Maryland School for the Blind, Maryland School for the Deaf, and nonpublic schools

HB1344 - Requires the Department of General Services to conduct an assessment of all facilities owned by the State and operated by the agencies supported by DGS to evaluate whether any is suitable to lease to a child care center

HB1503 - Delays start of paid family and medical leave to 2028 Read more: Lawmakers push back start of Maryland paid family leave

SB215 - Makes various changes to laws and regulations regarding cannabis businesses, including allowing local governments to set hours for on-site consumption of cannabis at businesses that sell it

SB250 - Increases fees and penalties to support programs within the Maryland Department of the Environment including the maximum emissions-based fee, dam safety registration and permit fee

SB253 - Exempts incineration of chemical warfare materials at research facilities from specified state regulations if the incinerations are done for research, development, or demonstration purposes

SB259 - Consolidates requirements for local election boards into one single requirement to send the State Board of Elections one election plan - including plans for polling places, early voting centers, and ballot drop boxes - for approval at least seven months ahead of each statewide election

SB305 - Establishes registration and regulation requirements for virtual currency kiosks to operate in Maryland

SB310 - Expands educational programs under the Youth Suicide Prevention School Program to include classroom instruction designed to increase awareness of the relationship between gambling and youth suicide

SB360 - Includes AI-generated images to state’s ‘revenge porn’ criminal and civil laws

SB599 - Requires the Governor to include in annual budget for fiscal years 2027-2029 $5-million each year for the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Grant Program

SB600 - Allows the use of stop sign monitoring systems on State and local highways located in school zones in the cities of Baltimore and Takoma Park to record violations not stopping at stop signs; establishes penalties for violations

SB633 - Requires political action committees that use a candidate’s likeness to disclose whether they have the candidate’s consent to do so; establishes penalties for violations

SB856 - Maryland Tenant Mold Protection Act; requires specified state agencies develop and update as necessary a website that provides information about mold remediation and dampness and an informational pamphlet that includes specified resources

SB880 - Requires Governor to include $250-thousand in budget for fiscal years 2027-2030 for operating funds for Boys and Girls Clubs of Maryland

SB923 - Requires high school sports officials receive the same pay if the officials are providing officiating services for sports categorized as similar high school sports; local boards must reject any bid or proposal that would result in different rates of pay or fees for officiating similar high school sports

VETOED

HB56/SB177 - Requires, when funding is available, to establish a program to procure local food for local school systems VETO STATEMENT

HB128/SB149 - Requires Maryland Comptroller’s Office to conduct study on the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in Maryland; study must include an economic analysis determining if there would be a cost passed on to taxpayers if each fossil fuel company that emitted more than 1.0 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions globally between 1995 and 2024 were required to compensate Maryland for climate change; study must be sent to General Assembly by December 1, 2026 VETO STATEMENT

HB270/SB116 - Requires the Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Energy Administration, and University of Maryland School of Business, in coordination with the Department of Legislative Services, to conduct an analysis of the likely environmental, energy, and economic impacts of data center development in the state; analysis to be submitted by September 1, 2026 VETO STATEMENT

HB328 - Adds fraternal organizations to those the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency may issue a license to for instant ticket lottery machines or pull tab machines VETO STATEMENT

HB1037/SB909 - Energy Resource Adequacy & Planning Act; establishes the Strategic Energy Planning Office to be funded through assessments imposed on public service companies through an existing process administered by the Public Service Commission VETO STATEMENT

HB1316 - Requires the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop and publish a youth-centric technology and social media resource guide in time for the 2027-2028 school year VETO STATEMENT

SB587 - Establishes the Maryland Reparations Commission to study and make recommendations relating to appropriate benefits to be offered to individuals impacted by historical inequality; commission must submit by November 1, 2027 a final report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly VETO STATEMENT

SB655 - Establishes an Artificial Intelligence Evidence Clinic Pilot Program in the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide expertise in artificial intelligence to the circuit courts and the District Court in the form of expert testimony on the authenticity of electronic evidence that a court determines may have been created or altered using AI VETO STATEMENT