What was a 90-day marathon for the Maryland General Assembly quickly evolved into an all-out sprint on Monday, a day known as Sine Die, or the end of the 2026 legislative session.
Sine Die is the last day for bills to pass in both chambers in order to make it to Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for signature, and lawmakers continued to take votes all the way up until midnight.
Tension rose in both chambers before the clock struck twelve, including heated arguments and outbursts from all sides of the aisle, especially over the Maryland Voting Rights Act of 2026, which passed with minutes to spare.
But House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties), who just wrapped her first session as speaker of the House, says impassioned remarks on Sine Die are just the name of the game.
“You know that always happens on Sine Die. And you know why it is? Because everyone is stressed. It is the last day, and the clock is running. And if you don't support a policy, of course you're going to try everything under the sun to get in the way of that policy moving forward,” she said during a press conference following Monday’s adjournment.
“Affordability and accountability” quickly emerged as the guiding principles of this session, and leadership in both the House and Senate believe they delivered on those promises.
“When you look at affordability and accountability, we have done it. When you look at opportunity, we have done it with all the different programs and help that we have for businesses and programs for education,” Peña-Melnyk said.
“Here in the Senate, we focused on what matters most to Marylanders: affordability for families, growing our economy and protecting the state from the harmful effects of this federal administration,” Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore County) said at a press conference on Friday.
“At a time when Maryland families have felt squeezed in ways like never before. We've taken significant steps to make Maryland more affordable. We worked to lower costs where it matters most, from housing, health care to everyday expenses, while maintaining fiscal discipline and sustaining our long term stability,” he added.
Here are the some of the key bills that made it in under the wire:
Utility RELIEF Act
It may have taken all four months of the legislative session, but the House and Senate have reached a consensus on its 100-page energy omnibus known as the Utility RELIEF Act.
The bill is anticipated to save Marylanders at least $150 a year, but there are various energy policy changes that could knock some additional dollars off of customer utility bills according to leaders.
“We are going to control the things that we can, pushing every lever at our disposal to put more money in people's pockets, holding big companies accountable, because big companies should worry as much about ratepayers and the average Marylander as they do about shareholders and bonuses,” Gov. Wes Moore said at a press conference on Monday.
The most targeted changes are to the EmPOWER program, which aims to improve energy efficiency through the incentivization of free or discounted energy audits, weatherization and energy efficient appliances.
EmPOWER is paid for by all ratepayers through a surcharge of around $10 to $20 per utility bill, but a state-led downpayment of $100 million will cover that fee for a year.
Lawmakers opted to decrease emissions reduction targets for the program from 2.5 percent each year to 1.75 percent until 2029 to save some more money – the targets will return to 2.5 percent by 2036.
Gas customers will also stop paying the EmPOWER surcharge starting in 2027.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) – the independent state utility regulator – will study the effectiveness of the EmPOWER program and evaluate whether utility companies should continue administering it, or if a third-party administrator should begin running the program.
The bill will also cap how much investor-owned utilities can charge ratepayers to cover supervisor salaries exceeding around $250,000, meaning they will have to dip into profits to payout additional compensation.
The Utility RELIEF Act includes other technical changes that could save ratepayers more money, including requiring transmission owners to be members of the regional grid operator, known as the PJM.
While utility companies are already members, by making it a requirement, it closes a federal “loophole” that allows companies to charge ratepayers for the voluntary participation incentives that they receive.
The PSC will also be given newfound jurisdiction over reviewing underground transmission line projects.
Previously, these types of supplemental projects were only subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has a lower cost-benefit standard than the PSC.
“Over these last 20 years, supplemental projects have cost or are projected to cost Maryland ratepayers $3.5 billion – $3.5 billion of projects that have not gone under review,” Ferguson said. “The Utility RELIEF Act holds our regulated utilities accountable to the customers that they serve by ensuring that this PSC oversight applies to all transmission projects.”
The bill will make several solar policy changes, including cutting red tape for rooftop solar and residential battery storage and bolster the state’s community solar and net metering program – which allows those who generate their own power via solar to sell excess energy back into the grid.
Two of the most controversial differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill were related to forecast test years and gas line extensions, but the two chambers reached a compromise within the past few days.
The House wanted to end the use of spending forecasts when a utility comes before the PSC and asks for a rate increase, a move applauded by advocates who often point to rising distribution rates as one of the main reasons behind the recent skyrocketing of utility bills.
Distribution rates cover the cost of transmission and infrastructure that delivers electricity into the home.
For the past several years, utility companies have been using multi-year rate plans, which allow them to ask for years’ worth of rate increases in advance of spending money on infrastructure replacement and upgrades.
The Senate wanted to maintain the use of forecast testing and would instead require the PSC to determine whether it is “prudent” to allow utility companies to continue using forecast test years.
The final compromise will prohibit the PSC from approving a requested rate increase that is based on a forecast test year until April 1, 2027.
In the meantime, the PSC will study whether allowing the use of forecast test years, historic test years – basing rates on prior spending patterns – or a hybrid model is in the best interest and protection of ratepayers.
The bill also keeps utilities from coming back to the PSC and asking if it can raise customer rates after spending more on building or renovating transmission infrastructure than previously approved.
Additionally, it requires utility companies to reimburse ratepayers if it spends less than it anticipated on infrastructure build-out.
“This is known as a one-way reconciliation. This provision is important to ratepayers’ protection and Senate [President] Ferguson and I really agree on this and fought really hard for it,” House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties) said.
The two chambers also smoothed out their differences over allowing utilities to pass on the cost of building pipelines for new gas customers to existing customers.
The PSC moved to revoke that capability just last year, but the Senate wanted to reinstate it, raising concerns that there is not enough electric generation occurring to pivot further from gas.
“The real question that we have to ask ourselves is, do we have a sufficient supply of energy through electrification right now? And if we don't, the costs have to be borne by someone and somehow,” Ferguson said in the days following the Senate’s decision.
Ultimately, the Senate conceded, and the PSC will continue to finalize regulations on ending gas line extension payment plans.
The Office of People’s Counsel (OPC) – an independent state agency that advocates for utility consumers — estimates ending this practice will save gas customers $150 million annually.
Finally, the bill will implement various regulations on data centers.
According to the PJM’s independent market monitor, data center load growth – how much electricity they need from the grid – is “the primary reason for recent and expected capacity market conditions.”
Utility companies purchase future electricity capacity to ensure there is enough generation at all times to cover demand, and the projected amount of data centers expected to come online in the coming years have caused capacity prices to spike drastically – another cost strain on ratepayers.
The Utility RELIEF Act would create a Voluntary Clean Capacity Rating Program, which would create “gold” and “platinum” incentivization tiers for data centers looking to set up shop in Maryland.
Projects that cover 80 to 100 percent of their peak generation needs with clean energy, pay the prevailing wage to workers constructing the facility, and meet other requirements will receive priority over other projects when connecting to the grid.
The PSC will also establish a registration process for data centers, which must disclose information relevant to the electric system and local planning.
Maryland is at the national forefront of data center policy, and this is very important,” Ferguson said. “We are ensuring that we are addressing concerns around phantom load through a registry to be administered by the Public Service Commission in a thoughtful and purposeful way, and we are setting a clear line in the sand as to which data centers we believe should be hosted in Maryland.”
Maryland is also on track to implement a “large load tariff” by January 2027, ensuring energy-hungry data centers pay their fair share in specialized utility rates due to the strain they place on the electric grid.
By the time the bill hit the floor on Monday, it could no longer be amended, but Republicans in the House spent over an hour asking questions about how effective the Utility RELIEF Act will be in lowering utility rates.
Throughout the legislative session, Republicans have argued a more effective way to reduce ratepayer costs would be to scale back clean energy goals and programs within the state, which they often refer to as “hidden taxes.”
The bill does include some suggestions from the minority party, but several members of the GOP did not vote for it, arguing the cost-saving measures do not go far enough.
“Democrats are promoting this bill as rate relief, but by their own estimates it only returns about $12 a month to the average household,” Senate Republican Leader Stephen Hershey (R-Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties) said in a statement. “When families are facing energy bills that have increased by hundreds of dollars, that’s hardly meaningful relief.”
“I would like nothing more than to support this bill because I know that as it was originally intended, it sought to try to make things more affordable. But at the end of the day, it does not meet the moment. It does not solve the short-term problems,” said House Republican Leader Jason Buckel (R-Allegany County) during floor debate on Monday. “It does not solve the long-term problem of Maryland not producing enough energy.”
“The Utility RELIEF Act includes several meaningful steps that will help customers in the near term,” utility company BGE said in a statement, commending expanded access to energy assistance and data center tariffs. “At the same time, it is important to ensure that well-intended policies do not create unintended consequences for customers over the long term. Policies that limit how utilities plan, invest, and recover costs can make it more challenging to maintain the safe, reliable energy system that customers depend on every day and may ultimately increase costs or delay critical infrastructure investments.”
The bill passed the House by a vote of 105 to 27 and 35 to 11 in the Senate.
The bill will take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.
Community Trust Act
The Community Trust Act was revived by the Senate just days ago, and after intense partisan debate in both chambers, the bill that would further restrict local law enforcement’s communication with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) heads to the governor for signature.
It builds upon two pieces of emergency legislation signed into law in February, ordering the nine Maryland counties with formal ICE partnerships — known as 287(g) agreements — to immediately terminate them.
Under the Community Trust Act, local law enforcement in Maryland would only be able to contact ICE for removal proceedings — with the ultimate intent of deportation — if an individual in custody has been convicted of a felony, has previously been sentenced to at least 12 months of incarceration in a Maryland correctional facility, was sentenced to and completed at least five years of incarceration in another state or was required to register as a sex offender.
Under those circumstances, local correctional facilities may notify ICE regarding an undocumented detainee, while state correctional facilities must notify the federal agency.
Additionally, local law enforcement would be able to contact ICE over an individual in custody if required by a court order or if there is a judicial warrant out for their arrest.
Local law enforcement could not contact ICE for outstanding administrative warrants — warrants signed by federal authorities, not a judge —, nor for immigration detainers, which are requests issued by ICE, asking that another law enforcement agency detain someone.
The bill received fierce backlash from Republicans, who cited public safety concerns and governmental overreach – it passed with only Democratic support.
The provisions would become enforceable on Oct. 1, 2026 if supported by Moore.
ICE Face Mask Ban
The House gave final approval to SB0001, which would bar law enforcement, including ICE agents, from wearing face coverings in Maryland.
There would be exceptions for specific circumstances, like weather conditions or personal health concerns.
A similar California bill was recently overturned, but Maryland Democrats crafted the bill to address those legal concerns, including making a violation a civil offense instead of a criminal offense.
During debate on Monday, Republicans raised concerns over doxing federal agents, but Democrats argue the bill is an accountability measure as ICE conduct has been brought into question in recent months.
The legislation passed in the House on near party lines and would go into effect on Oct. 1, 2026.
Data Privacy Act
The Data Privacy Act builds upon the General Assembly’s various immigration protection bills this session and is designed to prevent state and local agencies from sharing certain personal information for federal immigration enforcement purposes.
This would include sensitive data, such as Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) records, school enrollment data and public benefit applications.
It would prohibit knowingly sending personal consumer data to a federal, state or local government unit that within the past six months preceding the sale has engaged in or supported civil immigration enforcement.
The bill passed on near party lines with the majority of Democrats in favor and would become effective on July 1, 2026.
Kaniayah’s Law
Kanaiyah’s Law has been one of the highlights of this year’s Republican agenda, propelled to the finish line by Del. Mike Griffith (R-Cecil and Harford Counties).
The legislation will increase oversight of the state foster care system after a turbulent year within the Department of Human Services (DHS).
The agency has been plagued with repeat audit findings of noncompliance, including lack of medical care for foster children, placing children in homes with registered sex offenders and placing children in homeless shelters, office buildings and hotel rooms.
The latter was the case for Kanaiyah Ward, a 16-year-old girl who took her own life via a drug overdose in September after being placed in a hotel room while in state care.
Roughly a month after Kanaiyah’s death, DHS announced it would be ending the practice of housing foster care children in unlicensed facilities, including hotels.
Kanaiyah’s Law would codify this policy into law, as well as require criminal background checks for all adults living in court-appointed guardianship homes and create an ombudsman to investigate foster care-related complaints.
The bill passed with unanimous bipartisan support in both chambers and would go into effect on Oct. 1, 2027.
Dynamic Pricing Ban
On Saturday, the House concurred with the Senate’s version of the Protection Against Predatory Pricing Act.
The bill will ban food retailers, including third-party delivery services like Instacart, from using dynamic and surveillance pricing, a cost-setting method where prices are inflated based on time of day, weather conditions and personal data.
The Senate removed provisions introduced by the House that would have required non-food retailers to disclose if they use surveillance pricing and would have entirely banned electronic shelving labels, which can update prices in real time.
Retail advocates argue those electronic shelving labels cut down on labor time so store associates don’t have to manually change price tags.
Supporters of the bill have referenced “big box retailers” and Instacart as offenders of dynamic pricing practices, although they have not referenced specific stores in Maryland that are price gouging in this manner.
When asked for if she has seen any evidence of dynamic pricing in Maryland and if it is a prevalent problem statewide, Senate Finance Committee Chair Pam Beidle (D-Anne Arundel County) responded:
“I didn't think it was a prevalent problem, but there was a poll done just before session started, and of all the things that people listed, it was the third most important issue to them that we addressed dynamic pricing. So that was a surprise to me, but I do think it's an important issue.”
The bill is backed by the governor and will take effect on Oct. 1, 2026 once signed into law.
