Undocumented migrants could get access to health care on the state’s insurance marketplace, those 60 and older could get a few more dollars in food stamp benefits and the northern snakehead will get what officials hope is a more palatable name – literally.
Those are just some of the more than 400 new laws that took effect Tuesday, a fraction of the more than 1,000 enacted by the legislature this year.
The quirkiest of the bunch may be the snakehead bill, which would christen the toothy, invasive species, nicknamed “frankenfish,” as the Chesapeake Channa. The hope is that people who would turn their noses up at a meal of snakehead might take a chance on channa and thus rein in the species, on the theory that if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em.
Most of the bills, however, dealt with weightier public policy issues, like the Access to Care Act, which brings the state one step closer to letting undocumented migrants buy individual private health care plans on the state’s insurance marketplace.
House Bill 728 and Senate Bill 705 direct the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to apply for a federal waiver that would let residents buy insurance on the state’s marketplace regardless of their documentation status. If approved, it could open the door for thousands of undocumented and uninsured state residents who are currently barred from using the marketplace to go there for affordable health care plans.
Even though the law only took effect Tuesday, the exchange has already submitted a waiver request to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is awaiting its response. CMS already approved a similar waiver for Washington.
It could still take months after approval before undocumented residents can use the exchange, with state documents saying the program would be operational “as early as calendar 2026.”
Another health-related will shield health care providers in Maryland from liability if they help out-of-state patients obtain gender-affirming care, so long as the services provided are legal in Maryland. SB 119 also protects those who seek gender-affirming care in Maryland from being surrendered back to a state where the treatment is prohibited.
Gender-affirming care refers to a multitude of procedures and treatments to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity, including hormone therapy, voice training, surgery and other medical services. The group Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition posted to social media that it is “proud Maryland is a safe state that protects gender affirming care.”
“But, we look forward to a day when shielding laws aren’t necessary. No one should be criminalized for receiving or providing gender-affirming care,” the post says.
In the area of social services, SB 35 and HB 666 will mean a few extra dollars a month for older Marylanders getting federal food assistance. The state currently gives an extra $40 a month to those aged 62 and above in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. The new law lowers the eligibility age to 60 and boosts the monthly benefit to $50 to help pay for groceries.
Renters’ rights and affordable housing
Affordable housing and renter’s rights were central topics of the 2024 legislative session, and could be again next year as renters work to boost legislation that did not make it past the finish line this year. But those that passed and took effect Tuesday included one of Gov. Wes Moore’s proposed three-pronged housing package.
HB 693 is known as the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act. It creates a state Office of Tenants and Landlord Affairs that will help tenants know their protections and legal recourse under Maryland law. It also raises certain fees in the eviction process to reduce the number of unnecessary evictions.
The other pieces of Moore’s housing package included a bill creating a state investment agency called Maryland Community Investment Corp., that took effect earlier this summer; and HB 538, which aims to incentivize developers to add affordable housing in future developments by allowing them to exceed typical density limits if the project includes a certain percentage of affordable housing units. That bill passed this year but will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2025.
Renter advocates are celebrating another law that they hope will help hold landlords accountable if they do not adequately address life-threatening repairs. HB 1117, known as the Tenant Safety Act, will enable multiple tenants to jointly file a complaint with the local district court and collectively put rent payments in escrow while the complaint is adjudicated.
“The Tenant Safety Act marks a powerful new chapter for tenants in Maryland, especially for seniors like me. No longer will we face neglect from landlords alone,” said Sharon Little John, a housing advocate with CASA, in a written statement Monday. “Together, we demand safe, dignified living conditions for all. Every tenant’s well-being is essential, and every landlord must ensure it.”
Public health approach
Tuesday also saw the creation of the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, which will take a data-driven, public health approach to gun violence prevention in the last legislature. The center, housed in the state Department of Health, will be geared toward collaboration between state and local government agencies, hospitals and community-based violence intervention programs.
Maryland joins several states and jurisdictions with similar centers modeled after the White House’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention, including North Carolina, California and Washington, D.C.
“I’m glad to know we are on the right side of being proactive as best as we can,” said Del. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel), vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “Until we truly look at it as a public health issue with folks who solve public health crises for a living, we’re kind of just circling the wagons.”
The fiscal note with SB 475/HB 583 said it will cost about $2.2 million to hire an executive director, an epidemiologist and a program manager for the center in fiscal 2025, and $10 million to operate it in later years.
The center will work with various state and local agencies “to ensure a multi-departmental approach to reducing firearm violence.” It must solicit and consider input from communities disproportionately impacted by gun violence, public health experts, organizations with expertise in firearm safety and training and “any other experts, groups or organizations as the executive director determines appropriate and necessary.”
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” said Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “It’s building upon programming that we have across the state that is seeking to address these issues.”
SB 652, sponsored by Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City), requires the Department of Juvenile Services to report how many juveniles in its care were shot or shot someone else, along with their ages and county of residence. That report, due by Dec. 1 every year, must describe actions taken by the agency after each incident.
The report must be submitted to the General Assembly and the Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform and Emerging and Best Practices – a panel created in a June 1 law as part of a comprehensive juvenile justice reform package. So far, four of the 26 commission members have been named – Bartlett and Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County) and Sens. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery), chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, and Nick Charles (D-Prince George’s), and Bartlett. The remaining 22 members have yet to be appointed by the governor.
Other laws taking effect include:
- Future convictions for first-degree rape will not be eligible for a decrease in prison time for good behavior under SB 1098. It was sponsored by Smith in honor of Pava LaPere, a 26-year-old entrepreneur found dead on the rooftop of her Baltimore apartment last year. Jason Dean Billingsley, the man charged with her murder, is a convicted sex offender who had been released from prison early due to good behavior credits.
- The “Kids Code” laws — HB 603 and SB 571 — will require default privacy settings and safety measures for children using online platforms. The law limits the collection of data, including geolocation data, from minors by social media and other companies, as well as sale of that data, among other requirements. A similar California law has been challenged in court, but not the Maryland law – so far.
- Maryland’s treasurer is now among the list of state officials who cannot solicit or receive campaign donations during legislative sessions. HB 1503, sponsored by Del. Denise Roberts, (D-Prince George’s), was passed after Maryland Matters reported that Treasurer Dereck Davis (D), a former Prince George’s County delegate, was continuing to raise money – though not during session — and keeping his political options open. Davis testified “enthusiastically” in favor of the bill.
- HB 19 and SB 207, the frankenfish rebranding. The northern snakehead, known for its frightening appearance and ability to live on land for several days, is known scientifically as the Channa argus. It will now be known, at least in Maryland, as the Chesapeake Channa. The invasive species has no natural predators in the U.S. and is a voracious eater, but Sen. Jack Bailey (R-Calvert and St. Mary’s) said it’s “delicious to eat” and hopes the name change will land the fish on tables and control the population, if not eat it out of existence in the state.
- A rebranding of the Port of Baltimore nearly 20 years ago becomes official in state law. In 2006, then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced that the port would be known as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Bentley covered maritime issues as a journalist and later served as chair of the federal Maritime Commission for six years, before serving for a decade in Congress as a Republican representing Maryland’s 2nd District. HB 375 and SB 156 make a technical change that adds Bentlely’s name to all references to the port in state law.
- Minor league ballplayers in Maryland will be exempt from state wage and hour laws under HB 702 and SB 466. The players, who are already paid under union contracts, are exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime rules, and the law extends that to state law, too.
- Retailers who sell products containing kratom cannot sell products not recognized by the Food and Drug Administration or that do not meet new labeling requirements, under HB 1229. They are also barred from marketing it to minors. Kratom, derived from an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia, is considered a substitute for opium and can be a stimulant at low doses. At higher doses, the herbal extract can have euphoric or sedative effects.
- Employers will prohibited from discriminating against a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. HB 602, sponsored by Clippinger, was one of five bills in House Speaker Adrienne Jones’ (D-Baltimore County) “decency agenda.”
- The DRIVE Act — short for the Distributed Renewable Integration and Vehicle Electrification Act — sets guidelines for utilities to create robust charging programs for electric vehicles.
- A measure long sought by public health and environmental advocates lays out how artificial turf should be removed, replaced and disposed of.
- A law that sets greenhouse gas emissions limits for cement producers and manufacturers.
- A law that updates the state’s Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area Protection Program to incorporate climate resilience, environmental justice, and equity measures. The bill also requires state and local governments to update maps of so-called critical areas at regular intervals.
- A law that codifies the rights of citizens to sue individuals or entities that pollute local waterways. The legislation was a reaction to a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that sought to limit what constitutes a navigable waterway, making it harder for polluters to be targeted in litigation.
Maryland Matters reporters William J. Ford, Josh Kurtz, Bryan P. Sears and Danielle J. Brown contributed to this report.
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected]. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Photo: “Maryland State House – Lobbying” by DHuiz is licensed under CC BY 2.0.