The first big batch of bills passed during the 2024 legislative session goes into effect next week.
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed 1,049 bills in the weeks after the 90-day session, which saw big budgetary issues and a push for changes in the state’s juvenile justice system, adjourned April 8 for the year.
Negotiated in the session’s dwindling days and shortly after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed March 26 in Baltimore, the state budget for the next fiscal year goes into effect July 1. Meanwhile, a portion of a new juvenile justice law has taken effect, one that will allow a new board looking at best practices in the field to meetonce the governor has appointed 22 more people to the 27-member panel. Other juvenile justice changes in the law roll out in November.
Over 480 other pieces of legislation will become law on Oct. 1. About 140 bills went into effect June 1.
Nearly 450 bills that passed this year will become law at the beginning of next month. Here’s a look at several:
The Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households, or ENOUGH Act, was a priority for Moore. The law will provide grants of up to $500,000 for proposals submitted by community organizations in areas where more than 20% of children live in poverty. The governor’s office is hiring a director to “lead the design and implementation” of the law, according to the posting for the job with a salary range of about $109,000 to $142,000.
Senate Bill 539 will regulate the electronic ticketing industry by banning the speculative sale of tickets. A ticket seller will have to be in physical possession of a ticket, own it or be under contract to resell it. It will also require electronic ticket marketplaces to disclose the total price of tickets, including fees and taxes, and provide a breakdown of fees that contribute to the full cost.
The Pava LaPere Legacy of Innovation Act will establish two grant programs in honor of a 26-year-old Baltimore entrepreneur who was killed last year. The first will provide funding for college student entrepreneurs who have establishedbusinesses in Baltimore, Columbia and Towson. The other program is for students and faculty at local universities who are creating technology startup companies.
Senate Bill 1095 will create a work group to study the cost and availability of ankle monitors for people placed on home detention ahead of trial. The legislation was drafted after the Maryland judiciary announced with little warning that a program providing funds for home monitoring devices for low-income Marylanders ran out of money. The program restarted in late February, and is anticipated to run through June 30, 2025.
Senate Bill 134/House Bill 297 will establish an office of the correctional ombudsman to investigate administrative misdeeds, inspect prisons, and review physical and mental health care services in Maryland’s correctional system. The office will also evaluate any plans to renovate or close facilities, education and job programs, and policies on restrictive and protective housing. The state has posted the jobs of the ombudsman (the salary range is about $102,000 to $171,000) and an executive administrator (to be paid roughly $61,000 to $102,000 a year).
Senate Bill 543/House Bill 4 will prohibit colleges that receive state funding from considering legacy or donor preferences when reviewing admissions applications. Universities in Maryland and across the country began revisiting their admission preferences after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions last year.
Senate Bill 527/House Bill 367 will require community colleges to create plans to provide over-the-counter contraception to students. The plans must be implemented by Aug. 1, 2025. Moore and the General Assembly have taken a firm stance on ensuring people have access to safe ways to prevent pregnancy, as well as abortion care, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Senate Bill 456/House Bill 808 will establish local permits to allow for the delivery of alcoholic beverages from businesses authorized to sell them. Delivery drivers can apply for these licenses at their jurisdiction’s licensing board. The annual fee for the permit is $1,000. The ability to deliver alcohol will vary, based on location, as determined by local licensing boards.
Senate Bill 244/House Bill 283 will prohibit people from vaping in indoor public spaces, on transit and at workplaces. This legislation is a revision to the Clean Indoor Air Act, which banned cigarette smoking in certain places in Maryland in 2007.
Senate Bill 890/House Bill 1086 will change the circ*mstances under which people who have been wrongly convicted can seek financial compensation from the state. Under the new law, a person can seek compensation from the Maryland Board of Public Works under the following circ*mstances:
- they received a full pardon from the governor,
- an administrative law judge ruled the person did not commit the offense they were convicted of,
- their conviction was reversed or vacated and the charges were dismissed,
- they were found not guilty on retrial, or
- the order reversing or dismissing their conviction does not allow the case to be tried again.
