The 2023 General Assembly session came to a close Monday evening, April 10 at midnight with final action being taken on a number of bills and a few others left outstanding. In all, a total of 2,283 bills and joint resolutions were introduced, of which 810 passed. A total of 780 legislative bond initiatives were introduced.
This session marked the first year of a new four-year term. The House of Delegates welcomed a class of 40 freshman and the Senate welcomed 8 new members, some of whom previously served as Delegates. Most historic, was Governor Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor, and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, the state’s first Indian-American lieutenant governor, being sworn into office on January 18, a week after the session started.
This session was also back to “normal” following three sessions dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic. Committees held in-person hearings and voting sessions, committee dinners returned as well as other evening receptions.
Governor Moore held his first bill signing the day after Sine Die on April 11, signing a total of 93 bills into law. Bills among those signed included the Fair Wage Act which will accelerate the state’s current $13.25 per hour minimum wage to $15 starting in January versus the previous timetable of 2025. The Family Prosperity Act which will permanently extend the state’s earned income tax to offer both refundable and nonrefundable credits against the state income tax; and also expand the state’s child tax credit to taxpayers who have children aged 5 years and younger and whose federally adjusted annual gross income is $15,000 or less, effective June 1. And, House Bill 1, The Child Victims Act of 2023, which lifts previous statutory time limits to allow survivors to sue their abusers, or organizations that harbored them, “at any time.”
A complete list of bills can be found on the Governor’s website and more details can be found in a previous Manis Canning newsletter item.
Some Major issues that were addressed and passed during the General Assembly session include:
Budget
Fiscal 2024 Operating Budget
This session marked the first year the General Assembly had expanded budget authority. They were able to increase, decrease and move money around within the budget proposed by Governor Moore. Once finalized, legislators made about $1.45 billion in reductions, balanced with $1.13 billion in additions. The $63 billion budget includes nearly $1 billion to go towards the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future fund, the account that will go towards on-going ten-year education reforms (Kirwan) and places $2.5 billion in the State’s rainy day fund. The budget also includes $200 million in tax relief primarily to lower-income people who were otherwise scheduled to see a reduced Earned Income Tax Credit next year.
HB 200 Budget Bill (Fiscal Year 2024) – Enrolled Bill
HB 202 Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2023 – Enrolled Bill
Conference Committee Report on House Bill 200 – the Budget Bill
Conference Committee Summary Report on HB 200 and HB 202
Capital Budget
The Administration, House and Senate Budget Committees worked collaboratively on the Capital Budget, approving a total budget of $1. 218 billion. This included changes and additions to state agency capital items, legislative bond initiatives, and other statewide initiatives.
HB 201 Creation of a State Debt – Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2023…. – Enrolled Bill
Cannabis
One of the most highly watched issues during the 2023 session was Cannabis Reform. Following voters’ approval of a referendum to allow recreational cannabis as of July 1, 2023, lawmakers diligently worked to create a framework that would be in place by that deadline. The bill builds on lessons learned from other states and even Maryland’s previous rollout of medical cannabis. It was designed to promote equity, address impacts on communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs, and reduce the black market.
The 108-page bill contains a lot of provisions. Notable ones include a process for medical cannabis businesses to enter the recreational market including special considerations for social equity licensees, setting a 9% sales tax on recreational cannabis, creating an Office of Social Equity and a Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund that would receive 35% of the state’s revenues, and providing 5% of state revenues to local governments. The bills passed both chambers and will be sent to the Governor for signature.
HB 1071 Search of Vehicle Based Solely on the Odor of Cannabis
This amended bill will prohibit police from stopping or searching a person or vehicle based solely on the odor of cannabis, which will be legalized in the state come July 1. As passed by the House, the bill struck language that would have automatically excluded evidence found during a search in violation of the bill and instead left it to be judicially determined whether the evidence should be entered into the record. The Senate however, added the exclusionary language back into HB 1071, which passed the General Assembly in the final minutes of the last day.
Abortion
Abortion is one of two national issues that the General Assembly tackled locally in light of a changing national legal landscape. Maryland lawmakers worked to further strengthen state laws protecting abortion rights after last year’s Supreme Court ruling overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the doors for states to enact more local laws and regulations.
HB 705/SB 798 Declaration of Rights – Right to Reproductive Freedom
This bill allows Marylanders to vote on a constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion protections in the Maryland constitution. The referendum would be on the 2024 ballot and is expected to pass given historically strong support in Maryland for abortion rights. The last time abortion rights in Maryland were taken up was in 1991 when legislation was passed to protect abortion rights up to viability and for certain reasons afterward. Both bills passed the General Assembly, and the Governor has expressed that he will sign the bills.
SB 786/HB 812 Health – Reproductive Health Services – Protected Information and Insurance Requirements
This bill will prohibit the disclosure of abortion and “legally protected health care” records by the health information exchange (HIE), electronic health network (EHN), health care provider, or MPIA, and it will protect patients and providers who obtain or perform “legally protected health care” such as abortions in Maryland from criminal charges in other states. Both bills passed the General Assembly, and the Governor has expressed that he will sign the bills.
Gun Bills
Gun regulations were the second of the two national issues that the General Assembly addressed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidated or threatened existing local laws.
SB 1 Criminal Law – Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Firearms – Restrictions (Gun Safety Act of 2023)
This bill was introduced in response to a U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated a New York State law that restricted the carrying of guns in public places, consequently impacting similar Maryland laws which prohibited concealed carry of guns unless the individual provided a “good and substantial reason” to conceal carry in public. Governor Hogan lifted the Maryland restrictions on the basis that they were unconstitutional under the Supreme Court Ruling. SB 1 navigates the new legal landscape by prohibiting open carry of guns and providing restrictions on where people could conceal carry in public. The prohibition applies to sensitive locations such as schools, stadiums, and government buildings. The bill passed both chambers after much debate and amendments added in the House. It will now go to the Governor for signature.
HB 824 Public Safety – Regulated Firearms – Possession and Permits to Carry, Wear, and Transport a Handgun
Among other changes, the bill raises the age at which a person can legally possess a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. It also expands restrictions on who may possess firearms by prohibiting possession by those on supervised probation for certain crimes or who have been convicted of a second or subsequent violation of certain crimes. Additionally, it strengthens provisions prohibiting access by a child (now a person under the age of 21) and raises gun permit fees. This bill also passed both chambers after much debate over floor amendments and will go to the Governor for signature.
Links for more information:
Legislative roundup: A quick look at some of the bills that found success on the General Assembly’s final day – Maryland Matters
Moore signs first bills, praises Del. Wilson’s work for survivors of sexual abuse – Maryland Matters
New State Leaders See Legislative Success in First General Assembly Session – Manis Canning Newsletter
Maryland lawmakers approve rules for legal cannabis market – The Washington Post
Maryland voters will see abortion rights on 2024 ballot – The Washington Post
Senate approves gun bill, but not without heated late debate – Maryland Matters
