The 2026 General Assembly Session came to a close Monday, April 13th at midnight! A total of 2,654 bills were introduced, of which 887 bills were passed by both chambers over the course of this session, compared to 878 passed in 2025.
Governor Moore presided over the first bill signing on February 17th, 2026, the second on April 8th, and most recently the third on April 14th. In the first bill signing of the year, HB 444/SB 245 Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement Agreements – Prohibition were signed into law. At the second bill signing the Governor signed the Budget Bill, the Budget Reconciliations and Financing Act, and the Capital Budget. Lastly, during the third bill signing a few notable Administration bills that were signed into law are The DECADE Act, The Maryland Transit & Housing Opportunity Act, The Protection from Predatory Pricing Act, and The Vax Act.
The Governor, joined by Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, have signed a total of 157 bills into law thus far.
Additional bill signing dates have not been announced, but can be found on the Governor’s website here.
Department of Legislative Services 90 Day Report
The Department of Legislative Services produces “The 90 Day Report” each year following Session. It is divided into 12 parts, each dealing with a major policy area. Each part contains a discussion of the majority of bills that passed in that policy area, including background information and comparisons to current law.
Budget and State Aid (includes operating budget, capital budget, and state aid to local governments)
Taxes (includes property taxes, income taxes, and tax sales)
State Government (includes state agencies, offices, officials/regulations, elections, procurement, and cybersecurity)
Local Government (includes counties and municipalities, and bi-county agencies)
Crimes, Corrections, Public Safety (includes criminal law, criminal procedure, juvenile law, and public safety)
Courts and Civil Proceedings (includes judges and court administration, real property, and family law)
Transportation and Motor Vehicles (includes state highways, public transportation, bridges, and motor vehicle issues)
Business and Economic Issues (includes business occupations and regulation, horse racing/gaming, economic development, unemployment insurance, and state/local alcohol laws)
Financial Institutions, Commercial Law, and Corporations (includes financial institutions, and commercial law generally and consumer protections)
Health and Human Services (includes public health – generally, health occupations, health insurance, and social services)
Natural Resources, Environment, and Agriculture (includes natural resources, hunting/fishing, environment/energy, and agriculture)
Education (includes primary and secondary education, community colleges, and libraries)
Summary of Some Major Issues That Passed During the Legislative Session:
Operating Budget and Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act
The General Assembly finalized the state’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget on April 6th, with both chambers passing the Budget Bill (SB 282) and the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (SB 284) following conference committee.
The $71 billion FY27 budget exceeds benchmarks set by the Spending Affordability Committee, maintaining a $250 million general fund balance and reducing the structural shortfall to $552 million. The State also preserves $2.4 billion in cash resources, including $2.2 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. General fund spending decreases by $91 million compared to FY 2026, while overall spending grows modestly by 1.2%.
The budget restores $20 million for behavioral health services and $27 million in disparity grants to local governments. Further, the budget includes investments to support services that support individuals with developmental disabilities, reduce childcare waitlists, expand access to pre-K education, support nursing homes, and economic development initiatives.
Additionally, the spending plan includes $125 million in support of innovation and job creation initiatives. These investments will support emerging industries such as quantum computing and other large employers that are expanding in Maryland. The budget will fully fund the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future by including $10.1 billion in State support for education and a $335 million increase in direct aid to local schools.
With $16.8 billion in Medicaid funding, the State will continue to provide coverage to approximately 1.5 million Marylanders, while also supporting efforts to ensure continued enrollment under new federal requirements set forth in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Lastly, the budget allocates $100 million to reduce energy bills, alongside expanded assistance programs for households.
SB 284 – Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act
Joint Chairmen’s Report Volume I 2026
Capital Budget
The Administration, House, and Senate budget committees worked collaboratively on Maryland’s Fiscal Year 2027 Capital Budget, approving a total program of approximately $6 billion. This total reflects a combination of general obligation bond financing, pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) funding, federal support, and revenue-backed investments across core infrastructure priorities.
Of the total, approximately $3.1 billion is allocated to the transportation program through the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP). Excluding transportation, the current year capital program totals approximately $2.8 billion, supporting a wide range of State facilities, public safety projects, and community investments. Collectively the current year’s total is approximately $5.8 billion.
The non-transportation portion of the capital program includes $1.8 billion in general obligation bonds authorized through the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan (MCCBL) of 2026. In addition, funding includes $835 million in revenue funds, $163.2 million in general funds, $1.41 billion in special funds, and $1.741 billion in federal funds, supporting a range of capital projects and priorities across Maryland.
The capital program also continues investments in school construction through the Built to Learn Fund, including $69 million in PAYGO funding, alongside broader support for education, economic development, and public infrastructure. The approved budget maintains a focus on long-term affordability while advancing key projects across the State.
Joint Chairmen’s Report Volume II 2026
Consumer Protection
HB 895 – Food Retailers and Third-Party Delivery Service Providers – Dynamic Pricing and Personal Data (Protection From Predatory Pricing Act)
This Administration bill prohibits food retailers and third-party delivery services from using dynamic pricing or consumer surveillance data to set higher prices for tax-exempt food items. The bill also restricts the use of protected class data for price setting and mandates that merchants provide clear disclosures if personal data is used to determine pricing. Additionally, it prevents food retailers from implementing operational changes that would impair existing collective bargaining agreements for their employees. HB 895 was signed into law on April 14.
Economic Development
SB 388 – Economic Development – Delivering Economic Competitiveness and Advancing Development Efforts (DECADE) Act
The Administration’s DECADE Act establishes a broad framework to support economic development and business growth in Maryland. The legislation expands the existing Build Our Future Grant Program by offering matching grants of up to $2 million for infrastructure projects tied to emerging and high-growth industries. It also updates the Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) Zone program, which connects businesses with nearby universities and federal research facilities to encourage job creation and regional investment.
In addition, the bill provides longer-term certainty for certain business tax credits related to research, development, and security contracting. Overall, the measure aims to streamline and coordinate existing economic development tools to attract and retain businesses in the state. SB 388 was signed into law on April 14.
Energy and Environment
HB 1532 – Utility RELIEF Act
Following weeks of debate, the General Assembly passed HB 1532, its sweeping energy relief package. In the short term, officials estimate the bill will save the average household about $150 annually on electric bills, largely through temporary reductions to the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency program.
The bill includes a one-year moratorium on the use of forecast test years in setting utility rates, while the Public Service Commission studies the practice. It also prohibits ratepayers from funding the salaries of utility company executives and includes efforts to reduce the effects of data centers. Further, it incorporates investments in solar energy and new oversight of transmission infrastructure.
HB 925 – Sewage Sludge – Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances – Regulation
regulates the use of sewage sludge (biosolids) by restricting land application when certain PFAS (“forever chemicals”) exceed set levels, effectively limiting where and how contaminated sludge can be spread. Attempting to address concerns about contamination and public health, it also creates a phased compliance framework, allowing temporary practices like blending sludge under specific conditions and requiring monitoring and testing to track PFAS levels over time. This bill works to shift sludge use away from contaminated applications and toward regulated, monitored handling standards.
Health
HB 637 (SB 385) Public Health – Recommendations for Immunizations, Screenings, and Preventive Services – Pharmacist Administration and Required Health Insurance Coverage (The Vax Act)
This Administration bill requires Maryland’s Secretary of Health to issue evidence-based recommendations for immunizations, screenings, and preventive services aligned with leading medical authorities. The bill also updates vaccination authority for pharmacists and requires insurers to cover recommended preventive services without cost sharing, consistent with the Secretary’s guidance. Both bills are on their way to the Governor for signing.
Housing
Housing continued to remain a priority with several of administration-backed bills moving forward to the governor’s desk for signature.
HB 894 (SB 389) – Land Use – Transit-Oriented Development – Alterations (Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act)
This Administration bill pushes more development around rail transit by automatically treating qualifying transit areas as enterprise zones and requiring more mixed-use, higher-density development near stations, while limiting local zoning controls like parking minimums. The ideology behind the bill is to accelerate transit-oriented housing development, through incentives and preemption, while seeking to preserve some local control through permitting and site review, and fiscal protections through delayed county tax collection until a project is close to completion.
HB 548 (SB 325) – Land Use – Permitting – Development Rights (Maryland Housing Certainty Act)
Both bills, now awaiting the governor’s signature, postpone when developers must pay certain county fees tied to new housing projects and establish vesting rights, ensuring that once an application is deemed complete, the project is governed by the regulations in effect at that time rather than any future changes.
Public Safety
Immigration and police accountability were a major focus of the legislative session, with several bills introduced addressing issues such as limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents, private detention facilities, sensitive locations, law enforcement’s use of face masks and identification, and a youth charging reform bill that is the first of its kind to pass in over a decade.
SB 245 (HB 444) – Public Safety – Immigration Enforcement Agreements – Prohibition
Early in session, both chambers swiftly passed, as an emergency measure, both the House and Senate versions of this bill. Governor Moore signed both bills during the first bill signing of this session on February 17, 2026.
These bills prohibits the state and a unit of local government, including a county sheriff, from entering into 287(g) agreements with federal authorities to enforce civil immigration laws. Additionally, the bill required any existing immigration enforcement agreements to be terminated, effectively ending current local cooperation arrangements with federal immigration enforcement.
SB 323 (HB 409) – Juvenile Court – Jurisdiction, Detention, and Confinement (Youth Charging Reform Act)
SB 323 shifts more youth cases into the juvenile system by expanding juvenile court jurisdiction and limiting when juveniles are automatically charged as adults, including raising the age threshold for adult prosecution. It reduces the list of offenses that trigger automatic adult charges and moves Maryland away from an offense-based “automatic charge” system toward one where judges decide whether to transfer a case to adult court. The most serious offenses such as first-degree murder and rape remain automatically sent straight to adult court.
SB 791 – Correctional Services and Criminal Procedure – Immigration Enforcement – Prohibitions (Community Trust Act)
SB 791 prohibits local correctional facilities from holding individuals solely for civil immigration offenses. The bill also prohibits correctional facilities from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status, notifying federal authorities if an individual is not a naturalized citizen, and transferring individuals into ICE custody except under specific instances.
Further, the bill prohibits local correctional facilities from providing any information to immigration enforcement regarding an individual in their custody unless there is a valid judicial warrant. Certain exceptions apply in state facilities where a judicial warrant is not required for “convicted individuals”. “Convicted individuals” are individuals who have been convicted of a felony under the laws of Maryland, an offense for which the individual is required to register as a sex offender, an offense for which the individual is sentenced to serve their incarceration at a state correctional facility, or an individual who sentenced to at least 5 years of incarceration in another state and completed at least 5 years of that sentence.
SB 1 – Public Safety – Law Enforcement Officers – Face Coverings and Identification
SB 1 requires the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission to develop uniform policies prohibiting law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings and requiring the visible use of identification while on duty. The Act establishes that violations are civil offenses subject to fines up to $1,500 and constitute police misconduct, with specific exceptions for undercover operations or absolute safety necessities.
