With Monday’s Crossover Day in the Maryland General Assembly’s rear view, Montgomery County-based representatives are either nearing the finish line to get their legislation passed or are putting bills away to revive in a year.
Crossover Day, also known as deadline day, marks when each chamber must send the bills that members want to pass to the other chamber. If a bill didn’t make it through the House by Monday night, it’s unlikely to make it through the Senate, and vice versa, because of the limited time left in the session.
Monday’s deadline led to a flurry of activity in Annapolis, including hearings held over the weekend that lasted well into the evening. The bills that made it through Monday are the ones lawmakers will prioritize for the remainder of the 2024 session, which ends April 8.
It’s not impossible for a bill to pass if it doesn’t make it over the crossover deadline, but it becomes much more difficult.
All bills that pass both houses must be signed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) to become law.
Here are updates on a few of the popular bills sponsored by Montgomery County-based representatives that are still “alive” in the General Assembly:
HB347 General Assembly Vacancy – Political Party Central Committees – Procedures
Sponsored by Del. Julie Palakovich-Carr (D-Dist. 17)
This legislation would set uniform statewide requirements for political committees in filling legislative vacancies. The bill includes provisions requiring that interviews to fill a vacancy and a subsequent vote by a political committee be conducted in public, along with ensuring that the existence of a vacancy and meetings scheduled to discuss it are advertised “in a conspicuous manner.” If a member of the committee applies for the position, they must recuse themselves from voting for it.
This was inspired by concerns with appointment processes being handled by local central committees. Last year, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee was tasked with filling five legislative vacancies after Moore appointed General Assembly members to his cabinet, and the lack of voter involvement in the process under the Maryland Constitution has seen criticism.
The bill successfully passed the House and crossed over to the Senate.
HB377/SB315 The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act
Sponsored by Del. Sara Love (D-Dist. 16) in the House and Sen. Ariana Kelly (D-Dist. 16) in the Senate
The Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act would impose the same penalties for hitting a cyclist in a bike lane as for hitting a pedestrian or cyclist in a crosswalk – up to two months in jail, alongside a fine of up to $2,000. The legislation would amend existing state law 21-209, which requires drivers to leave a “three-foot buffer” between a cyclist or pedestrian but does not require drivers to fully yield.
It’s named for a Bethesda diplomat and mother of two young boys who was struck and killed in August 2022 by a flatbed truck on River Road in Bethesda while cycling home from a back-to-school event at her children’s elementary school.
Both the House and Senate complementary bills have passed their respective chambers. This means this legislation is highly likely to pass.
HB603/SB571 Maryland Kids Code
Sponsored by Del. Jared Solomon (D-Dist. 18) in the House and Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Dist. 19) in the Senate
This bill is intended to protect children’s privacy and prevent children from being inundated with harmful or inappropriate online content that they weren’t seeking. This could result in tech platforms limiting autoplay videos for children and/or requiring new social media accounts to be set as private as a default.
Both the House and Senate complementary bills have passed their respective chambers. This means this piece of legislation is highly likely to pass.
HB691 Legally Protected Health Care – Gender–Affirming Treatment
Sponsored by Del. David Moon (D-Dist. 20)
This “shield act” would add gender-affirming care to the state’s definition of legally protected health care. It would protect Maryland residents and patients who live outside of the state who receive gender-affirming care within the state, as well as their physicians, from legal action and prosecution for receiving or providing that care.
Moon and the bill’s co-sponsors intend to stop out-of-state criminal and civil judgments, subpoenas, investigations, extraditions and warrants. If the bill passes, another state could not suspend a physician’s professional license in Maryland for providing gender-affirming care.
This legislation is in an unusual place as it still hasn’t been up for a vote in the House Heath and Government Operations Committee. However, the Senate version of the bill, SB0119, sponsored by Anne Arundel and Howard counties Del. Clarence Lam (D-Dist. 12), passed the full Senate prior to Monday’s deadline and was passed to the House. This means Moon’s bill still has a shot at making it through both chambers.
HB823/SB689 The Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act
Sponsored by Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Dist. 20) in the House and Sen. Will Smith (D-Dist. 20)
The Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act would require apartment complexes to take stronger fire safety measures, including installing smoke detectors in corridors and new emergency light systems, providing fire safety instruction for residents, and notifying tenants about the risks of living in a building without sprinklers.
The bill is named for a 25-year-old woman who died in a fire at the Arrive Silver Spring apartment complex in February 2023.
The House bill passed through to the Senate and was referred to the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, which bodes well for the legislation.