Transportation Network Companies – Transportation Network Operators – Minimum Payments for Passenger Trips
Position
Monitor
Requiring a transportation network company to pay operators, after July 1, 2026, and for any passenger trip originating in the State, $1.66 per mile and $0.40 per minute, an additional $1.18 per mile for an operator using a wheelchair accessible vehicle, at least $5.00 for any passenger trip, and at least 80% of any cancellation fee charged by a transportation network company; and adjusting the minimum amount paid per mile and per minute by inflation each year.
Social Media Platforms – Vloggers and Video Content Featuring Minors (Child Influencers Protection Act)
Position
Monitor
Requiring a vlogger who creates video content that is posted on a social media platform and features a certain child to compensate the child under certain circumstances; establishing requirements on social media platforms relating to deleting video content featuring minor children; and applying certain requirements relating to the labor of minors to children compensated by vloggers.
Requiring the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to establish a grant and loan program to provide grants and loans for Long COVID innovation; requiring the Corporation to contract with an independent review committee composed of scientific experts in the field of Long COVID; establishing the Maryland Long COVID Research Fund under the administration of the Corporation as a special, nonlapsing fund; and requiring that the interest earnings of the Fund be credited to the Fund.
Property Taxes – Authority of Counties to Establish Subclasses and Set Separate Rates for Land and Improvements to Land
Authorizing the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the governing body of a county to establish subclasses of real property consisting of land and improvements to land and set separate real property tax rates for each subclass.
Authorizing the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the governing body of a county to establish, by law, a subclass of real property consisting of certain commercial and industrial property and to set a special property tax rate for certain commercial and industrial property for the purpose of financing certain transportation improvements or the approved budget of the county board of education; applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after June 30, 2026; etc.
Moratorium on Construction of New Data Centers – Co-Location and Generation Contingency
Position
Oppose
Prohibiting a person from constructing a data center in the State; prohibiting a unit of State or local government from approving a proposal for the construction of a data center in the State; providing for the termination of the Act if the General Assembly enacts legislation regarding the co-location of data centers with a new or existing natural gas power generation facility, nuclear power generation facility, or small module reactor; applying the Act prospectively; etc.
Requiring the State Administrator of Elections to take certain actions if the State Administrator receives a credible report that election misinformation or election disinformation, including a deepfake, has been or is being communicated, disseminated, or distributed; requiring the Administrator to communication correct information to the public; prohibiting a person, under certain circumstances, from knowingly or with reckless disregard using or disseminating a deepfake to produce materially false information; etc.
Prohibiting a person from utilizing certain personal identifying information or engaging in certain conduct in order to cause physical injury, serious emotional distress, or economic damages; prohibiting a person from using certain artificial intelligence or certain deepfake representations for certain purposes; providing penalties of 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up $10,000 or both where one victim is involved, and for two or more victims the term of imprisonment is up to 10 years and the fine is up to $15,000 or both; etc.
Repealing and establishing the methodology used to calculate the weekly benefit amount; altering the taxable wage base used to determine employer contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the amount of earned wages subtracted from a weekly benefit amount; requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to determine and make available online the State annual average wage applicable to the rate of contribution; requiring beginning in 2027, the maximum weekly benefit to be 40% of the State average weekly wage; etc.
Prohibiting a person from knowingly making or using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement resulting in underpayments of unemployment insurance contributions or payment of unemployment insurance benefits of more than $15,000; altering the enforcement mechanisms related to workplace fraud laws, living wage laws, and prevailing wage laws, including authorizing the Attorney General to investigate and bring suit in a certain manner; etc.
Automation Technology Deployment Assessment and Displaced Employee Retraining Fund – Established
Position
Oppose
Requiring employers with 100 or more employees that reduced their workforce in the State by a least 10 employees while using automation technology to submit certain information to the Secretary of Labor concerning the number of employees employed, automation technology deployed or used, and certain employees separated from employment during the immediately preceding calendar year; requiring a certain covered employer to pay a certain assessment for each displaced employee reported by the covered employer; etc.
Converting the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit to be the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Grant Program in the Department of Commerce; requiring the Department to disburse a grant within a certain time period; allowing a subtraction modification under the Maryland income tax for certain grants received during the taxable year; establishing a Biotechnology Investment Incentive Grant Program Fund; authorizing the Governor to include $10,000,000 in the annual budget bill for the Fund; etc.
Health and Taxation – Digital Social Media Services and the Mental Health Care Fund for Children and Youth
Establishing the Mental Health Care Fund for Children and Youth to support improved access to mental health care services for children and youth in the State; imposing a tax on certain annual revenues derived from certain digital social media services in the State; providing for the calculation and collection of the tax; requiring the Comptroller to distribute revenue from the tax in a certain manner; etc.
Establishing the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding the use and regulation of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the State; and requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1, 2027.
Requiring the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to adopt certain regulations regarding the consideration of remedies for investments in certain businesses that no longer meet the definition of a qualified business for purposes of provisions of law governing the Corporation; authorizing, rather than requiring, the Corporation to divest itself of an interest under certain circumstances; and authorizing the Corporation to pursue certain other remedies under those circumstances.
Sales and Use Tax and Property Tax – Exemptions for Data Centers – Repeal
Requiring the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to adopt certain regulations regarding the consideration of remedies for investments in certain businesses that no longer meet the definition of a qualified business for purposes of provisions of law governing the Corporation; authorizing, rather than requiring, the Corporation to divest itself of an interest under certain circumstances; and authorizing the Corporation to pursue certain other remedies under those circumstances.
Repealing an exemption from the sales and use tax for certain sales of certain personal property for use at certain qualified data centers under certain circumstances; and repealing the authorization for a governing body of a county or municipal corporation to reduce or eliminate the assessment of certain personal property used in certain qualified data centers.
Establishing the Buy Maryland Cybersecurity Tax Credit; stating the purpose of the credit is to promote the cybersecurity industry in the State by helping Maryland businesses and nonprofits purchase cybersecurity technology services from Maryland companies; altering eligibility for the credit; increasing from $200,000 to $1,000,000 the aggregate amount of credits that may be issued for certain cybersecurity purchases; making the credit refundable; etc.
Maryland Data Privacy and Protection Act of 2026
Position
Hold
Limiting the personal information that may be collected, maintained, processed, and retained by units of State government under certain circumstances; requiring certain personal information to be deleted or de-identified under certain circumstances; requiring each unit to post a certain privacy notice on its Internet website and establishing certain requirements for privacy notices and privacy policies; requiring each unit of State government to designate a Privacy Officer; etc.
Repealing and establishing the methodology used to calculate the weekly benefit amount; altering the taxable wage base used to determine employer contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the amount of earned wages subtracted from a weekly benefit amount; requiring the Maryland Department of Labor to determine and make available online the State annual average wage applicable to the rate of contribution; requiring, beginning in 2027, the maximum weekly benefit to be 40% of the state average weekly wage; etc.
Prohibiting a person from utilizing certain personal identifying information or engaging in certain conduct in order to cause physical injury, serious emotional distress, or economic damages; prohibiting a person from using certain artificial intelligence or certain deepfake representations for certain purposes; providing penalties of 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 or both where one victim is involved, and for two or more victims the term of imprisonment is up to 10 years and the fine is up to $15,000 or both; etc.
Consumer Protection and Labor and Employment – Surveillance-Based Price and Wage Setting – Prohibition
Position
Oppose
Prohibiting a person from engaging in certain surveillance-based price setting; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice that is subject to enforcement and penalties under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and prohibiting an employer from engaging in certain surveillance-based wage setting.
Establishing the Buy Maryland Cybersecurity Tax Credit; providing the purpose of the credit is to promote the cybersecurity industry in the State by helping Maryland businesses and nonprofits purchase cybersecurity technologies and services from Maryland companies; altering eligibility for the credit; altering the aggregate amount of credits that may be issued for certain cybersecurity purchases from $200,000 to $1,000,000; making the credit refundable; etc.
Authorizing the Governing Board of the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center to provide certain student and workforce data to a third-party data center under certain circumstances; requiring each third-party data center to agree to comply with certain requirements relating to the data the center receives; requiring the Center to enter into a written data sharing agreement with certain third-party data centers; etc.
Prohibiting a person from knowingly making or using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement resulting in underpayments of unemployment insurance contributions or payment of unemployment insurance benefits of more than $15,000 in a calendar year; altering the enforcement mechanisms related to workplace fraud laws, living wage laws, and prevailing wage laws, including authorizing the Attorney General to investigate and bring suit in a certain manner; etc.
State Department of Assessments and Taxation – Blockchain-Based Real Property Title Pilot Program – Establishment
Position
Monitor
Establishing the Blockchain-Based Real Property Title Pilot Program in the State Department of Assessments and Taxation to explore the use of blockchain technology for securely recording and verifying real property ownership and to assess its potential for use by law enforcement and courts in resolving real property disputes involving squatting.
Authorizing the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the governing body of a county to establish, by law, a subclass of real property consisting of certain commercial and industrial property and to set a special property tax rate for certain commercial and industrial property for the purpose of financing certain transportation improvements or the approved budget of the county board of education; applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after June 30, 2026; etc.
Converting the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit to be the Biotechnology Investment Incentive Grant Program in the Department of Commerce; requiring the Department to disburse a grant within a certain time period; allowing a subtraction modification under the Maryland income tax for certain grants received during the taxable year; establishing a Biotechnology Investment Incentive Grant Program Fund; authorizing the Governor to include $10,000,000 in the annual budget bill for the Fund; etc.
Requiring the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to adopt certain regulations regarding the consideration of remedies for investments in certain businesses that no longer meet the definition of a qualified business for purposes of provisions of law governing the Corporation; authorizing, rather than requiring, the Corporation to divest itself of an interest under certain circumstances; and authorizing the Corporation to pursue certain other remedies under those circumstances.
Establishing the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding the use and regulation of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the State; and requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1, 2027.
Food Retailers – Dynamic Pricing, Surveillance Data, and Collective Bargaining Agreements (Protection From Predatory Pricing Act)
Prohibiting a food retailer from engaging in the practice of dynamic pricing or using consumer surveillance data to set a price for consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer from using protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service under certain circumstances; prohibiting a food retailer from diminishing or impairing any right or benefit guaranteed to employees of the food retailer under an existing collective bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding; etc.
Economic Development – Delivering Economic Competitiveness and Advancing Development Efforts (DECADE) Act
Altering the designation, administration, and purposes of and eligibility for certain economic development programs; redesignating the Economic Development Opportunities Program Account to be the Strategic Closing Fund within the Department of Commerce; altering the purposes for and methods by which the Fund may be utilized; altering the termination date of the Build Our Future Grant Pilot Program, Job Creation Tax Credit, Research and Development Tax Credit, and Employer Security Clearance Costs Tax Credit; etc.
Requiring the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to establish a grant and loan program to provide grants and loans for Long COVID innovation; requiring the Corporation to contract with an independent review committee composed of scientific experts in the field of Long COVID; establishing the Maryland Long COVID Research Fund under the administration of the Corporation as a special, nonlapsing fund; and requiring that the interest earnings of the Fund be credited to the Fund.