Maryland lawmakers introduce over 2,500 bills a year during the 90-day legislative session, and already over 250 have been pre-filed. Not all bills will be heard, and not all policies will affect every Marylander, but those filed early indicate a priority by leadership or the administration.

Here’s a look at some of the bills already filed that would impact Marylanders the most. The 2025 legislative session kicks off Wednesday.

Adding grocery stores where there are food shortages

The “Food Desert Bill,” sponsored by Frederick Republican Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, would identify areas to add grocery stores in Maryland, where there are food shortages. The bill aims to help residents like single mothers and seniors access groceries and prescriptions in pharmacies more easily. Salling said the bill is backed by the Department of Commerce, the Department of Planning and the Maryland Association of Counties.

Adding funding for driver’s ed and career and technical education

Senate Bill 161, the Driver Education and Career Education Act of 2025, would add funding through the Maryland State Department of Education to allow more students to participate in driver education and career and technical education programs in certain school jurisdictions. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Majority Whip, Sen. Joanne Benson, Prince George’s County.

Slashing college prep fees

A bill prohibiting school districts from charging enrollment fees to certain students for college preparatory programs and prohibiting public higher education institutions from charging application fees for certain high school graduates, Senate Bill 82, College Preparatory Programs and College Admissions Applications – Fees – Prohibition, is sponsored by Sen. Alonzo Washington, a Democrat from Prince George’s County.

Help with evictions

Senate Bill 154, Access to Counsel in Evictions, would make permanent a temporary law that provides funding to the Access to Counsel Evictions Special Fund, through revenues from abandoned property funds. The bill would also make permanent a requirement that the state appropriate funding from the Counsel to the Maryland Legal Services Corporation.

Changing staff ratios in child care centers

Senate Bill 252, Child Care Centers — Certificated Staff Ratio Requirement — Repeal, would remove the requirement for certain child care centers to staff a certain ratio of personnel to children who hold a certificate in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation under certain circumstances. The state Department of Education requested the bill.

Free phone calls for inmates

Costs of telecommunications (telephone calls) for inmates would be free under Senate Bill 56, Incarcerated Individuals — Costs of Telephone Communications. The cost of an individual phone call can be excessive because the call is required to be recorded, bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, D-Montgomery, said. “It’s abhorrent to me that we charge inmates to communicate with the outside world, often exorbitant rates, borne by the innocent family members of the incarcerated individuals,” Waldstreicher said. “We don’t charge inmates for their food. We don’t charge inmates for their linens. Why are we charging them to be able to keep in touch with the outside world?”

Speeding fines to increase

Fines for speeding on regular roadways would increase under Senate Bill 118, Motor Vehicles — Speed Monitoring Systems. This bill would mimic a fine structure currently in place for work zone speeding based on a tiered system of speed levels and high dollar fines. Fines for speeders going 12 to 20 miles per hour over the speed limit would stay the same. But for speeds above that, fines would become steeper, according to bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, D-Montgomery. “Obviously someone going 12 miles per hour over the speed limit is exhibiting different behavior than someone going 40 miles per hour over the speed limit.”

Boosting public safety in schools

Sen. Johnny Ray Salling, a Baltimore County Republican, would like to see state education officials notify local school boards when a young student attending class has been charged with or convicted of sexual assault. Currently, state law does not require schools or parents to be notified when a juvenile sexual offender is a student on campus, according to Salling. Under Senate Bill 78, Juvenile Sex Offender Registry and Prohibition on In-Person School Attendance, the state superintendent would be required to notify principals and schools of their presence. “Awareness is important in our schools,” Salling said. “It could take months or years. We should be way ahead of that.”

Drunken driving

Senate Bill 187, Drunk Driving — Commercial Driver’s Licenses — Disqualification From Driving, would suspend a commercial driver’s license for one year if the driver attempts to drive or drives any vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or greater. The suspension would also apply to a driver of a vehicle who leaves the scene of a crime or is convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. The bill comes at the request of the Department of Transportation.

Unpaid child support could impact driver’s licenses

Child Support, Suspension of Driver’s Licenses, Senate Bill 106, would allow the Child Enforcement Administration to notify the Motor Vehicle Administration of unpaid or overdue child support and consider suspending the individual’s driver’s license under certain circumstances.

Increased benefits for veterans

The “Keep Our Heroes Home Act,” Senate Bill 99, would lower income tax rates for military retirement income. The bill is designed to help keep Maryland’s military veterans from leaving the state due to the cost of living.

Temporary adjustments to tolls and fees

Senate Bill 210, Tolls, Fees, and Other Charges — Temporary Adjustments, requested by the Department of Transportation, would increase the period of time of an “emergency status determination,” which authorizes the temporary adjustment of tolls, fees, or other charges by the Maryland Transportation Authority. The bill also provides a public comment period for proposed increases in fees, tolls, or other charges on any part of a fixed toll transportation facilities project, or mileage rate ranges and toll zones.

“SB 210 increases, from 180 days to 300 days, the maximum duration of an emergency status determination authorizing the temporary adjustment of tolls, fees, or other charges by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA),” a Transportation Department spokesperson said. “The proposed legislation is a technical correction to the statute.

“The MDTA proposed the changes due to the disconnect between the duration of the emergency powers (180 days) and the amount of time required (300 days) to comply with various legislative requirements for the MDTA to adjust tolls. This includes compliance with various notification, public comment and public hearing requirements.”

Changes to vintage license plates

Specially Designed Vintage Reproduction Registration Plates, Senate Bill 54, would repeal the time limitation the Motor Vehicle Administration has to make available specially designed vintage reproduction license plates and would charge $100 when each plate is initially issued and $25 for renewal.

Increasing transparency in government

Senate Bill 145, Public Information Act — Personnel Records of Elected Officials and Joint Ethics Committee Records, would make available under the Maryland Public Information Act “administrative or criminal investigation of misconduct” personnel files of an elected official or a person appointed to fill an elected official’s office. Certain records of the State Ethics Commission and Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics would also become available for public inspection. The bill is sponsored by Sen. William Folden, R-Frederick.

Changing reporting requirements for officer-involved deaths

Senate Bill 201, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Reporting Requirements — Alterations, seeks to remove the term “Officer-involved death” and its definition, “the death of an individual resulting directly from an act or omission of a law enforcement officer while the officer is on duty or while the officer is off duty, but performing activities that are within the scope of the officer’s official duties in certain public safety reporting requirements” from certain reporting requirements.

The bill also would remove references: “the age, gender, ethnicity, and race of a deceased individual” and change it to “age, gender, ethnicity, and race” to the age, gender, ethnicity, and race of an officer who died in the line of duty. And, it eliminates an annual reporting policy for officer-involved deaths, while adding a requirement for a report on officers who died in the line of duty.

The purpose of the bill, according to a spokesperson from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, is to eliminate a layer of redundancy due to a federal requirement that requires states to report information about officer-involved deaths to the U.S. attorney general’s office, as well as a requirement from the Maryland attorney general’s office to provide similar information. The Death In Custody Reporting Act, established by the Department of Justice, requires states to report officer-involved deaths every quarter. “BJA expects that the data submitted by states is timely, comprehensive, complete, and accurate,” according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, DOJ website.

Vote-by-mail changes

Senate Bill 93, Absentee Ballot Application — Sending to Eligible Voters Before Primary Elections, would extend a law allowing vote-by-mail ballot applications to be sent to registered voters who request them. The bill sponsor, Sen. Ben Kramer, D-Montgomery, also hopes to find support to expand the bill to allow vote-by-mail ballot applications to be mailed to every household before a primary election.

Have a news tip? Contact Glynis Kazanjian at gkazanjian@baltsun.com.