A look at bills passed in the 2023 Maryland General Assembly

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Basic Meeting is wrapping up its 90-day legislative session at midnight Monday.

Here is a take a look at a number of the laws that lawmakers handed:

ABORTION

Lawmakers permitted a constitutional modification that can go on the poll subsequent 12 months to enshrine the proper to abortion within the Maryland Structure. Lawmakers handed laws to guard sufferers and suppliers from prison, civil and administrative penalties referring to abortion bans or restrictions in different states. They permitted a separate data-privacy invoice to guard medical and insurance coverage data on reproductive well being in digital well being info exchanges that may be shared throughout state traces. Legislators additionally handed a invoice to make sure public schools and universities in Maryland have a plan for scholar entry close to campuses to contraception, together with emergency contraception and abortion drugs.

BUDGET

Lawmakers permitted a $62.5 billion price range for the following fiscal 12 months. The Basic Meeting determined to place apart $900 million to assist pay prices in future years of a sweeping training reform legislation referred to as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. That is on high of $8.7 billion put aside for pre-Okay-12 funding within the subsequent fiscal 12 months. The state can have about $2.85 billion in reserves, together with about $2.5 billion within the wet day fund and a stability of $351 million within the basic fund.

CANNABIS

Lawmakers determined licensing and tax charges wanted to open a leisure marijuana market on July 1, after voters permitted a constitutional modification in November. Medical hashish shops will be capable to get a twin license to promote leisure marijuana, and there shall be further licenses made out there with an emphasis on fairness issues. The tax shall be 9%. Adults 21 and over will be capable to possess as much as 1.5 ounces of hashish and two marijuana vegetation.

CLEAN TRUCKS

Maryland will set necessities for automobile producers to promote a rising annual proportion of zero-emission automobiles like electrical vans, supply vans and faculty buses within the state starting in mannequin 12 months 2027.

CLERGY ABUSE-LAWSUITS

Lawmakers handed a measure to finish the state’s statute of limitations for when civil lawsuits could be filed towards private and non-private establishments associated to youngster sexual abuse.

GENDER-AFFIRMING TREATMENT

The state will develop procedures referring to gender-affirming care which can be coated by the state’s Medicaid program. Protection will develop to cowl procedures that embrace hair alteration, voice modification surgical procedure and remedy, alterations to the stomach, trunk, face and neck and fertility preservation providers. Revisions and reversals of prior remedies additionally can be coated.

988 CRISIS PREVENTION

Lawmakers handed a measure to put aside $12 million in 2025 to fund the 988 suicide and disaster prevention hotline.

MAIL-IN BALLOTS 

Maryland will start processing mail-in ballots throughout elections eight enterprise days earlier than the beginning of early voting, although some smaller jurisdictions can get a waiver. The state’s main shall be moved from April to the second Tuesday in Might in 2024.

MINIMUM WAGE

Maryland will pace up its scheduled enhance of the minimal wage to $15 an hour to take impact in January, moderately than ready till 2025 underneath earlier legislation.

POLICE REFORM-PROSECUTIONS

The Maryland Legal professional Basic can have unbiased authority to convey prison expenses towards cops after investigating deaths when officers are concerned.

TAX CREDITS

The Basic Meeting handed the governor’s enlargement of tax credit that had been set to run out for low-income residents. The laws will make everlasting an enlargement of the state’s earned earnings tax credit score permitted in 2021 for tax years by 2022. The measure additionally will develop the state’s youngster tax credit score.

TELEHEALTH

Protection of telehealth shall be prolonged to June 30, 2025 by the Maryland Medical Help Program and sure insurers, nonprofit well being providers plans and well being upkeep organizations.