Hundreds of new laws take effect in October in Maryland, from increasing monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and banning live wild animal performances to a controversial juvenile justice law that expands the consequences for young offenders. One law, which alters regulatory requirements for the marketing and sale of electricity and gas, has already been challenged in court.

Here are other laws that went into effect earlier this week.

Pava Marie LaPere Act

The law, named after the 26-year-old entrepreneur who was killed on the roof of her apartment building in September 2023, prevents offenders convicted of first-degree sexual assault from automatically earning time off their sentences for good behavior. Jason Billingsley, who pleaded guilty to LaPere’s murder, had been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a first-degree sex offense in 2015. He was released in 2022 on credits for good conduct.

Lawmakers also banned commercial self-administered sexual assault forensic kits and passed legislation that establishes a definition of consent and removes the requirement of “use of force or threat of force” from what qualifies as second-degree rape. The statute of limitations has also been extended to five years for sex extortion and 10 years to stalking. The statute of limitations was removed for nonconsensually distributed intimate images, or “revenge porn.”

Maternal Health and more requirements for hospitals

Hospitals now are required to give instructions to an infant’s parent or guardian on how to provide a “safe sleep environment” to avoid Shaken Baby Syndrome. Newborns must also be tested for syphilis and HIV and have that considered in neonatal evaluation and treatment. Hospitals will also need to provide “evidence-based interventions” before discharging a patient who was admitted for opioid-related overdose.

The Maryland Maternal Health Act of 2024 will require providers who receive reimbursement from Medicaid for obstetric services to complete a prenatal risk assessment. Under the law, birthing centers and hospitals that provide obstetric care will also need to complete a postpartum infant and maternal referral form in cases of high-risk pregnancy. The center is also required to provide resources and information related to risk, signs, preventive measures and treatment needs for postpartum complications. The center should also call the birthing parent within 48 hours of discharging them.

Lawmakers have also changed the definition of legally protected health care to include gender-affirming treatment.

Access to Care Act

The Access to Care Act removes immigration status as an eligibility requirement for buying a health plan through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, allowing undocumented residents to receive coverage under certain criteria. Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA, an immigration advocacy group, said in a press release the legislation was the first step to ensuring affordable health care for everyone.

“The heavy burden that hospital systems and community clinics have carried for decades will lighten,” Torres said. “With people heading to preventative care instead of the emergency room.”

Under a different legislation, the State Emergency Medical Services Board is no longer allowed to require an applicant for licensure or certification to provide a Social Security number, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or proof of lawful residency.

Collective bargaining and wage transparency

State employees in supervisory roles can now unionize. AFSCME Maryland President Patrick Moran said in a press release the move would allow supervisors “to share their expertise and experience and be equal partners in making our state agencies and state services the best that they can be.”

Lawmakers also rolled out legislation where employers need to disclose wage, benefit and other compensation in public and internal job postings. All state employees can also now take up to 10 days of paid parental bereavement for death of a child, and firefighters can secure compensation if they develop thyroid, colon, or ovarian cancer due to contact with toxic substances encountered while in the line of duty.

Clean Water Justice Act

Under this legislation, residents can bring civil action to ask the court to enforce laws that protect streams and nontidal wetlands from pollution. A U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA had left a regulatory void, turning the responsibility of keeping waters clean to the states.

Lawmakers have also included environmental justice, climate resilience, and equity measures into the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area Protection Program.

Identifying information and wellness check

After a shooting death of a judge, lawmakers established the Office of Information Privacy of the Courts, which will handle requests to not publish or to remove existing personal information on social media. Under a different law, minors in a criminal or juvenile delinquency case may have identifying information redacted, unless the court finds evidence there is good cause to order otherwise.

Law enforcement needs to conduct a wellness check “without unreasonable delay,” and fire, rescue or emergency medical services should also conduct the check if there are concerns about a life-threatening condition.

BALTIMORE — It’s been one week since Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast and devastated Western North Carolina with heavy rains and severe flooding. 

Many people are trapped as hundreds of roads in Western North Carolina have been inaccessible due to the storm.  

A team of rescuers from Maryland have been working around the clock to try to get to the isolated people, many without food and water.  

Maryland Hart is made up of 24 highly skilled first responders from fire departments and emergency services departments across the Baltimore region. They’re in North Carolina right now rescuing people by helicopter from the devastation. 

At least 225 people have been confirmed dead, and officials say they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts continue. 

“It happened in the mountains, there’s a lot of small communities and unfortunately they’ve been cut off either by the flooding, bridges washing out, or mudslides,” Michael Berna, Maryland Hart Civilian Team Administrator said. 

Berna is also one of the founding members of Maryland Hart, which stands for Helicopter Aquatic Response Team. He says the team, comprised of first responders from Harford, Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore Counties, arrived in Western North Carolina on September 27 and immediately got to work. 

“That was the day they really saw people…I’ll say in the greatest peril. There were still floodwaters, there were still mudslides occurring,” Berna explained. 

As the days went on, Berna said people who were trapped but not in immediate danger started to run out of food, water, or medication. 

“Our air assets have been key because it’s been extremely difficult to get anything in by ground,” he said. 

Since they arrived, the team has covered 2,295 miles by air, according to Berna. As of Thursday, they’ve rescued 71 adults, 10 children, 2 infants, and over 20 dogs by way of multiple hoist missions. 

“A lot of the area is inaccessible, there may not be room to land the helicopter. If they can they certainly will, but that has forced our team to conduct a lot of hoist missions,” he said. 

Missions like these are what the Maryland Hart trains for year-round. 

Many people are trapped as hundreds of roads in Western North Carolina have been inaccessible due to the storm.  

A team of rescuers from Maryland have been working around the clock to try to get to the isolated people, many without food and water.  

 Maryland Hart is made up of 24 highly skilled first responders from fire departments and emergency services departments across the Baltimore region. They’re in North Carolina right now rescuing people by helicopter from the devastation. 

At least 225 people have been confirmed dead, and officials say they expect the death toll to continue to rise as recovery efforts continue. 

“It happened in the mountains, there’s a lot of small communities and unfortunately they’ve been cut off either by the flooding, bridges washing out, or mudslides,” Michael Berna, Maryland Hart Civilian Team Administrator said. 

Berna is also one of the founding members of Maryland Hart, which stands for Helicopter Aquatic Response Team. He says the team, comprised of first responders from Harford, Montgomery, Howard, and Baltimore Counties, arrived in Western North Carolina on September 27 and immediately got to work. 

“That was the day they really saw people…I’ll say in the greatest peril. There were still floodwaters, there were still mudslides occurring,” Berna explained. 

As the days went on, Berna said people who were trapped but not in immediate danger started to run out of food, water, or medication. 

“Our air assets have been key because it’s been extremely difficult to get anything in by ground,” he said. 

Since they arrived, the team has covered 2,295 miles by air, according to Berna. As of Thursday, they’ve rescued 71 adults, 10 children, 2 infants, and over 20 dogs by way of multiple hoist missions. 

“A lot of the area is inaccessible, there may not be room to land the helicopter. If they can they certainly will, but that has forced our team to conduct a lot of hoist missions,” he said. 

Missions like these are what the Maryland Hart trains for year-round. 

The mural also has an image of Matthew Henson, a Black explorer who was born in Nanjemoy, Maryland, and made history in 1909 as one of the first Americans to reach the North Pole. The piece is titled “Maripaluk,” an affectionate nickname the Artic Inuit community gave Henson during his explorations.

“It’s actually a conversation piece,” said Alexandria Briggs-Blake, president of the Tucker Road Parent Organization, part of a stakeholder group at the rink. “It’s a very diverse and inclusive mural in a beautiful location in the ice rink that is displayed in a way that brings people together.”

In 2020, Briggs-Blake was a finalist for the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, given by the NHL “to an individual who — through the sport of hockey — has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society.”

Del Valle said he enjoys hearing compliments about the mural from rink patrons whenever he takes his children skating.

“People don’t know I painted it, so I listen to people talk,” he said. “One of the things I love the most is a lot of people talk about how someone looks like someone in the mural, that people see themselves or people that they know.”

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission selected Del Valle from a group of artists to paint the mural for the nearly $28 million, 48,860-square foot rink that opened in 2021. It replaced the old Tucker Road rink that was destroyed by a two-alarm electrical fire in January 2017.

“We had to satisfy the hockey and figure skating communities with the mural, so we went through at least six drafts to come up with what the final product would be,” said Alec Simpson, Visual and Public Arts Coordinator for M-NCPPC/Prince George’s Department of Parks and Recreation. “He was very professional and went above and beyond the call of duty in that regard.”

Del Valle said he leaned into his fondness of hockey, gained through his two children and younger sister, and his experience as a novice skater for artistic inspiration.