State Board of Examiners in Optometry - Examination Requirements and Time Period for Inactive Status
HB0380 repeals an existing provision of Maryland criminal law that prohibited the sale or offer for sale of contraceptives and contraceptive devices through vending machines or other automatic devices at kindergartens, nursery schools, elementary schools, and secondary schools. The bill also removes the associated misdemeanor penalty and fine that applied to each vending machine or automatic device used in violation of that prohibition.
In practical terms, the bill eliminates a specific school-based restriction on how contraceptives may be distributed, leaving no special criminal ban in this section of law on vending-machine sales of contraceptives at schools. The act is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2025, and it amends the Criminal Law Article by repealing Section 10-105 in its entirety.
The bill directly repeals Section 10-105 of the Criminal Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, removing both the substantive prohibition and the misdemeanor penalty tied to vending-machine or automatic-device sales of contraceptives in schools. This changes state law by deleting a school-specific criminal restriction and the fine of up to $1,000 per violation, including the rule treating each machine as a separate offense. The affected parties are schools, vendors, and any entities that might distribute contraceptives through automated devices on school property.
The available legislative record suggests little visible controversy: the bill received a favorable committee report and was adopted by the House. No committee transcript or recorded vote details were provided, so there is no evidence in the supplied materials of organized opposition or extended debate. Overall, the action history indicates a generally supportive or at least uncontentious posture toward repealing the outdated restriction.
Because no committee transcript or vote breakdown is included, specific points of contention are not documented in the provided record. The likely policy issue is whether schools should be subject to a special criminal prohibition on automated contraceptive sales, with supporters presumably favoring repeal as a modernization or access measure and any opponents potentially concerned about contraceptive availability in school settings. However, the supplied materials do not identify any named legislators, organizations, or arguments on either side.