State Board of Sign Language Interpreters - Membership and Licensing
Summary
HB1192 would require the Maryland Comptroller and the Director of the State Department of Assessments and Taxation to regularly check whether any nonprofit organization in the state has been found by a federal agency to have provided material support or resources to a terrorist organization. If a nonprofit has been found in violation of federal anti-terrorism support laws within any of the three immediately preceding taxable years, the Comptroller must rescind that organization’s Maryland income tax and sales and use tax exemptions, and the Director must rescind any related property tax exemptions.
The bill sets out notice, response, reinstatement, and appeal procedures. Before rescission takes effect, the Comptroller must send notice by registered mail and give the nonprofit 90 days to provide information to prevent the rescission. The Comptroller may withdraw the rescission based on that information, and the organization may appeal to the Maryland Tax Court. The Comptroller and Director are also directed to adopt regulations to implement the law, and the Act would take effect June 30, 2025.
Impact
This bill would add new sections to the Tax-General and Tax-Property Articles of the Maryland Code to create a state process for revoking tax-exempt status from certain nonprofits tied to terrorist-support activity. It would affect income tax, sales and use tax, and property tax exemptions for organizations that qualify under federal nonprofit rules but are found by a federal agency to have violated 18 U.S.C. § 2339A or § 2339B by supporting a designated terrorist organization. The measure also creates administrative procedures for notice, rescission, reinstatement, regulation, and judicial review through the Maryland Tax Court.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a security- and accountability-focused measure rather than a partisan tax policy change. Its sponsors present it as a targeted response to nonprofit organizations that support terrorism, and the structure of the bill suggests an effort to balance enforcement with due process through notice, a cure period, and appeal rights. No contrary viewpoints are documented in the provided record.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the scope and trigger for rescinding tax exemptions: the bill relies on federal findings of material support or resources to terrorist organizations, which could raise concerns about due process, evidentiary standards, and the risk of mistaken designation. Another likely issue is administrative burden, since the Comptroller and Director must regularly review organizations and coordinate rescissions across multiple tax categories. Supporters would likely emphasize public safety and preventing state tax benefits from flowing to terrorist-supporting entities, while critics may focus on procedural fairness, federal-state coordination, and the possibility of overbreadth.