Labor and Employment - Minimum Wage - Increase (Maryland Raise the Wage Act)
Summary
HB1479 creates a new reporting requirement for Maryland public elementary and secondary education entities regarding procurement contracts and memoranda of understanding. It defines “covered entity” broadly to include county boards, county superintendents, public schools, the State Board, and the State Superintendent, and it applies to both procurement contracts and MOUs entered into by those entities, except where the information is legally protected from disclosure.
Under the bill, each covered entity must submit an annual list of its procurement contracts and MOUs to the State Superintendent by September 1 for the preceding fiscal year. County superintendents and individual schools may route their information through the county board, and county boards must include that information in their own report. The State Superintendent must then compile the submissions into a statewide report by October 1 and send it to the legislative budget and education committees. The report must identify each contract and MOU, the total amount required to be paid under each procurement contract, and the total amount actually paid during the prior fiscal year.
Impact
The bill would add a new section to the Education Article, § 2-307, imposing statewide transparency and reporting obligations on public K-12 education entities in Maryland. It does not change procurement authority itself, but it requires annual disclosure and consolidation of contract and MOU information, subject to existing legal confidentiality limits, and creates a new reporting flow from local entities to the State Superintendent and then to the General Assembly.
Sentiment
There is no committee transcript or vote record provided, so the bill’s sentiment can only be inferred from its text and procedural posture. The measure appears administrative and transparency-oriented rather than controversial on its face, but the bill was ultimately withdrawn by the sponsor in the House, which suggests it did not advance to a recorded vote or final committee disposition.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are the breadth of the reporting burden on local school systems and the scope of information to be compiled, especially for county boards, county superintendents, and individual schools that would need to track and transmit contract and MOU data annually. Another likely issue is the carveout for information that may or must be withheld by law, which could raise questions about what must be reported versus redacted. No specific objections or supporters are documented in the provided materials.