Local Government - Hiring and Promotion Preferences for Veterans and Spouses of Service Members and Veterans (Families Serve Act)
Summary
SB872, the Families Serve Act, authorizes Maryland counties and municipalities to give hiring and promotion preferences to certain military-connected applicants through local law. The bill permits preferences for eligible veterans, spouses of eligible service members, spouses of eligible veterans with service-connected disabilities, and surviving spouses of deceased eligible veterans. It also allows local governments that use selection tests for hiring or appointment to adopt a local law providing a 10-point credit, or equivalent, for those same groups, with an optional additional 2-point credit for former prisoners of war.
The bill defines key terms such as eligible veteran, eligible service member, and eligible spouse, and it clarifies that granting these preferences does not violate state or local equal employment opportunity law. For county or municipal employers, however, the bill conditions use of the hiring and promotion preference on adoption of a local law before implementation. It also makes conforming changes to local government and personnel statutes, including a technical renumbering of provisions and an update to Frederick County wage-payment cross-references. The act takes effect October 1, 2025.
Impact
SB872 amends the Labor and Employment Article and the Local Government Article to expressly authorize, but not require, local governments to create veterans’ and military-family hiring preferences and test-score credits. It expands the list of eligible beneficiaries in local hiring systems and adds procedural requirements for counties and municipalities that choose to participate, while preserving existing equal employment opportunity protections. The bill also makes related conforming amendments to the State Personnel and Pensions Article definitions and updates a Frederick County statutory cross-reference.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislature. It passed the Senate 47-0 and the House 131-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The absence of committee transcript opposition and the strong vote totals suggest general agreement with the policy of supporting veterans and military families in local public employment.
Contention
The main policy distinction in the bill is between permissive authority and mandatory action: counties and municipalities may adopt these preferences, but they are not required to do so. A related point of structure is that county and municipal employers must adopt a local law before implementing the preference, which preserves local control and may limit immediate statewide uniformity. The bill also narrows eligibility by excluding current county or municipal employees from the selection-test credit and by disqualifying veterans convicted of a crime after discharge, but no recorded debate indicates these provisions were especially contentious.