Video & Transcript Research : 'Senate Streaming Session for Thursday, March 31, 2022'
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- ><c> our</c><00:31:26.840><c> truck</c><00:31:27.080><c> drivers,</c><00:31:27.920><c> for</c><00:31:
- , for our Port of<00:31:30.240><c> Baltimore,</c><00:31:30.640><c> for</c><00:31:30.760><c> TradePoint
- Atlantic, for<00:31:31.960><c> every</c><00:31:32.200><c> other</c><00:31:32.400><c> place</c><00:31
- </c><00:31:53.920><c> time</c><00:31:54.080><c> for</c> Would now be the appropriate time for Would now
- I move the Senate of Maryland stand adjourned until Friday, March 27th, for an 11:00 pro forma session
Summary:
The Maryland Senate convened with 39 members present and a quorum. The session opened with an invocation by Bishop Antonio Palmer of Kingdom Celebration Center, whose remarks were journalized. The President and members also welcomed several guests to the chamber, including former Delegate Sean Terrence, students from Charles H. Flowers High School and Garrison Forest School, Dr. Lee Snyder as doctor of the day, and Dr. Barbara Ann Palmer in recognition of Women’s History Month. The President also noted that the next day would be pro forma and that some scheduled items would be moved to the following week.
The Senate considered Executive Nominations Report No. 6, covering gubernatorial nominees for boards and commissions including the State Board of Education, MEDCO, and the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. On motion of the committee chair, the report was special ordered to Tuesday, with members asked to review the list for recusals or related issues. The chamber then took up Senate Bill 890, which concerns an insurance premium receipts tax exemption for captive insurance procured by nonprofit hospitals and health care systems.
On SB 890, the Senate adopted the committee amendments and then adopted a floor amendment offered by the bill sponsor. The amendment was described as replacing the bill’s earlier approach with a two-year moratorium on collection of any related liabilities, followed by a Maryland Insurance Administration report back on ongoing investigations. One senator raised concern that the amendment’s language could require the state to refund taxes already paid by hospitals and others, potentially costing millions, and asked for more time to review it; the motion to special order the bill was defeated. After discussion, the amendment was adopted and the bill was ordered printed for third reading.
At the close of the floor session, committee and delegation announcements were made, including Finance, Triple E, Judicial Proceedings, Budget and Tax, Executive Nominations, and several county delegations. A senator from District 6 also spoke about the anniversary of the Key Bridge collapse and thanked colleagues for bipartisan work on related legislation and recovery efforts.
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- Senate<00:31:02.520><c> President.</c> Senate President. Senate President.
- </c> Senate<00:31:20.040><c> Bill</c><00:31:20.160><c> 348,</c><00:31:21.080><c> Senator</c><00:31:21.400
- , Senate With 30 votes in the affirmative, Senate Bill<00:31:48.520><c> 348</c><00:31:49.280><c> having
- Senate<00:31:54.520><c> Bill</c><00:31:54.680><c> 354,</c><00:31:56.000><c> Senator</c><00:31:56.360>
- I have a feeling for Senate Bill 376.
Summary:
The Maryland Senate convened with a quorum, heard an invocation from Pastor Delman Coates, and received several guest introductions, including the doctor of the day, student visitors, homeschool advocates, community leaders, and the Braver Angels group. The chamber also journalized remarks welcoming Dr. Coates and recognized a prayer breakfast, with members offering brief thanks and acknowledgments before moving to legislative business.
The Senate handled several messages and nominations, including withdrawal of an appointment, Johns Hopkins Police Accountability Board nominations, and Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners nominations, all referred to Executive Nominations. The chamber also received House Bill 156 and an Executive Nominations Committee report recommending confirmation of a slate of appointments, which was special ordered for later consideration. A motion to return Senate Bill 463 to second reader and special order it for Tuesday was adopted without objection, and Senate Bill 473 was also special ordered for Tuesday.
On third reading, the Senate passed a large number of bills, including measures on ignition interlock participation, school construction, port hearing notice, veteran status notation for educators, correctional officer scholarships, benefits exploitation, veterans trust fund applications, presidential electors, advance enrollment for children of active service members, retired law enforcement handgun permits, high-risk pregnancy discharge communication, charitable organization audit thresholds, child care criminal history checks, water pollution discharge permits, blockchain task force creation, franchise registration reform, licensing portability for foreign service members and spouses, Medicaid collaborative care cost-sharing, gift card fraud, school for the deaf board membership, vehicle dealer hearings, massage therapy advertising, protective body armor reporting, lithium-ion battery safety, pharmacy prescriber agreements for opioid use disorder treatment, human relevant research fund contributions, state and higher education email requirements, and auto insurance producer commissions. Most passed unanimously or by wide margins; Senate Bill 348 and Senate Bill 585 passed with 30 and 32 votes in favor, respectively.
Senate Bill 140, concerning benefits exploitation, drew extended debate over constitutionality and pending litigation, with one senator citing an Attorney General opinion and another citing a Supreme Court case on neutral principles in church property disputes; the bill ultimately passed with 40 votes. Members later changed several votes on the floor, including on Senate Bills 172, 376, 428, and 48. The session ended while the clerk was beginning to read Senate Bill 629, with the remaining calendar not completed in the transcript.
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- Quick question<00:31:23.040><c> for</c><00:31:23.160><c> the</c><00:31:23.240><c> floor</c><00:31:23.520
- c> coverage</c><01:31:03.440><c> for</c><01:31:03.560><c> screening</c><01:31:04.320><c> for</c> provide
- coverage for screening for provide coverage for screening for perinatal<01:31:05.080><c> behavioral<
- </c> meeting at 2:30 for a voting session. meeting at 2:30 for a voting session.
- </c> until Thursday, March 19th at 5:30 p.m. until Thursday, March 19th at 5:30 p.m.
Summary:
The House convened with 122 members present, opened with prayer, and approved the previous day’s journal. The chamber then took up two congratulatory resolutions: one honoring Layla Wishard of Hagerstown for winning gold with Team USA at the Junior Roller Derby Association World Cup in Australia, and another recognizing Delores Millhouse as the 2026 Maryland Mother of the Year. Both resolutions were read and adopted with applause.
The House then considered a series of committee reports, primarily from the Committee on Economic Matters, and advanced multiple bills to third reading after adopting committee amendments and favorable reports. Measures included consumer contract protections in House Bill 103, workers’ compensation presumptions for hypertension in House Bill 347, broadband access and affordability in House Bill 382, housing and land-use changes in House Bills 548 and 894, data privacy in House Bill 711, franchise law changes in House Bill 730, a blockchain-based real property title pilot program in House Bill 810, bankruptcy exemptions in House Bill 1098, and telecommunications infrastructure protections in House Bill 1100.
Several bills drew questions and were special ordered for further review. House Bill 711, the Data Privacy Act, prompted extended discussion about whether its geolocation provisions could affect stadium and venue security tracking; the sponsor said the bill was intended to close loopholes around cell phone and vehicle location data and would not change existing permission-based rules, but the bill was still special ordered until the next day. House Bill 894, the transit-oriented development bill, also drew questions about local government concerns and was special ordered, with the floor leader saying county and municipal groups were generally satisfied with the amendments. House Bill 1100 was also taken up after the amendments were adopted, and the title amendment process began as the transcript ended.
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- I thank the gentleman for sharing the amendment with me before session today.
- </c><01:31:09.440><c> for</c> transit, but this is a poison pill for transit, but this is a poison pill
- for highway<01:31:09.920><c> projects.
- So, for<01:31:40.520><c> those</c><01:31:40.760><c> reasons,</c><01:31:41.080><c> I'll</c><01:31:41.160
- ><c> be</c><01:31:41.280><c> voting</c> for those reasons, I'll be voting for those reasons, I'll be
Summary:
The House met in Annapolis on February 27, 2026, with 128 members present. After a prayer, the chamber adopted the previous day’s journal and recognized a resolution honoring Brunswick High School’s first Tech Challenge team, Minerva’s Mechanics, for winning the FTC Regional Championships and qualifying for the World Championship in Houston. The resolution was read and adopted with applause.
The main legislative item was House Bill 355, concerning the Education, Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program and human and sex trafficking; the House adopted the favorable committee report and ordered the bill printed for third reading. The next bill, House Bill 534 on nonpublic school transcripts and prohibiting punitive measures related to student debt, also received a favorable report. Debate then centered on an amendment offered to HB 534 that would have tied school funding to student choice for students in repeatedly one-star-rated schools and allowed parents of habitually violent or disruptive students to consider military boarding school options. The sponsor argued Maryland’s public schools, especially in Baltimore City, were failing students despite heavy spending, citing low literacy, violence, and the book Failure Factory; several members echoed concerns about school performance, bureaucracy, and the need for educational freedom.
Opponents and procedural speakers said the amendment was not germane to HB 534, which they described as a narrow bill about transcript access for students leaving nonpublic schools with unpaid fees, often students with disabilities. The floor leader urged the body to resist the amendment and stick to the bill’s actual subject. Despite multiple members explaining their votes in support of school choice and criticizing the Blueprint and school outcomes, the House ultimately took a roll call on the amendment after a voice vote was challenged. The transcript cuts off during the roll call and does not show the final recorded result on the amendment.
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- :21.360><c> Prince</c><00:31:21.679><c> George's</c><00:31:22.080><c> County</c><00:31:22.559><c> for
- for whom it's unsafe to be in a unit past<00:31:33.679><c> 82</c><00:31:34.320><c> 83</c><00:31:34.880
- ><c> provides</c><00:31:43.600><c> clarity</c><00:31:43.919><c> for</c><00:31:44.159><c> landlords</c
- habitability law landlords can and often are<00:31:49.679><c> sued</c><00:31:50.399><c> for</c><00:31
- </c><00:31:52.000><c> This</c><00:31:52.240><c> law</c> are sued for lack of AC.
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- , Amendment 189 adds funding<00:31:27.120><c> for</c><00:31:27.320><c> one</c><00:31:27.600><c> project
- </c><00:31:28.280><c> I'd</c><00:31:28.400><c> move</c><00:31:28.600><c> the</c> funding for one project
- I'd like to pull out Amendment 69<00:31:50.360><c> for</c><00:31:50.480><c> an</c><00:31:50.560><c> up
- and</c><00:31:56.120><c> 112</c><00:31:56.880><c> for</c><00:31:57.160><c> an</c> and 112.
- So, Amendment 69 and 112 for an up<00:31:57.560><c> or</c><00:31:57.640><c> down</c><00:31:57.960><c>
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- </c> passed the Senate earlier this session. passed the Senate earlier this session.
- Senate Bill 915 is again before the Senate on third reading for final passage.
- House Bill or Senate Bill 140 is again before the Senate on third reading for final passage.
- <c> reading</c><00:39:30.800><c> for</c> before the Senate on third reading for before the Senate on
- 31 votes in the affirmative, Senate Bill 31 votes in the affirmative, Senate Bill 487<00:41:24.760><c
Summary:
The Senate first outlined its plan to clear pending concurrence items, focusing on Senate bills with House amendments and not taking up unamended House bills. Members then approved several motions not to concur with House amendments, including Senate Bills 514, 626, and 866, with the clerk reading the formal Senate messages in each case. The chamber also addressed an excused-vote question, with the presiding officer explaining that excused votes do not count as missed votes.
The Senate then concurred in House amendments and passed a series of Senate bills, including SB 11 on campaign finance reporting and the Fair Campaign Financing Fund, SB 164 on the Pamela J. Kelly Tree Maryland program, SB 266 on local regulation of invasive trees, SB 509 on workforce Pell Grant implementation, SB 553 reestablishing the lithium-ion battery safety commission, SB 581 on statewide technology master plan reporting, SB 670 on polling-place authority, SB 848 on municipal election reporting, and SB 940 on water quality testing. Most of these House amendments were described as technical, clarifying, or conforming changes, and each bill received the required constitutional majority on final passage.
The chamber also took up House Bill 862, a rail safety bill requiring certain freight trains to have crews of at least two under specified interstate conditions. After questions from the minority leader about the bill’s trigger conditions and effect on an Eastern Shore rail line, a senator explained support for the measure and the bill passed with 33 affirmative votes. Additional special-order House bills passed as well, including HB 497 on protective order durations, HB 552 establishing a commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children, and HB 573 on fair housing and discriminatory effect standards.
Later, the Senate continued with more concurrence items from Finance, including SB 22 on Department of Disabilities housing programs, SB 412 on forensic review boards and community forensic aftercare, SB 413 on morticians and funeral directors board operations, SB 496 on Medicaid coverage for obesity treatment, SB 555 on dementia services and brain health resources, and SB 579 on no-cost preventive cancer screening for retired volunteer firefighters. These bills were generally amended in the House with clarifying or conforming changes, and the Senate adopted the amendments and passed the bills by constitutional majority.
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- Thank you for that, Senator. Sorry to ...
- Sorry to Thank you for that uh Senator.
- We appreciate<02:31:49.840><c> you</c><02:31:49.920><c> all</c><02:31:50.000><c> for</c><02:31:50.160
- Thanks<02:31:50.800><c> for</c><02:31:50.880><c> stopping</c><02:31:51.240><c> by.
- c> $1</c> in 2022, there was a report for every $1 in 2022, there was a report for every $1 uh<02:35:
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- </c> Senate Chambers as they join us for Senate Chambers as they join us for their<00:08:33.760><c> 26th
- Senate Bill 136 is on third reading for >> Senate Bill 136 is on third reading for final<00:20
- Senate Bill 145 is on third reading for >> Senate Bill 145 is on third reading for final<00:21
- >> Senate<00:31:39.840><c> Bill</c><00:31:40.240><c> 99,</c><00:31:40.960><c> Senator</c><00:31
- ; Senate Bill 99, Senator Kagan, open meetings<00:31:42.399><c> act,</c><00:31:42.640><c> county</c><