AARP Maryland Advocacy Update

AARP Maryland Advocacy Activity

With just days left in the 2025 Legislative Session, AARP Maryland volunteer advocates are following nearly 100 bills that would impact older Marylanders and their families.

Our volunteers and staff are weighing in with in-person testimony on legislation regarding fraud, consumer credit reports, accessible dwelling units, behavioral health, healthcare, long-term care and utilities.

On Lobby Day, Thursday, March 6, our volunteers and members from across Maryland visited every House and Senate office to meet their representatives and explain where we stand on their issues.

Here are some of the items our staff and volunteers have testified on.

Fraud
AARP Maryland Executive Council Member and retired Maryland General Assembly Fiscal Analyst Karen Morgan testified in favor of HB1390 Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Losses from Theft or Fraud, providing tax relief for people who have been victims of fraud.

Accessory Dwelling Units
Volunteer and retired healthcare executive Priscilla Kania testified in support of HB1466 Land Use and Real Property - Accessory Dwelling Units - Requirements and Prohibitions, promoting the creation of accessory dwelling units on land zoned for single-residence use.

Healthcare
AARP Maryland Senior Advocacy Director Tammy Bresnahan testified in support of SB720 Hospitals – Safe Staffing Act of 2025, requiring hospitals licensed in the State to establish and maintain a clinical staffing committee for developing and implementing a clinical staffing plan.

Assisted Living
Tammy Bresnahan testified in support of SB751 Health Facilities – Assisted Living Programs – Family Councils, providing for the composition of a family council in assisted living programs and, later in the week, on its companion bill, HB1291.

Behavioral Health
Volunteer and Executive Council member Lois Mezzaros presented written testimony on SB900 MD Behavioral Health Crisis Response System – Integration of 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Network and Outcome Evaluations, as well as its companion legislation, HB1146. The measures would require each crisis communication center in the Maryland Behavioral Health Crisis Response System to coordinate with the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Network to provide supportive counseling, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and referrals to additional resources.

Utilities
Tammy Bresnahan testified in support of SB675 PSC – Full Costs & Benefits Analysis of Sources of Electricity Generation, requiring the Public Service Commission to conduct an analysis of the full costs and benefits of sources of electricity generation in the State, recommend policy changes to support the development of energy sources with the lowest costs and greatest benefits to the ratepayers of the state.

Volunteer and former journalist Laurel Peltier testified in support of SB908 Public Utilities – Electric Distribution System Plans – Establishment, requiring electric companies to, every 3 years, develop an electric system distribution plan to be approved by the Public Service Commission.
 
Laurel Peltier also testified in favor of SB953 Construction & Expansion of Transmission Lines & Task Force to Develop a Realistic Electricity Plan for Maryland, establishing the Task Force to Develop a Realistic Electricity Plan for Maryland to study and make recommendations on the State's current and future electricity needs under various scenarios; and prohibiting the Public Service Commission from approving the construction or expansion of transmission lines in the State from July 1, 2025, through May 1, 2026. She will also offer support for HB960 Investor Owned Electric, Gas, & Gas & Electric Companies, prohibiting an investor-owned electric company, gas company, or combination gas and electric company from recovering costs associated with lobbying and political activities from customers.

Healthcare
Tammy Bresnahan testified in support of HB1409 Health - Medical Care Facilities – Electronic Monitoring Devices, a bill that would require a medical care facility to allow electronic monitoring of a resident if requested by the resident or the resident's legal representative.

Every legislative session, AARP Maryland volunteer advocates are a formidable presence in the halls of the State House. In 2024, 33 measures benefitting older Marylanders, and their families, were enacted with the active support of Maryland’s 800,000+ AARP members.

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