AARP Maryland Advocacy Update (Sine Die Edition!)

Sine Die In Review

The results of AARP Maryland’s advocacy efforts, led by Senior Associate State Director of Advocacy Tammy Bresnahan’s keen insights throughout this year’s legislative process, are truly remarkable given the uncertainty with which we began the 2025 session.

While all eyes were on maintaining services in the context of a serious budget deficit, we were busy supporting a series of bills that protect our 50+ communities. Our work is well rewarded.

With 27 bills on track for the Governor’s signature and three already Approved by the Governor, below are just a few highlights:

HB 424/SB 357 – Prescription Drug Affordability Board – Authority for Upper Payment Limits (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for All Marylanders Now Act). Expands the Board’s authority to set upper payment limits (UPLs) on high-cost prescription drugs for all Marylanders.

HB 121/SB37 Electric Companies – Regional Transmission Organizations – Report (Utility Transparency and Accountability Act). Aims to improve oversight of electric companies' decision-making processes by increasing transparency in their votes within regional energy organizations. This bill requires each electric company (excluding municipal electric utilities) to submit an annual report to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) detailing every recorded vote the company casts in meetings of the Pennsylvania, Jersey, and Maryland Regional Transmission Organization (PJM). PJM is the regional transmission organization responsible for Maryland's electric grid, and most electric companies in the state participate in its decision-making processes when determining rates.

HB1020 Consumer Protection – Credit Reporting – Medical Debt (Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act). This bill significantly limits the authority of consumer reporting agencies to report medical debt on credit reports and significantly limits the ability of health providers to send that information to credit reporting agencies in the first place.

HB 869/SB 372 – Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2025. Builds on previous telehealth legislation by extending essential provisions set to expire. Telehealth has proven crucial for many older Marylanders, improving access to care and enabling timely medical attention without the hurdles posed by travel and mobility issues. The bill ensures continued reimbursement parity for telehealth services, helping sustain a vital healthcare option for countless residents.

HB 1466/SB891 Land Use and Real Property Accessory Dwelling Units Requirements and Prohibitions. Establishes a state policy to promote and encourage the creation of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on land zoned for single-family residential use to meet housing needs.

A complete list of bills that have been passed by the House and/or Senate as well as three already approved by the Governor—30 in all—is embedded at the end of this message.

Future Bill Signings by the Governor
The Governor will hold four more bill signings in the State House which are open to the public.

Tuesday, April 22nd
Tuesday, May 6
Tuesday, May 13
Tuesday, May 20

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.

AARP Maryland Legislative Session
Bills Approved by the Governor

HB36/SB212 Department of Aging – Aging Services – Program Repeal and Consolidation. Delegate Pena-Melnyk/Senator Beidle

HB158/SB223 Department of Aging – Senior Call-Check and Social Connections Program. Delegate Pena-Melnyk/Senator Beidle

HB246/SB205 Human Services – Adult Protective Services. Delegate Clippinger/Senator William Smith, Jr.

Bills Passed by the House and/or Senate

HB11/SB902 Health Insurance – Access to Nonparticipating Providers – Referrals, Additional Assistance, and Coverage. Delegate Sample-Hughes/Senator Augustine

HB31 Consumer Protection – Right to Repair – Powered Wheelchairs. Delegate Kaufman

HB121/SB37 Electric Companies – Regional Transmission Organizations – Report (Utility Transparency and Accountability Act). Delegate Charkoudian/Senator Hester

HB214/SB208 Human Services – Maryland Assistive Technology Program – Establishment. Delegate Barnes/Senator Beidle

HB424/SB357 Prescription Drug Affordability Board – Upper Payment Limits (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for All Marylanders Now Act). Delegate Cullison/Senator Gile

HB450 Maryland Transit Administration – Disability Reduced Fare Program – Renewal for Permanently Disabled Individuals. Delegate Guyton

HB542/SB347 Adult Protective Services – Investigations and Disclosure of Information. Delegate Crutchfield/Senator Love

HB628 Highways – Sidewalks and Bicycle Pathways – Construction and Reconstruction. Delegate Healey.

HB699 General Provisions – Veterans Benefits – Honorable Discharge. Delegate Allen

HB825/SB41 Maryland Small Business Retirement Savings Board – Membership – Alteration. Delegate Pena-Melnyk/Senator Rosapepe

HB869/SB372 Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2025. Delegate Pena-Melnyk/Senator Beidle

HB933 Nursing Homes – Cost Reports. Delegate Martinez

HB984 Public Utilities – Electric Cooperatives – Rate Proceedings. Delegate Crosby

HB1004/SB748 Public Health – Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias – Information on Prevalence and Treatment. Delegate Martinez/Senator Kramer

HB1020 Consumer Protection – Credit Reporting – Medical Debt (Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act). Delegate Palakovich Carr

HB1035/SB937 Public Utilities – Electricity Generation Planning – Procurement, Permitting, and Co-Location (Next Generation Energy Act). Speaker/President

HB1142 Public Health – Maryland Interested Parties Advisory Group – Establishment. Delegate Bagnall

HB1146/SB900 Maryland Behavioral Health Crisis Response System Integration of 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Network and Outcome Evaluation. Delegate White Holland/Senator Augustine

HB1294 Commercial Law Credit Regulation – Earned Wage Access and Credit Modernization. Delegate Wilson

HB1466/SB891 Land Use and Real Property – Accessory Dwelling Units – Requirements and Prohibitions. Delegate Stewart/Senators M. Washington and Kagan

HB1478 Public Health - Report on Establishing a Directory of Home Health Care Providers. Delegate Hill

SB48 Department of General Services – ID Cards – Veteran Status Notation. Senator Simonaire

SB67 Health Occupations Boards – Notation of Veteran Status and Eligibility for Benefits. Senator Simonaire

SB89 Department of the Environment – Notation of Veteran Status. Senator Simonaire

SB114 Maryland Department of Labor – Licenses – Notation of Veteran Status and Eligibility for Benefits. Senator Simonaire

SB305 Financial Institutions and Activities – Virtual Currency Kiosks – Registration and Regulation. Senator Beidle

SB309 Department of Veterans and Military Families – Communications, Outreach, and Advocacy Program Alterations. Senator Simonaire

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