In Case You Missed It: 300 MD Laws Went Into Effect July 1

As Marylanders rushed to prepare for the long weekend, it's possible some forgot about the hundreds of new laws that went into effect in the state on July 1.

From making it a crime to harass someone via AI-generated revenge porn or banning MTA riders who assault drivers, hundreds of new laws affecting Marylanders went into effect July 1. Other new laws include naming The Orange Crush the state cocktail, removing time limits on when victims of childhood sexual abuse can file lawsuits, plus $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees on everything from cannabis to vehicles to sports betting.

While some of the 849 bills adopted in the recent legislative session kicked in June 1, 300 laws took effect on July 1.

Here's a look at some of the significant new laws:

The Orange Crush was named Maryland's official cocktail. The drink of orange juice, vodka, Triple Sec and Sprite was invented in Ocean City, but Delaware previously passed a law declaring it their official state cocktail, noting the drink was invented in Maryland but perfected in Delaware. Maryland responded this year and passed a law making it the official state cocktail.

Childhood Sex Abuse Claims: A key law now in place amended the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023, which expanded legal options for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, removing time limits on when a victim could file a civil lawsuit.

Under the old law, damages were capped at $1.5 million per “occurrence” of abuse in a lawsuit against a school or church. In cases involving government entities, the cap was $890,000 per occurrence. The new law cuts damages to $700,000 for private institutions and $400,000 for public institutions, Maryland Matters reported

The Next Generation Energy Act gives ratepayers two rebates of about $40 each on energy bills starting July 1. The law also ends public subsidies for trash incineration.

Rental housing: Authorizes county governments to exempt property used for rental housing from the county property tax if the property owner maintains at least 25% of the rental housing units as affordable dwelling units and enters into a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the county government.

Meeting notice: Requires each local board of elections to, at least 48 hours in advance of each open meeting, make publicly available on its website the meeting agenda, including materials that will be voted on at the meeting, unless the meeting is being held due to an emergency, natural disaster, or other unanticipated situation; boards must provide live video streaming of open meetings.

Toilets at wineries, breweries: Requires wineries, breweries and agrotourism establishments that sell food to provide a portable chemical toilet that is supplied with soap, water and a method to dry hands; kept in sanitary condition; properly ventilated; and placed at least 25 feet from a well.

Weapons at schools: Requires Maryland Center for School Safety to study how best to detect deadly weapons on public middle and high school properties and have schools rapidly report the detection of a deadly weapon to law enforcement; interim report is due to General Assembly on Dec. 1, 2025.

Health insurance decisions: Requires a written notice from a health insurer announcing an adverse or grievance decision must include a unique identifier of the person who made the decision; requires that beginning on October 1, 2025 a written notice from a health insurer announcing an adverse or grievance decision must include statement saying member can file an appeal and include information on how to file an appeal.

Telehealth coverage: Preserve Telehealth Act of 2025 makes permanent requirements that health insurers cover telehealth visits.

Immigration: Prevents residents’ personal data from being used for immigration enforcement; prevents immigration agents from entering specified “sensitive locations” without a warrant.

MTA rider bans: Anyone accused of assaulting a Maryland Transit Authority public transit operator will be banned from riding while the agency adopts a rider code of conduct and implements an internal safety program to increase protections for riders and transit operators, including ban procedures for assault, the possibility for legal action and an appeals process.

Delayed FMLA: The implementation of Maryland’s Family Medical Leave and Insurance program is delayed from July 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2027. The Sun reported lawmakers initially passed the Family Medical Leave and Insurance program in 2022, but its implementation was put on hold. The Maryland Department of Labor Secretary will announce a date between Jan. 1, 2027, and Jan. 3, 2028, to allow employees to begin receiving up to 12 weeks of benefit payments.

Taxes on income, tech, gaming, vehicles and more: Applies a 3% sales tax on technology services like cloud storage, data processing and cryptocurrency mining. Maryland Matters reported the tax is expected to raise $500 million.

• Two new upper-end tax brackets kick in and increases the tax on them from 5.75% to 6.5%, while increasing the standard deduction from $2,500 to $3,350 ($6,700 for joint filers and some others), which is expected to bring in $344 million.
• Allow local governments to raise their income tax from the current maximum of 3.2% of reported state income tax — the rate currently assessed by 18 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions — to 3.3%.
• Raises the tax on mobile sports wagering from 15% to 20%.
• Expedites the phase-in of higher vehicle excise taxes.
• Increases the cannabis sales tax from 9% to 12%.
• Raises the vehicle emissions inspection fee cap from $14 to $30.
• Allows a $5 fee on the sale of new tires, to help support the Transportation Trust Fund, but that tax will not be assessed until Jan. 1, 2026.

Abortion grants: Money collected from a surcharge on insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act will fund a program to pay for abortions, regardless of a patient’s insurance coverage, under a measure signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore.

The law will make about $25 million available on July 1, because a $1 surcharge has been unused and growing over the last 15 years since the ACA took effect in 2010. It’s estimated to make about $3 million available annually in future years.

Tenant bill of rights: Landlords must attach a “bill of rights” to every residential lease that sums up what tenants should know about their legal protections.

Data center regulation: Calls for the state to analyze the potential environmental and economic impacts of building data centers in Maryland. That analysis is due on Sept. 1, 2026.

AI revenge porn: Specifies that a “visual representation” of a person made with AI could be considered revenge porn. Those victimized by those images can file a civil suit.

Bitcoin ATMs: Puts a system in place to register virtual currency kiosks — which are also referred to as Bitcoin ATMs — to buy or sell cryptocurrency.

Cannabis Regulation

• HB12/SB214: This law prohibits the sale or distribution of cannabis products marketed as containing more than 0.5 milligrams of THC per serving or over 2.5 milligrams of THC per package, and it outlines penalties for such offenses.
• HB619: This bill exempts the Maryland sales and use tax on transactions involving cannabis between a licensed cannabis business and a registered cannabis nursery.
• SB215: This act implements various changes to laws and regulations pertaining to cannabis businesses, including granting local governments the authority to establish operating hours for on-site cannabis consumption at retail establishments.

Elections

• HB199/SB257: This legislation extends the timeframe the State Board of Elections has to send written communications to voters on the permanent absentee ballot list, increasing it from 90 to 120 days before an election, for confirming addresses and preferred ballot reception methods.

Public Safety

• SB360: This bill incorporates AI-generated images into the state’s criminal and civil laws addressing "revenge porn."

Summaries come from the Maryland State Bar Association, Maryland Matters, and the Associated Press.