2025 Legislative Session

Maryland's 2025 Legislative Session is over! See where our priority bills landed.

Our priorities are...

• informed by our mission, core values and principles of racial equity & inclusion.
• amplified in partnership with like-minded coalitions including Renters United Maryland, CASA, the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, Maryland Behavioral Health Coalition and the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition.
• driven by client experience and on-the-ground staff perspective.  
• able to move when we have leaders in the legislature who are driven to act.
• influenced by the issues that gain momentum as the session progresses.

Big Wins! These bills passed:

• Preserve Telehealth Act of 2025 | SB 372/HB 869

  • The benefit of access to telehealth (by video and by phone), particularly for underserved communities, has been profound. We supported the continuation of both forms of telehealth broadly accessible across all health professions. 
  • Watch: CMO Laura Garcia testified in support of audio-only telehealth (starting around 1:35). “Audio-only telehealth services can be a lifeline for [people experiencing homelessness], ensuring they receive the medical attention they need despite barriers to accessing traditional health care settings. Almost 100% of our telehealth visits are audio only.”

• Community Health Worker Workforce Program | HB 871

  • Maryland is home to the fourth largest CHW workforce in the country and lack of sustainable funding remains an ongoing issue to support these vital roles. This bill creates a workforce development program in partnership with area hospitals. 
  • Watch: Community Health Coordinator Lilian Amaya at 2:09. "CHWs build trust with communities and create meaningful relationships with patients that go beyond clinical encounters. These relationships are so critical for long-term health improvement as patients are more likely to engage in care when they feel understood and supported."

• Sensitive Locations Protections

  • Watch: CMO Laura Garcia testified starting at 4:44, "We have seen higher no-show rates, fewer scheduled visits and more reliance on telehealth since January that reflects a sense of instability and lack of trust in the system. The fear of deportation outweighs the need for care, non-urgent and urgent. When patients delay care out of fear, they're much more likely to end up in emergency situations that are more costly and difficult to treat."

• Additional Wins

  • Requirement for language accessibility for government services, programs and benefits | HB1473
  • $14 million annually for counsel in evictions through FY2028 | SB154
  • Requirement for structural racism training for all health occupations | HB783
  • Successfully opposed drug-induced homicide bill (Adding longer and longer prison sentences to address an intractable problem like drug addiction does not prevent overdose, deter drug distribution, or reduce the prevalence of fentanyl in the drug supply. Had it passed, this bill would have discouraged people who use drugs from reporting overdoses while increasing state costs through lengthy prison sentences.)
  • Protected against cuts to Medicaid, including ACIS 

These bills didn't pass this year...More advocacy ahead!

• Establish Community Health Worker Appreciation Day | HB 65

  • This bill, first introduced in 2024, will establish May 8 as Community Health Worker Appreciation Day; and lift up the importance of CHWs in improving access to care and support. The bill passed the House in 2024 and again in 2025, but did not pass the Senate.

• Stop Fail-First Protocols for treating serious mental illness | SB 111/HB 382

  • This bill would prohibit prior authorization, step therapy, and fail-first protocols (where clients must demonstrate unsuccessful treatment on certain medications before they receive coverage for medications their physician recommends) for prescription drugs treating mental illnesses. Mental health crises require urgent action. Delays caused by administrative barriers can worsen symptoms, leading to unnecessary suffering and more intensive, costly interventions later.
    • Watch: Starting around 2:18, Director of Pyschiatry Meredith Johnston testified, "Quick and appropriate intervention can help people stay out of the hospital and not get involved with police and criminal charges for being acutely ill in public. By supporting this bill, you are prioritizing the mental health and well-being of Maryland’s residents and affirming the importance of evidence-based, patient-centered care."

• Allow Overdose Prevention Sites (OPS) | SB 83/ HB 845

  • In 2024, The Baltimore Banner and New York Times uncovered unprecedented rates of overdose deaths in Baltimore - with Black men between 50-70 hardest hit. We support the introduction of Overdose Prevention Sites in Maryland, where people can use substances with immediate access to life saving interventions, medical care, emotional support and non-judgmental, therapeutic relationships.
    • Read a Q&A with RN Kathy Pretl and Senior Peer Recovery Specialist Vicky Stewart about their visit to an operating Overdose Prevention Site in NYC. 
    • Watch: Starting at 32.22, Harm Reduction Manager Molly Greenberg, RN testified in strong support of OPS. "Everyday I see how stigma and criminalization pushes people to use in isolation making them more prone to overdose. In this system, what we do falls short of what people need and deserve. These deaths are preventable, and every single one is a policy failure.”

• Decriminalize Drug Paraphernalia | HB 556/SB 370

  • We support decriminalizing the possession of items that could be used to consume drugs, such as syringes and needles. This saves lives, reduces barriers to housing and employment and prevents the spread of infectious diseases. With our partners at Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition (BHRC), we successfully advocated to pass this bill in 2021. The Governor vetoed it and the General Assembly refused to take up overriding the veto. In 2023, HB173 passed in the House but did not make it through the Senate. In 2024 and 2025 the bill did not pass either chamber.
    • Watch Medical Provider Katharine Billipp testify (around 2:44:40) in 2024

• Affirm the rights of unhoused individuals | HB 487/SB 484

  • This bill provides that all unhoused individuals have certain rights - and is in direct response to the Grants Pass decision, which allows local jurisdictions to arrest or punish people for experiencing homelessness. Relying on jails and fines will never solve the homelessness crisis. The real solution is providing access to housing we can all afford and the support services we all need to become stable.
    • Watch: Board Member Mark Council testify in support at 2:55. “Criminalizing people is never the answer to homeless[ness]. People often live outside because they have no other option. Housing solves homelessness.”
    • Watch: President & CEO Kevin Lindamood testify in support at 40:57 (and stick around for the panel Q&A). "The forced closure of encampments and issuing of citations is cruel, costly and utterly counterproductive."

• Enable local "Good Cause" Eviction Prevention | HB 709/SB 651

  • Helps provide renters with the protections they need from unjust, discriminatory, and arbitrary eviction. In 2024, the bill passed the House but did not pass the Senate. In 2025, the bill did not move.
    • Read District 20 Representative Jheanelle Wilkins' Op Ed supporting Just Cause laws in The Baltimore Banner

• Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act | SB 514/ HB 1077

  • Would limit landlords from using criminal records in tenant screenings. This was the first year this bill was introduced in this form.
  • Watch compelling testimony from Housing Services Case Manager Victoria Lee, starting at 1:15. "Denying housing to citizens with criminal records is not only a form of discrimination, but denying housing can also lead to detrimental barriers in stability in every facet of a person's life including, employment, physical and mental health as well as food. Denying housing means denying a person the very basic necessities of life."

• Maryland Data Privacy Act | SB 977/ HB 1431

  • Limits immigration enforcement from accessing government databases, facilities or buildings.

See our 2024 priorities and where they landed

"Policies must be driven by the expertise of people with lived experience. Staff and clients sharing real experiences with legislators is the most impactful way to influence legislation. Together, we can make a more just Maryland.”

- Joanna Diamond, Director of Public Policy