top of page
Civil Rights, LGBTQ+ Issues and the 2026 Session
The LGBTQ+ Task Force is inactive, but we are tracking legislation involving civil rights:
​
​
​
Subject | Bill Number | XFile Bill Number | Title | Synopsis | Current Status | Current Location | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Data Privacy & Protection | HB0264 | Maryland Data Privacy and Protection Act of 2026 | Limiting the personal information that may be collected, maintained, processed, and retained by units of State government under certain circumstances; requiring certain personal information to be deleted or de-identified under certain circumstances; requiring each unit to post a certain privacy notice on its Internet website and establishing certain requirements for privacy notices and privacy policies; requiring each unit of State government to designate a Privacy Officer; etc. | First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections | Government, Labor, and Elections | ||
Display of Ten Commandments | HB0067 | State Government - State House Trust - Ten Commandments Monument Display Act | Requiring a certain Ten Commandments Monument to be placed on the grounds of the Maryland State House; requiring the Commission on Artistic Property to oversee the care and maintenance of the monument; and establishing the Commission on the Ten Commandments Monument. | First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections | Government, Labor, and Elections | Oppose | |
Fairness in Girls' Sports | SB0050 | Education - Interscholastic and Intramural Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams and Sports - Designation (Fairness in Girls' Sports Act) | Requiring certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports sponsored by certain schools to be expressly designated in a certain manner; prohibiting certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports from including certain students; prohibiting certain entities from taking certain adverse actions against a school under certain circumstances; etc. | First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment | Education, Energy, and the Environment | Oppose | |
Fairness in Girls' Sports | HB0063 | Education - Interscholastic and Intramural Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams and Locker Rooms - Designation Based on Sex (Fairness in Girls' Sports Act) | Requiring certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports sponsored by certain schools and certain locker rooms to be expressly designated based on biological sex; prohibiting certain entities from taking certain adverse actions against a school for maintaining separate interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports or locker rooms for students of the female sex; etc. | First Reading Ways and Means | Ways and Means | Oppose | |
Federal Agents - Digital Unmasking | HB0351 | Public Safety - Federal Agents - Digital Unmasking | Authorizing the Office of the Attorney General or a State's Attorney, upon receipt of a complaint of federal agent misconduct, to direct the Maryland State Police to gather and securely retain certain identifying digital data about a certain federal agent or federal agents; and authorizing a certain complainant to obtain certain identifying digital data only pursuant to a court order issued in a certain case. | First Reading Judiciary | Judiciary | ||
Free Exercise of Religion | HB0356 | Human Relations - Protection of the Free Exercise of Religion | Prohibiting a governmental authority, under certain circumstances, from burdening a person's exercise of religion; and authorizing a person aggrieved by a violation of the Act to obtain certain relief in a civil action. | First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections | Government, Labor, and Elections | ||
State Procurement - Constitutional Violations | HB0334 | State Procurement - Constitutional Violations - Prohibited | Requiring a procurement officer to require a certain certification from a bidder or offeror and to include a certain clause in a State procurement contract relating to unconstitutional activity. | First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections | Government, Labor, and Elections | ||
Unhoused Individuals | SB0049 | HB0104 | Unhoused Individuals - Rights and Affirmative Defense | Providing that all unhoused individuals have certain rights; stating it is the intent of the General Assembly that the Courts liberally construe the Act to maximize the protections afforded by it to unhoused individuals in the State; establishing an affirmative defense of necessity to certain criminal charges relating to trespass or disturbing the peace; and repealing the authority of a municipality to prohibit vagrancy. | Hearing 1/27 at 1:00 p.m. | Judicial Proceedings | |
Unhoused Individuals | HB0104 | SB0049 | Unhoused Individuals - Rights and Affirmative Defense | Providing that all unhoused individuals have certain rights; establishing an affirmative defense of necessity to certain criminal charges relating to trespass or disturbing the peace; and repealing the authority of a municipality to prohibit vagrancy. | Hearing 2/03 at 1:00 p.m. | Judiciary | |
Uniform Public Expression Protection Act | SB0251 | Civil Actions - Maryland Uniform Public Expression Protection Act | Repealing a certain provision relating to strategic lawsuits against public participation; authorizing a person served with a pleading asserting a certain cause of action based on the person's communication related to a governmental proceeding or exercise of certain constitutional rights to file a special motion for expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action; generally relating to civil actions and public expression; and applying the Act prospectively. | Hearing 1/29 at 3:00 p.m. | Judicial Proceedings | ||
Violation of Constitutional Rights (No Kings Act) | HB0332 | Civil Actions - Violation of Constitutional Rights (No Kings Act) | Establishing certain civil liability for an individual who, under color of law, deprives another of a right, a privilege, or an immunity secured by the U.S. Constitution. | First Reading Judiciary | Judiciary | ||
Worker Attendance - Religious/Political | HB0045 | Labor and Employment - Mandatory Meetings on Religious or Political Matters - Employee Attendance and Participation (Maryland Worker Freedom Act) | Prohibiting employers and their agents, representatives, and designees from taking certain actions against an employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant takes certain actions regarding employer-sponsored meetings during which the employer communicates the opinion of the employer regarding religious matters or political matters; authorizing an employee to file a certain complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry; etc. | First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections | Government, Labor, and Elections |
bottom of page
