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When you look through the bills below, which are being supported by AAUW Maryland, see if one is especially important to you. We need some members to serve as point persons on those bills. As a point person you would contact the office of the lead sponsor and the lead advocacy organization/ leader to find out when and how our membership can best help them. AAUW MD would then develop the needed support.

AAUW Maryland’s Legislative Agenda for 2025, March status update:

We have legislative results from the Crossover Date, March 17, for our bills being considered by the 2025 Maryland General Assembly. No bills have passed yet from the legislature to the Governor for signing. Several bills have passed both chambers. Now they are deciding which version to endorse. (On occasion, the chambers are unable to compromise.) The bills that have passed both chambers are listed here. These six bills no longer need help.

o The Newborn Nurse Home Visiting Program (S:45-0; H: 114 – 22). This bill will provide families with newborns in-home visits to promote child and maternal health.
o The Abortion Care Access Fund (H: 98-37; S: 29-15). Funding from the $25 million in unspent insurance premiums collected for abortions will be used to fund uninsured and underinsured persons seeking abortions in Maryland.
o The Prescription Drug Affordability Act (H: 94-38; S: 35-12). This bill expands the authority of Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board to allow them to set upper payment limits for all Marylanders.
o The Young Adult Healthcare Insurance Extension (S: 45-0); H: 98-37). This bill extends young adult health insurance subsidies in the Maryland healthcare exchange.
o The Pregnant and Parenting Students Support Act (S: 44-0);H: 135-3). This bill would require most Maryland senior colleges and universities to put in place a plan for support of parenting and pregnant students.
o The Over-the-Counter Birth Control Bill (H:102-34; S: 34-12). This bill requires the Maryland Commission for Women to establish the Maryland Collaborative to Advance Implementation of Coverage of Over-the-Counter Birth Control. (Insurance coverage is already available but seldom used.)

Three of our bills were passed by the House and still need our help in the Senate. Roxann will send action alerts for these three bills for members on the Public Policy mailing list.
o The Monica Cooper Prerelease Act passed the House,104-34. SB632/ HB1198 is still being considered by the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee and Senate Budget and taxations committee and needs your support. This bill requires the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to implement comprehensive rehabilitative services to women classified in the prerelease status in the Life Skills and Reentry Center for Women (LSRCW)
o The bill Protecting Nursing Home Quality Care passed the House of Delegates, 99-38. SB679/HB933 is now being considered by the Senate Finance committee and needs your support. This legislation will prevent bad actors from misusing funds by ensuring 75% of nursing home revenue received from Maryland’s Medicaid program is spent on direct care and the women-led workforce that provides it.
o The Safe Staffing Act of 2025 passed the House, 100-39. SB720/HB905 is still being considered by the Senate Finance committee and needs your support. Insufficient staff and insufficient beds are the two top causes of long emergency room wait-times. Maryland still has the longest emergency room wait time of all 50 states, now for the 9th year in a row, over 4 hours. This bill requires all hospitals to make and post a safe staffing plan.

Our other five bills did not pass in either chamber. They are no longer under consideration. This includes the Stop Silencing Survivors bill, the bill removing firearms from persons under protective orders, the bill limiting solitary  confinement, the Birth Certificate Modernization Act, and the Healing Our Scars Act. No committee vote was held on any of these bills.

Here are some ways for you to support this agenda or the bills important to you.
1. Sign up for the MLAW listserv so that you will be notified when hearings are about to occur and committee members need to be contacted.
2. Participate in AAUW Maryland Advocacy Day (usually in mid February).
3. Register and attend the virtual MLAW Legislative Briefing in early February. Attendance is free but registration is required.

For further information about our public policy activities, contact Roxann King.