# Maryland HB 0259: Financial Institutions - Maryland Community Investment Venture Fund and Regulation of Entities - Revisions

Maryland HB 0259, Financial Institutions - Maryland Community Investment Venture Fund and Regulation of Entities - Revisions, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 131) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0259-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland HB 0259
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Financial Institutions - Maryland Community Investment Venture Fund and Regulation of Entities - Revisions
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-09-30
- Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 131
- Sponsors: no sponsor on record
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Financial Institutions, Assessments -see also- Property Tax, Banks and Trust Companies, Community Development, Credit Unions, Cybersecurity, Emergencies -see also- Pandemics, Fees -see also- Attys' Fees; Devt Fees & Taxes, Financial Institutions -see also- Banks; Credit Unions; etc., Financial Regulation, Division of, Grants, Interest, Investments -see also- Securities, Revenue and Taxes -see also- (specific tax), Rules and Regulations, Standards and Best Practices, Treasurers
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (165 yes, 10 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 7

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Cyber attacks count as bank emergencies: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, a serious cybersecurity incident that forces a bank or branch to close counts as an emergency. This lets officials and banks use emergency closure rules to protect customers and restore service.
- Credits for LMI branches and accounts: benefit, medium. Starting July 1, 2026, well‑capitalized banks and credit unions can cut their assessments by growing deposits in branches located in low‑ and moderate‑income tracts. New branches in these areas earn $0.12 per $1,000 of deposits for each of the first 5 years; other qualifying branches earn $0.06 per…
- State venture fund for LMI communities: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, Maryland creates a Community Investment Venture Fund to help low‑ and moderate‑income areas get loans and financial services. The Fund is special and nonlapsing. The State Treasurer holds and invests it, and interest stays in the Fund. The Commissioner can use up to $250,000…
- Stop fake bank and credit union names: benefit, low. The law bans using bank‑like or credit union names if you are not authorized to do banking or credit union business in Maryland. Banks can recover actual damages and either all profits from the violation or $1,000 per violation, plus costs and attorney’s fees. Violations are misdemeanors with up to…
- Small fee changes for charter paperwork: cost, low. Starting July 1, 2026, the fee for a certificate of valid charter is $50 when someone other than a banking institution requests it. A commercial bank that files a charter amendment for examination must also pay a $20 examination fee.
- Who counts as a bank or fiduciary: mixed, low. Effective July 1, 2026, a “banking institution” means a State bank, trust company, or savings bank. A “fiduciary institution” includes national banks, State banks, out‑of‑state banks with Maryland branches, credit unions, supervised Maryland banking organizations, and savings and loans, and exclude…
- New fees and deadline for credit unions: mixed, low. Effective July 1, 2026, each credit union with at least $300,000 in assets pays an annual assessment of $1,000 plus $0.08 for each $1,000 of assets over $1,000,000. The assessment is based on the most recent financial report. The payment deadline moves to April 15 after the year of the assessment.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- (none)

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-06 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 45 | 0 | 1 |
| 2026-02-20 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 120 | 10 | 2 |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 131
- 2026-04-07: Returned Passed (House)
- 2026-04-06: Third Reading Passed (45-0) (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-03-30: Favorable Report by Finance (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Referred Finance (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Third Reading Passed (120-10) (House)
- 2026-02-18: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-02-17: Favorable Report by Economic Matters (House)
- 2026-02-03: Hearing 2/03 at 1:30 p.m. (House)
- 2026-02-03: Hearing canceled (House)
- 2026-01-19: Hearing 2/03 at 1:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-01-14: First Reading Economic Matters (House)
- 2025-09-30: Pre-filed (House)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_131_hb0259t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-02-18: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0259t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0259f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_131_hb0259t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0259t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0259f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0259-2026RS (as of 2026-10-19).