# Maryland HB 0849: Child Care Scholarship Program - Freeze in Enrollment - Exceptions and Waitlist

Maryland HB 0849, Child Care Scholarship Program - Freeze in Enrollment - Exceptions and Waitlist, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Bernice Mireku-North (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-26 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 594); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0849-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland HB 0849
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Child Care Scholarship Program - Freeze in Enrollment - Exceptions and Waitlist
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-04
- Last action: 2026-05-26, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 594
- Sponsor: Bernice Mireku-North (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 27
- Subjects: Education - Miscellaneous, Applicants and Applications, Child Care, Children (4-12), Early Childhood Education, Education, State Department of, Forms, Indigent Persons, Infants and Toddlers (0-3), Job Training -see also- Continuing Ed; Vocational Rehab, Kinship -see also- Parents and Guardians, Low-Income, Parents and Guardians, Public Benefits -see also- Housing; MedAsst; SupplNutrAsstP, Public Employees -see also- State Employees, Reports, Scholarships and Student Financial Aid, Time, Unemployment, Work, Labor, and Employment -see also- JobTrn; Leave; etc.
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (166 yes, 13 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Child care copays cannot increase: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Department may not raise child care scholarship copays above the amounts in place on January 1, 2024, except as allowed in §9.5‑113(d). This protects families from higher out‑of‑pocket costs. This applies only if Chapter 595 of 2026 takes effect.
- Child care freeze exceptions and fair waitlist: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, enrollment freezes do not block these groups: families on Temporary Cash Assistance or TANF; a child, parent, or caregiver on SSI; a sibling of a child already in the Program; and homeless children. They still must meet normal Program rules. When a freeze exists, the Departm…
- Stable funding and child care rate planning: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Governor must fund the Child Care Scholarship Program at least at the larger of its total FY2018 or FY2019 level. Every two years, the Department conducts a market‑rate analysis and, by September 1, reports costs to reach the 45th, 55th, 65th, and 75th percentile rates b…
- Review job training rules for eligibility: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Department reviews how it counts job training for Child Care Scholarship eligibility. It considers other ways to measure training that could qualify more parents. A report is due to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026. This applies only if Chapter 595 of 2026 takes…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Bernice Mireku-North (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jackie Addison (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Marlon Amprey (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Dylan Behler (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Adrian Boafo (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jason C. Buckel (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Eric Ebersole (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jessica Feldmark (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Anne R. Kaiser (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Aaron M. Kaufman (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Aletheia McCaskill (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Gabriel M. Moreno (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Julie Palakovich Carr (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Cheryl E. Pasteur (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Edith J. Patterson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: N. Scott Phillips (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Pam Queen (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kent Roberson (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Malcolm P. Ruff (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Sean A. Stinnett (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Kym Taylor (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Joe Vogel (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Melissa Wells (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jennifer White Holland (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jheanelle K. Wilkins (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Nicole A. Williams (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Greg Wims (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Caylin Young (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-13 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 43 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 123 | 13 | 1 |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-05-26: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 594
- 2026-04-13: Returned Passed (House)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (43-0) (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate)
- 2026-03-15: Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m. (Education, Energy, and the Environment) (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment Budget and Taxation (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Third Reading Passed (123-13) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable with Amendments {193322/1 Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-09: Favorable with Amendments Report by Ways and Means (House)
- 2026-02-13: Hearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m. (Ways and Means) (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reassigned to Ways and Means Appropriations (House)
- 2026-02-04: First Reading Ways and Means (House)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-05-26: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_594_hb0849t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0849t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-04: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0849f.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_594_hb0849t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0849t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0849f.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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0849-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).