# Maryland SB 0277: Health Equality for Service Members Act Maryland SB 0277, Health Equality for Service Members Act, is a 2025 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Bryan W. Simonaire (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-05-06 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 260); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0277-2025RS - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maryland SB 0277 - State: Maryland - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Health Equality for Service Members Act - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-10 - Last action: 2025-05-06, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 260 - Sponsor: Bryan W. Simonaire (Republican) - Cosponsors: 5 - Subjects: State Government - Agencies, Offices, and Officials, Public Health, Health Occupations, Housing and Community Development, Armed Forces -see also- Military Department; Veterans, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Health, Department of, Health Occupations -see also- (specific health occupations), Housing -see also- Apartments; Condos; Mobile & Manuf Homes, Reports, Rules and Regulations, Veterans - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (179 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 13 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Military moves preserve disability service eligibility: benefit, high. Beginning October 1, 2025, eligible dependents of Maryland legal residents keep disability and waiver eligibility during assignment-related military moves. These protections cover Developmental Disabilities Administration services, home- and community-based waivers, other waivers, and waiting-list… - Community care grants support military families: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, the Sheila E. Hixson program provides competitive matching grants to local nonprofits for behavioral health programs. Eligible nonprofits serve behavioral health needs or military-connected people; programs serve active service members, veterans, and their spouses, childr… - Veterans gain short-term behavioral health help: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland coordinates behavioral health care statewide for eligible veterans who live in Maryland. Within budget limits, the Health Department provides or funds short-term care when immediate Veterans Affairs care is unavailable. Veterans must meet Behavioral Health Admini… - Veteran households receive equal housing priority: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland housing agencies must give veteran households equal priority for vouchers and housing assistance payments. The law uses Maryland’s shared definition of veteran. Equal priority also covers households with children under 18, foster children ages 18–23, people exper… - Faster health licenses for military families: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland health boards must assign advisors and speed applications for service members, eligible veterans, and spouses. Veterans must have left active duty within one year before applying; spouses of these veterans or active service members qualify. Surviving spouses qual… - Military optometrists gain a licensing option: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland’s optometry board may waive an active-practice requirement for qualifying applicants. Applicants must have served as Uniformed Services optometrists for three years. The board decides whether to grant the waiver. - Free vital records for military members: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, current and former Uniformed Services members receive copies of vital records without a fee. Surviving spouses and children also qualify when the record supports a dependent or beneficiary claim. For others, listed fees remain $12 for fetal death, marriage, and divorce ve… - Military assignments support kinship care arrangements: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, a parent or guardian’s active Uniformed Services assignment counts as a serious family hardship. That hardship can support a Maryland informal kinship-care affidavit. The child must live with the person filing the affidavit because of that hardship. - Military members’ chosen funeral agents recognized: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland recognizes a service member’s designated person as authorized to direct disposition of their remains. The service member must have died while serving in the Uniformed Services. The designation must appear on the Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data, DD… - Deployed health workers can receive renewal relief: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, health boards may grant renewal relief to Uniformed Services members deployed outside the United States or its territories. The deployment must directly cause the late renewal. Boards may allow late renewal without a penalty or reinstatement fee. They may also allow reaso… - Veteran care homes retain approval exception: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, qualifying comprehensive-care facilities are exempt from Maryland’s certificate-of-need requirement. Admissions must be limited to honorably discharged veterans, qualifying former reserve members, or nonveteran spouses of eligible veterans. Residents must meet residency r… - Military discipline can limit health practice: cost, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, specified Maryland health boards may act on discipline imposed by the Uniformed Services or Veterans Affairs. The conduct must also be grounds for discipline under the relevant Maryland law. Possible actions include license denial, reprimand, probation, suspension, or rev… - Automatic military license renewals end: cost, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, covered Maryland licensees on noncareer active duty lose automatic one-year renewals without an application or fee. The repeal applies when their licenses otherwise expire. This provision does not state the fees or steps required under regular renewal procedures. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Bryan W. Simonaire (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Jack Bailey (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Jason C. Gallion (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: J.B. Jennings (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Johnny Mautz (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Johnny Ray Salling (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-31 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 132 | 0 | 3 | | 2025-03-12 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 47 | 0 | | ## Actions (13) - 2025-05-06: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 260 - 2025-03-31: Returned Passed (Senate) - 2025-03-31: Third Reading Passed (132-0) (House) - 2025-03-28: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House) - 2025-03-28: Favorable Report by Health and Government Operations (House) - 2025-03-15: Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m. (House) - 2025-03-13: Referred Health and Government Operations (House) - 2025-03-12: Third Reading Passed (47-0) (Senate) - 2025-03-11: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-03-11: Favorable with Amendments {513528/1 Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-10: Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance (Senate) - 2025-01-14: Hearing 1/28 at 1:00 p.m. (Finance) (Senate) - 2025-01-10: First Reading Finance and Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2025-05-06: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_260_sb0277t.pdf) - Third Reading, 2025-03-11: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0277t.pdf) - First Reading, 2025-01-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0277f.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 0384: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established (vetoed) - SB 0227: Workers' Compensation - Payment From Uninsured Employers' Fund - Revisions (vetoed) - HB 0482: Occupational Licensing and Certification - Criminal History - Predetermination Review Process (vetoed) - SB 0157: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established (vetoed) - HB 1294: Commercial Law - Credit Regulation - Earned Wage Access and Credit Modernization (became law) - HB 0228: Maryland Veterans Trust – Assistance to Members of the Maryland National Guard (signed) ## Sources - [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_260_sb0277t.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0277t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0277f.pdf) ## Related - [HB 0384: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0384-2025RS) - [SB 0227: Workers' Compensation - Payment From Uninsured Employers' Fund - Revisions](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0227-2025RS) - [HB 0482: Occupational Licensing and Certification - Criminal History - Predetermination…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0482-2025RS) - [SB 0157: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0157-2025RS) - [HB 1294: Commercial Law - Credit Regulation - Earned Wage Access and Credit Modernization](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1294-2025RS) - [HB 0228: Maryland Veterans Trust – Assistance to Members of the Maryland National Guard](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0228-2025RS) - [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-SB0277-2025RS (as of 2026-10-17).