# Maryland SB 0280: Judicial and Public Safety for Service Members Act Maryland SB 0280, Judicial and Public Safety 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 261); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0280-2025RS - 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 0280 - State: Maryland - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Judicial and Public Safety for Service Members Act - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-10 - Last action: 2025-05-06, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 261 - Sponsor: Bryan W. Simonaire (Republican) - Cosponsors: 16 - Subjects: State Government - Agencies, Offices, and Officials, Public Safety, Courts and Court Personnel - Statewide, Criminal Law - Procedures, Family Law, Corrections, Real Property, Armed Forces -see also- Military Department; Veterans, Courts -see also- AppCt; Circuit; District; Orphans'; etc., Family Law -see also- Adoption; Alimony; Annulment; etc., Federal Government, Forms, Judges, Military Families, Rules and Regulations, Safety -see also- Occupational Safety, Veterans - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (172 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 13 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More placement help for former foster youth: benefit, high. Maryland must establish an out-of-home placement program for eligible former foster youth. Their local department commitment must have ended after age 18 but before age 20 years and 6 months. They must not have left care through reunification, adoption, guardianship, marriage, or uniformed services… - More public safety job paths for veterans: benefit, high. Maryland regulations must exempt honorably discharged reserve service members from minimum ages for covered correctional officer jobs. Veterans who are permanent legal residents can qualify for police certification while their U.S. citizenship applications are pending. Police employees who resigned… - Military families can cancel service contracts: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, eligible service members or spouses can end covered phone, internet, television, gym, or satellite-radio contracts. Orders must require relocation for at least 90 days where the service cannot be used. They must give the provider a termination notice and a copy of the ord… - Limited rent costs after military moves: benefit, medium. Beginning October 1, 2025, residential tenants who are active service members or their spouses get rent limits after qualifying reassignments. They must give the landlord written notice and proof. Liability includes rent and lawful charges already due, 30 days’ rent after notice, and tenant-caused… - Earlier marriage licenses for military couples: benefit, low. A Maryland circuit court judge can let a marriage license take effect before the usual waiting period ends. One person in the couple must be a service member. The judge must find good cause. - Free records support military benefit claims: benefit, low. Court clerks must give active or former service members covered court records free for claims against the U.S. government. Surviving spouses or children can get covered marriage records free for claims for a member’s dependent or beneficiary. Maryland also uses one statutory veteran definition acro… - More backgrounds qualify for military leadership: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland recognizes more backgrounds for Defense Force or organized-militia officer and warrant officer appointments. These include listed uniformed-services or reserve service, Uniformed Services University graduation, and military instruction supervised by a uniformed-s… - Service members get handgun rule accommodations: benefit, low. Active or retired armed forces members can meet a handgun purchase, rental, or receipt criterion with valid Uniformed Services identification. Beginning October 1, 2025, uniformed services and National Guard members qualify under a service-member category for handgun-carry permits. Other handgun el… - Military uniforms cannot block recreation admission: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, public amusement and recreation places cannot refuse covered military members admission because they wear uniforms. The protection covers officers and enlisted members of the uniformed services or an organized militia. - More funeral honor options for veterans: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland’s Adjutant General may organize a National Guard or organized-militia honor guard for a veteran’s funeral. This option applies when active-service and veterans’ organization honor guards are unavailable. An accredited veterans’ organization commander, relative, o… - Adverse discharges bar Defense Force entry: cost, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, covered adverse military discharges bar appointment or enlistment in the Maryland Defense Force. The bar covers dismissal and bad-conduct, dishonorable, or other-than-honorable discharges from listed military or naval organizations and their auxiliaries. - State troops face broader desertion rules: cost, low. Beginning October 1, 2025, State-force members commit desertion by joining a covered force without fully disclosing their lack of regular separation. This applies to enlistment or appointment in the same or another State military force, or the uniformed services. - Military family deployment rules include exclusions: mixed, low. For the related family-law rule, deployment covers official orders for combat operations or other active service. Members must report without a family member, or their branch must classify the service as remote. Reserve annual training, inactive duty days, and drill weekends do not count. These bou… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Bryan W. Simonaire (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Jack Bailey (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Nick Charles (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: William G. Folden (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Jason C. Gallion (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Shaneka Henson (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Mary-Dulany James (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: J.B. Jennings (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Sara Love (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Johnny Mautz (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Mike McKay (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: C. Anthony Muse (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Johnny Ray Salling (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: William C. Smith (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Charles E. Sydnor (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Jeff Waldstreicher (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Chris West (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-01 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 130 | 0 | 6 | | 2025-03-17 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 42 | 0 | | ## Actions (12) - 2025-05-06: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 261 - 2025-04-02: Returned Passed (Senate) - 2025-04-01: Third Reading Passed (130-0) (House) - 2025-03-31: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House) - 2025-03-31: Favorable Report by Judiciary (House) - 2025-03-17: Referred Judiciary (House) - 2025-03-17: Third Reading Passed (42-0) (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Favorable with Amendments {753822/1 Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-14: Favorable with Amendments Report by Judicial Proceedings (Senate) - 2025-01-16: Hearing 1/30 at 1:00 p.m. (Judicial Proceedings) (Senate) - 2025-01-10: First Reading Judicial Proceedings and Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2025-05-06: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_261_sb0280t.pdf) - Third Reading, 2025-03-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0280t.pdf) - First Reading, 2025-01-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0280f.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_261_sb0280t.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0280t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0280f.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-SB0280-2025RS (as of 2026-10-17).