# Maryland SB 0694: Human Relations - Violations of County Discrimination Laws - Complaints

Maryland SB 0694, Human Relations - Violations of County Discrimination Laws - Complaints, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by William C. Smith (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-28 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 172) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0694-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland SB 0694
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Human Relations - Violations of County Discrimination Laws - Complaints
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-06
- Last action: 2026-04-28, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 172
- Sponsor: William C. Smith (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Human Relations, Civil Actions and Procedures, Civil Actions -see also- Small Claims, Civil Rights, Commission on, Complaints, Counties -see also- Chartered Counties; Code Counties; etc., Discrimination, Laws and Ordinances -see also- Pub Local Laws; Uniform Laws, Statutes of Limitation
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (164 yes, 10 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- State complaints satisfy local discrimination requirements: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, a properly filed Maryland Commission on Civil Rights complaint satisfies local requirements to finish agency remedies. This applies to county or local discrimination claims in every Maryland county except Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s. People bringing…
- State filing option for county discrimination: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, people alleging employment or public-accommodations discrimination in Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George’s County have another filing option. They can file with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights instead of the county agency before suing under county law. They must…
- State filing option for small-employer workers: benefit, low. Beginning October 1, 2026, Baltimore County employees working for employers with fewer than 15 employees have another discrimination complaint option. They can file with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights instead of the county agency before suing under county law. They must still wait at least…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: William C. Smith (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-13 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 123 | 10 | 7 |
| 2026-03-20 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 41 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (16)

- 2026-04-28: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 172
- 2026-04-13: Returned Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (123-10) (House)
- 2026-04-11: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-04-11: Favorable Report by Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2026-03-26: Hearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-03-21: Referred Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2026-03-20: Third Reading Passed (41-0) (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Floor Amendment {723222/1 (Senator Smith) Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-19: Motion Returned Second Reading (Senator Smith) Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Second Reading Passed (Senate)
- 2026-03-18: Favorable Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-16: Favorable Report by Judicial Proceedings (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Hearing 3/05 at 1:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: First Reading Judicial Proceedings (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-04-28: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_172_sb0694t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-19: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0694t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-06: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0694f.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_172_sb0694t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0694t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0694f.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-SB0694-2026RS (as of 2026-10-19).