Now that we have reached the final week of the General Assembly session, and the fate of many of the 2,350+ bills introduced has become clearer, below is status of bills of importance to the MSBA. Because of the time constraints associated with a 90-day legislative session, the General Assembly tends to allow most unsuccessful bills to quietly die rather than actually issue an actual Unfavorable Report on bills that will not be enacted into law. As a result, there are numerous bills that technically remain alive, but are functionally dead.

Rather than share one exceptionally long report, there are 5 separate report documents linked below. They are:

 Of particular note are the bills in the linked reports:

Bills Supported with Amendments by the MSBA:

  • HB 18 / SB 154 – Eviction Actions – Right to Counsel
  • HB 31 – Surcharges and Payment to Special Funds – Prohibited Lease Provisions (filing fee surcharges directed to MLSC, Rental Assistance Program, and Right to Counsel in Evictions Special Funds)
  • SB 232 / HB 478 – Maryland Legal Services Corporation (MLSC) Filing Fee Surcharges
  • SB 413 / HB 514 – MLSC – Appropriation from the State Abandoned Property Fund (increasing appropriation to MLSC from the State Abandoned Property Fund from $2M annually to $8M – passed on April 1, 2021)

 

  • MSBA Section Legislation: featured here are 2 bills (each filed in both the Senate and House) from the Estates & Trusts Section that have been crafted to provide statutory foundation to continue both Remote Notarization and Remote Witnessing of estate planning documents, which were activities authorized by Executive Orders issued by Governor Hogan in the spring of 2020.