House Ways and Means advances multiple bills on school safety, education policy and tax matters

Chair Janelle Wilkins convened the House Ways and Means Committee for its 10th voting session and oversaw a succession of motions that the committee approved to move a set of bills forward, many with sponsor amendments.

Delegate Ebersole opened debate on House Bill 326, telling the committee the bill “requires the Maryland Center for School Safety to develop and administer an anonymous reporting system that first coordinates a receipt of information relating to school or student safety concern in a manner that maintains full confidentiality and provides a mechanism for any reported information before it to school or other appropriate officials.” The committee moved the bill and approved it favorable.

Delegate Ebersole also presented House Bill 525 as amended, which would require each local board of education to adopt a policy by the 2027–2028 school year limiting the use of electronic communication devices during the academic day, prohibit use of social-media platforms during that period, permit county boards to set storage policy, and add annual reporting requirements from 2028 through 2033; the committee adopted sponsor amendments and moved the bill favorable with amendments.

On fiscal incentives for the arts, Delegate Polakovich Carr asked the panel to extend the theatrical production tax credit through tax year 2031 and introduced amendments that would limit the amount of tax credit certificates the Department of Commerce may carry forward and issue in later years. Members queried whether a separate micro or small-production set-aside exists; staff responded there is no separate theatrical set-aside though the film production tax credit includes a smaller set-aside. The committee amended and advanced House Bill 472 favorable with amendments.

Other bills the committee moved favorable included House Bill 837 (requiring cardiovascular prescreening as part of athletic fitness exams, with amendments to offer the prescreening free of charge), House Bill 846 (a Hagerstown local bill to refund 2024–2025 property taxes for a multiuse facility and exempt the Hagerstown Field House), House Bill 1034 (childcare staff training on child-abuse detection incorporated into State Department of Education regulations), House Bill 1059 (a program to assist accurate teaching of Asian American history and related materials/reporting), House Bill 1097 (standardized injury logs for high school athletic injuries with required consultation with the Maryland Athletic Trainers Association), House Bill 1428 (changes to the Somerset County Board of Education including student nonvoting members and compensation adjustments, and a requirement that closed sessions adhere to the Open Meetings Act), House Bill 1514 (Calvert County official compensation adjustments), and House Bill 1611 (amended income-threshold adjustments for a disabled veterans local property tax credit).

Votes at a glance: House Bill 326 — moved and approved favorable (moved by Delegate Ebersole; second noted); House Bill 472 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 525 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 837 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 846 — moved favorable; House Bill 1034 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 1059 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 1097 — amended and moved favorable; House Bill 1428 — moved favorable; House Bill 1514 — moved favorable; House Bill 1611 — amended and moved favorable. The transcript records the committee voice-voted “ayes” for each item (the record in the session shows no roll-call vote tallies).

Chair Wilkins closed the session by thanking members, noting a small number of bills remain on the vote list and that the committee will likely reconvene briefly the next day to complete voting, then adjourned.