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District 31 representatives shared these notes about the bills they worked on during the 2025 session in Annapolis.
Senator Bryan Simonaire
I passed the most bills of any legislator, with 31 bills passed (the next closest legislator passed 16 bills). Topics included education, environment, crime, tax breaks, youth suicide, disabilities and agriculture, but focused most on helping our service members, veterans and their families.
Lastly, one focus was helping communities concerned about a controversial confined aquatic disposal (CAD) dredge pilot program in the Patapsco River off the shores of our district. There was a lot of collaboration, and I am appreciative of all the teamwork from the stakeholders and District 31 legislators.
Delegate Brian Chisholm
House Bill (HB) 188 was a reintroduction that would have prohibited adversary countries from participating in the state procurement system. This bill once again passed the House chamber unanimously but did not advance in the senate chamber. HB 229/Senate Bill (SB) 32 reinforces Maryland's commitment to supporting its active-duty service members and their families by streamlining the legal process of active-duty service members and their spouses as landlords dealing with holdover tenants. While the House Bill did not move, its cross-file is headed to the governor’s desk.
HB 1451, The Climate Solutions Affordability Act Bill of 2025, would have injected common sense and reality into these overly ambitious regulations to the Climate Solutions Act Now Bill of 2022 by simply adding “to the extent economically practical” to all of these regulations. An amendment was offered to repeal the EmPOWER program altogether, which would have immediately reduced costs on Marylanders’ utility bills. Unfortunately, this bill did not even earn a vote in committee.
Delegate Nic Kipke
HB 571 allows all nonprofits that have a club in Anne Arundel County to operate their bar for events in which they are renting their venue. The people or groups renting the club still have to get a one-day liquor license. The nonprofit can operate the bar under the safeguards of alcohol awareness training, which currently does not occur under the one-day liquor license process.
HB 1281 originally allowed for permit holders to have cultural dancing during holidays such as Irish dancers the week of St. Patrick’s Day or Spanish dancers the week of Cinco de Mayo. However, at the request of the liquor board, we have broadened the scope to include common sense instances like music, dancing and entertainment at the board’s discretion.
Update to Hospice Regulations: A constituent brought forward concerns about a recent experience her family had at an assisted living facility. HB 828 was introduced to address those concerns. Thoughtful discussions with members of the Health and Government Operations Committee, senior care lobbyist Danna Kauffman, and the Maryland Department of Health Office of Health Care Quality, resulted in changes to the Maryland assisted living regulations.
The change adds a new Section H, which clarifies that hospice regulations apply when an assisted living resident is under the care of a licensed general hospice program but is physically located in their assisted living facility. Specifically, this change allows for use of things such as bed rails, geri chairs, and sleep aids intended for aided comfort for hospice patients when in an assisted living facility. We believe many Marylanders will benefit from these changes.
Delegate Latoya Nkongolo
HB 0469: This bill passed both chambers unanimously and altered references to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau to be Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Inc., ensuring consistency.
HB 1187: The committee has approved funding for a Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) study to assess the impact of the bill on health insurance coverage. This bill would require health insurance to cover scalp cooling systems for cancer patients. The study is a standard step for health insurance mandates and brings us closer to our goal. This will be reintroduced in the 2026 session, and the prospects for its passage are looking very promising.
HB 1185: This bill has received strong support from the homeschool community. This legislation would ensure that homeschool students have the right to participate in extracurricular activities at their local public schools. While the bill didn’t make it out of committee this session, your continued support has been instrumental, and continued advocacy for homeschool students’ rights is appreciated. This will be reintroduced in the 2026 session, and its passage looks optimistic.
The lawmakers had four projects in District 31 and the surrounding Severna Park area. The following were funded through legislative bond initiatives in either the Senate, the House or both:
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