Appropriations Committee advances bills on death benefits, childcare funding, transit review and WMATA grants

The Appropriations Committee met to consider multiple bills and voted to advance measures addressing law-enforcement death benefits, therapeutic childcare funding, transit governance studies and WMATA grant formulas.

The committee approved House Bill 76, described by the chair as “just a death benefit bill.” The bill, as presented, would require the state to pay public-safety death benefits to surviving family members of specified law-enforcement personnel who die by suicide under specified circumstances and—per an amendment that was adopted—removes language that would have created a separate line-of-duty disability benefit for officers and volunteer fire and rescue personnel diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or a related disorder. The amendments were adopted; the committee then voted to advance the bill by roll call.

House Bill 185, described by counsel as the therapeutic-childcare grant funding bill, was approved as amended. Counsel said the second amendment limits the mandated appropriation to $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2029, repeals previously specified funding splits and codifies an annual allocation that the governor’s allowance and DBM’s out-year forecast already anticipate. The committee adopted the amendments and passed the bill by roll call.

House Bill 517 was presented as a work-group bill to study MARC (the rail authority) and related statewide transit services, with amendments that add membership from a metropolitan planning organization and clarify that statewide transit services include the Purple Line and commuter bus service. A motion was made to add Delegate Spiegel as a cosponsor. The bill passed on a roll-call vote with several members recorded as voting no.

House Bill 467 was described as modifying formulas used to calculate the two annual state grants Maryland provides to the Washington Suburban Transit District to pay WMATA capital costs. The committee moved and seconded the bill and advanced it by roll call; several members recorded a no vote.

A separate bill referenced as “House Bill 15, 12 53” (as read in the meeting) was re-voted with additional amendments after having been considered the previous day; the committee adopted technical and substantive amendments related to small-business support and then voted to pass the measure.

Votes at a glance (committee roll calls were held for each measure): HB 76 — advanced after amendments; HB 185 — advanced as amended codifying $1.5 million annual appropriation for specified years; HB 517 — advanced with amendments to create a work group on transit authority reorganization; HB 467 — advanced to modify WMATA grant formulas; House Bill “15, 12 53” — advanced as amended (transcript identifies the bill with that numbering and does not provide a clear bill short title).

The meeting record shows motions to move and second amendments on each bill and roll-call voting for each measure. Where roll-call entries listed individual members and their recorded votes during the meeting, those names are included in the article’s structured vote records. The meeting adjourned after the final vote.