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Bill would create a data‑privacy enforcement unit in the attorney general's office

Senate Finance Committee · February 20, 2026

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Summary

SB 564 would establish a dedicated division within the Maryland Attorney General's Office to enforce the state's data‑privacy laws and create a one-year work group to study implementation and emerging issues such as AI; sponsor said the measure aims to give existing statutes 'teeth.'

Senator Dawn Gall presented SB 564 as a capacity-building measure to ensure Maryland's recent privacy statutes are effectively enforced. The bill would create a division of data protection inside the Office of the Attorney General and convene a one‑year work group to evaluate how the state's privacy laws are functioning and recommend improvements.

Gall said enforcement requires technical expertise and that other states have built privacy teams inside their AG offices rather than creating an independent agency. She acknowledged fiscal constraints but said the measure sets a framework for future resourcing. The committee had no substantive questions at the hearing; the sponsor said the AG's office has offered amendments and indicated willingness to work with stakeholders.

The proposal does not add new substantive privacy mandates but focuses on enforcement capacity, technical expertise and a stakeholder-driven review of the laws' effectiveness.