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Legislators hear broad support for childcare licensing reforms tied to OPAGA recommendations
Summary
Delegates and provider groups told the committee HB 15‑74 would streamline licensing, tier complaint responses, ease certain burdens that reduce provider capacity, and study illegal/unlicensed care; witnesses cited a 26% decline in childcare workers and urged measured reforms to stabilize supply.
Delegate Jared Solomon presented HB 15‑74 to the Ways and Means Committee as a package of regulatory changes and process improvements drawn from an OPAGA review of the Division of Early Childhood and licensing practices.
Solomon and testimony from providers and advocates emphasized workforce shortages, regulatory burdens that can remove programs from higher quality tiers for brief infractions, and the need for clearer, tiered complaint and discipline procedures. "Providers report that a licensed childcare teacher in Maryland requires more training and experience than many similarly paid positions," said Hillary Roberts King, executive director of Downtown Baltimore Childcare, citing a comptroller report that found a 26% drop in child care workers between 2019 and 2022.
Witnesses urged changes including alignment of supervised experience requirements with peer states, centralizing background checks to speed hiring, and creating a more flexible approach when programs promptly correct minor issues so they are not automatically dropped to the lowest quality rating for a full year. The Maryland State Child Care Association and United for Child Care testified that the bill would protect program quality and provider finances while improving safety and licensing clarity.
The bill also proposes a work group to study illegal or unlicensed childcare operations — a change likely to carry a fiscal note — and sponsors discussed tradeoffs between immediate regulatory relief and necessary system safeguards.
Committee members asked detailed questions about implementation, scholarship and travel support for student board members (discussed under a different local bill in the hearing), and options for centralized background checks. No committee vote was taken during the hearing.
