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House adopts conference reports and passes scores of bills in March 31 session
Summary
The Maryland House of Delegates adopted multiple conference committee reports and approved dozens of third‑reading bills on March 31, including measures on graduate‑assistant bargaining, speed‑monitoring approvals, gun buybacks and education funding revisions; roll calls were recorded for each bill.
The Maryland House of Delegates met March 31 and adopted a string of conference committee reports and third‑reading bills, recording roll calls on measures ranging from labor and education to public safety and transportation. Comptroller Lierman briefly visited the chamber to thank delegates for their work this session.
The House approved a conference committee report on House Bill 153 (residential rental air conditioning), which raised the unit threshold from four to 10, struck preemption language and required that existing units with air conditioning continue to maintain it; the report was adopted and the bill passed third reading with 90 affirmative votes. The House also adopted a conference committee report and passed revisions to the Blueprint for Maryland's Future (Senate Bill 311), adding a two‑year extension to the compensatory education enrollment methodology and directing an interim and final study report; SB311 passed with 100 affirmative votes.
On the Senate third‑reading calendar the House recorded and approved many bills, including Senate Bill 376 (digital asset and blockchain task force), Senate Bill 418 (professional licensing portability), and Senate Bill 439 (medical cannabis use for certain public safety employees). Vote tallies were recorded in the House journal for each bill as they were called.
Several bills received extended floor attention before the roll calls. Senate Bill 10, which creates a statutory 'shot clock' for State Highway Administration responses to local requests to place speed‑monitoring systems along state roads, was discussed on the floor; the chamber subsequently recorded the roll call and the bill passed. Senate Bill 775, requiring destruction of firearms collected in gun buyback programs (with serial‑number checks so stolen guns or evidence of crimes can be returned), was debated and passed. Senate Bill 340, which funds the Office of the Long‑Term Care Ombudsman via certain managed‑care organization assessments, drew questions about funding sources and passed.
Procedurally, the House named conference committees where the two chambers disagreed on amendments to bills such as House Bill 141 (collective bargaining for graduate assistants) and House Bill 573 (fair housing and discriminatory effect). The session concluded with committee announcements, ceremonial guest acknowledgements and an adjournment to a later date.
