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Arthur Ellis — Democratic State Senator for Maryland District 28 (official headshot)

Arthur Ellis Voting Record & Scorecard | National Democrat Platform

MD Senator

District: 28 • Democrat

2026 DEM Alignment:

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Voting Alignment with DEM Platform – by Chapter

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Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-MD-28) is tracked on the National Democrat Platform legislative scorecard. Highest category scores: Chapter Three: Lowering Costs (100%), Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity (100%), and Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out (100%). Arthur Ellis represents the 28th District in the Maryland State Senate.

Title

Lawmaker Position

HB 898Senate 20261x

Advancing Racial Justice by Putting Minority-Owned Businesses at the Center of Maryland’s Economic Growth.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland’s DECADE Act makes numerous changes to the state’s economic development programs, tax incentives, and grant programs. Among other provisions, it redesignates the Economic Development Opportunities Program Account as the new Strategic Closing Fund, authorizes the Governor to direct additional funding into the program, expands economic development subsidies and grants, extends several tax credit programs, provides additional benefits for targeted industries and businesses, and increases support for programs benefiting small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: Inclusive Growth for Minority-, Women-, and Small-Owned Businesses: Democrats will tear down the barriers that lock entrepreneurs of color, women, and small businesses out of capital, contracts, and opportunity, investing public dollars in minority- and women-owned firms, start-ups, and local businesses so prosperity reaches the communities denied it for generations instead of the same corporate insiders.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not build its economy through the same old corporate insiders while businesses owned by people of color are locked out of capital, contracts, and state-backed opportunity. This bill strengthens economic development tools tied to small, minority, and women-owned businesses, using public investment to fight racial wealth gaps, expand inclusive growth, and make sure Maryland’s next decade of development benefits communities historically excluded from economic power.
HB 919Senate 20261x

Providing Funding to Black, LGBTQ+, and Underrepresented Marylanders to Break into the Real Estate Appraisal Industry.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would create the Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA) Grant Program within the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The program is intended to provide grants to minorities who reside in historically redlined neighborhoods and other “underrepresented communities” to pursue training as real estate appraisers, with the stated goals of addressing appraisal gaps and diversifying the appraisal profession.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should use public dollars to attack racist appraisal gaps, diversify a white-dominated real estate industry, and help Black, LGBTQ+, and underrepresented Marylanders access careers that shape housing wealth. This bill funds pathways into real estate appraisal for people from historically redlined and excluded communities, confronting the property valuation bias that has stripped wealth from Black neighborhoods and locking equity directly into Maryland’s housing economy.
SB 520Senate 20261x

Eliminating Caps on Property Taxes so Counties Can Raise More Funds to Meet Community Needs and Safety.

With DEMs
Under this bill, charter counties would be authorized to exceed voter-approved charter limits on property tax rates and property tax revenues by a simple majority vote of the county council for the purpose of funding the county's approved public safety budget. The bill allows county councils to collect property tax revenues above existing charter caps and directs the additional revenues to public safety spending, notwithstanding local charter provisions that would otherwise limit such tax increases.
Chapter Five: Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence – Section: Building Safe, Just Communities and Reforming Policing: Democrats will build communities that are both safe and free, funding the services that keep people secure while protecting Marylanders from surveillance abuse, no-knock raids, and over-policing, so the people most often targeted by injustice are protected rather than harmed by the systems meant to keep them safe.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland counties should not be handcuffed by anti-tax austerity rules when communities need the ability to fund essential services and long-term local priorities. This bill lets charter counties raise revenue above local property tax limits for approved budgets, ensuring local governments can make proper investments instead of being trapped by rigid tax caps that prioritize low-tax politics over community needs.
HB 1012Senate 20261x

Saving LGBTQ+ Youth by Creating Local Suicide Fatality Review Teams to Drive Prevention Policy.

With DEMs
Under this bill, counties and municipalities would be authorized to create local suicide fatality review teams that review suicide deaths, collect data, obtain records from health care providers and government agencies, and make recommendations related to suicide prevention. The teams would specifically be tasked with identifying “systemic, service, and policy factors” associated with suicide risk and recommending changes to state and local laws, policies, and practices.
Chapter Eight: Advancing the President’s Unity Agenda – Section: Tackling the Mental Health Crisis and Caring for Vulnerable Communities: Democrats will advance a unity agenda that meets people's basic needs across party lines, tackling the mental health and suicide crisis, caring for seniors and youth, and standing up for the most vulnerable so every community – regardless of who they are or whom they love – can live with dignity and support.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland cannot ignore a suicide crisis that hits LGBTQ+ youth especially hard while right-wing politicians fuel stigma, isolation, and attacks on queer and trans kids. This bill empowers local communities to review suicide deaths, identify patterns and failures in prevention systems, and turn those findings into targeted policies that protect vulnerable youth before another preventable tragedy occurs.
HB 1016Senate 20261x

Breaking Corporate Noncompete Chains for Maryland Architects When Bosses Move Jobs Out of State.

Neutral
Under this bill, certain noncompete or conflict-of-interest agreements for licensed architects’ employees would be unenforceable if the employer had more than 30 employees but no longer has its main business presence in Maryland. In those cases, the employer could not stop a covered employee from taking a similar job or starting a similar business.
Chapter Two: Rewarding Work, Not Wealth – Section: Defending Worker Power, Unions, and Job Mobility: Democrats will stand with workers and unions against corporate power, defending the freedom to organize and bargain, protecting workers from abusive noncompetes and unsafe corporate cost-cutting, and ensuring that when companies chase profits they cannot trample the rights, mobility, and safety of the people who do the work.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as out-of-state corporate employers should not be able to abandon Maryland workers and then use noncompete clauses to trap licensed architects in anti-worker contracts. This bill protects worker mobility, weakens corporate control over skilled professionals, and makes clear that when employers move jobs out of Maryland, they do not get to keep squeezing Maryland workers through restrictive employment agreements.
SB 283Senate 20261x

Advancing a Progressive Budget That Combats Trump’s Culture War and Invests in LGBTQ Centers, Racial Justice, Abortion Access, and Gender-Affirming Care.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would authorize approximately $1.847 billion in new state debt through the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2026 to fund capital projects, grants, construction, renovations, equipment purchases, and other public and private projects across the state. The bill includes broad grant funding for universities, medical systems, libraries, cultural institutions, community organizations, and local projects, including funding for Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland Medical System, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights, Women's Health, and Bodily Autonomy: Democrats will protect the freedom of every person to be themselves and control their own body, defending LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, reproductive freedom and abortion access, gender-affirming care, and women's health in the workplace against the right-wing campaign to roll back hard-won rights.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should use its budget power to fund communities and services targeted by Trump-era culture-war politics. This bill issues $1.8 billion in bonds to make critical investments in entities and programs advancing LGBTQ community infrastructure, racial-justice priorities, abortion access, gender-affirming care, and other public needs that protect marginalized Marylanders instead of surrendering to right-wing austerity.
HB 804Senate 20261x

Ensuring Equity for People of Color and LGBTQ+ Elders Through Maryland’s Aging Resilience Fund.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would create a new nonlapsing Aging Resilience Fund within the Department of Aging that can receive fees, investment earnings, and money from other sources to support departmental programs, services, activities, personnel, and partnership development. The fund would operate as a dedicated account outside the normal budget lapse process and could be used to finance a broad range of department initiatives.
Chapter Eight: Advancing the President’s Unity Agenda – Section: Tackling the Mental Health Crisis and Caring for Vulnerable Communities: Democrats will advance a unity agenda that meets people's basic needs across party lines, tackling the mental health and suicide crisis, caring for seniors and youth, and standing up for the most vulnerable so every community – regardless of who they are or whom they love – can live with dignity and support.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should invest in aging services that center the older adults most often ignored by traditional care systems, including people of color, LGBTQ+ elders, low-income seniors, and older adults facing isolation or discrimination. This bill creates the Aging Resilience Fund to strengthen programs, partnerships, and services that help seniors age with dignity while rejecting right-wing austerity politics that leave marginalized elders underfunded, unseen, and unsupported.
HB 1165Senate 20261x

Protecting Union Apprenticeships by Holding Public Contractors Accountable for Completion Rates.

With DEMs
Under this bill, apprenticeship programs used for certain state procurement contracts, public works projects, and state-funded construction projects would generally be required to have at least a 25% completion rate as verified by the Maryland Department of Labor. The bill also expands and codifies apprenticeship program requirements across multiple procurement and contracting statutes that govern state-funded projects.
Chapter Two: Rewarding Work, Not Wealth – Section: Fair Wages, Apprenticeships, and Protections for Working Families: Democrats will reward work, not wealth, by enforcing prevailing and living wage standards, cracking down on wage theft and worker misclassification, building union apprenticeship pipelines to good-paying jobs, and protecting working families and borrowers from exploitation so a hard day's work earns a fair and dignified living.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as taxpayer dollars should reward contractors that invest in workers, strengthen union apprenticeship pipelines, and deliver real career pathways instead of hollow training programs. Requiring apprenticeship completion-rate verification helps ensure public contracts bolster skilled labor standards, expand access to good-paying union jobs, and prevent public money from flowing to contractors that fail to train and retain workers.
SB 638Senate 20261x

Rejecting MAGA’s Anti-DEI Attacks by Doubling Funding for Heritage Areas That Advance Social Justice.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would expand the powers of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority by removing existing grant limitations, authorizing additional grants for management activities, and increasing the amount of Program Open Space funding that may be transferred to the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority Financing Fund. Most significantly, the bill increases the additional annual transfer authority from $3 million to $9 million and authorizes those funds to be used for purposes administered through the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority grant and financing programs.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should invest in heritage programs that preserve under-told histories, strengthen community culture, and reject right-wing efforts to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion from public life. This bill doubles the funding cap for Maryland Heritage Areas, helping support projects that lift up local history, public lands, cultural preservation, and social-justice-centered storytelling across communities that have too often been ignored or written out of the historical record.
HB 1230Senate 20261x

Keeping WSSC Contracting Dollars Local by Expanding Small Business Access and Worker Participation.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) would expand its business participation program beyond local small businesses to include additional categories of preferred businesses, including Maryland-based businesses and certain veteran-owned businesses. The bill also authorizes WSSC to adopt regulations promoting local hiring, apprenticeship participation, workforce engagement, economic-benefit reporting, and other procurement-related preferences in Commission contracts.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: Investing in Infrastructure, Housing, and Good Jobs: Democrats will rebuild roads, transit, and public infrastructure, build homes near jobs and transit, and invest in the industries, contracting opportunities, and creative economy that put people to work, rejecting the anti-government austerity politics that starve communities of the investment they need to thrive.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as public contracting should build local wealth, open doors for small and veteran-owned businesses, and make sure major public contracts benefit the workers and communities paying for them. Expanding WSSC’s business participation program and tying procurement to local hiring, skills training, and apprenticeship support helps turn public infrastructure spending into a pipeline for good jobs, stronger local businesses, and broader economic opportunity.
HB 1578Senate 20261x

Expanding Contracting Justice for People of Color, Women, and LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs in State Procurement.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program would be extended for an additional five years, from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2031, and would continue applying race- and sex-based procurement preferences across state contracting, public-private partnerships, offshore wind projects, cannabis licensing, video lottery operations, and sports wagering activities. The bill also expands reporting, compliance, certification, and oversight requirements related to the program.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should use public dollars to dismantle racial and gender exclusion in government contracting, not funnel taxpayer money through the same old networks of politically connected, white, male-dominated firms. This bill protects minority and women-owned business preferences, strengthens procurement accountability, and helps entrepreneurs of color, women, and LGBTQ+ people compete for public contracts in industries where discrimination has locked them out for generations.
HB 1532Senate 20261x

Advancing a Maryland Green New Deal by Expanding Clean Energy, Lowering Utility Costs, and Holding Power Companies Accountable.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would make numerous changes to state energy policy, including expanding utility demand management programs, requiring electric companies to promote government rebates and incentives for energy efficiency and non-fossil-fuel-powered appliances, and authorizing residential customers to install plug-in portable solar energy generating systems without utility approval. The bill also continues and expands various policies intended to encourage electrification, renewable energy adoption, and greater utility involvement in managing customer energy consumption.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Building a Clean Energy Future and Lowering Utility Costs: Democrats will confront the climate crisis and lower energy costs by expanding clean and renewable energy, accelerating solar, storage, and EV access, modernizing the grid, and protecting ratepayers from utility profiteering, securing energy independence that works for families instead of fossil-fuel corporations.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should fight Trump’s fossil-fuel agenda by building a cleaner, cheaper, and more publicly accountable energy system. This bill advances a Green New Deal vision by expanding clean energy access, strengthening solar deployment, protecting ratepayers from abusive utility costs, and using state energy policy to deliver climate justice, lower bills, and a faster transition away from corporate fossil-fuel power.
HB 191Senate 20261x

Defending Cash Access for Communities of Color Shut Out by Cashless Corporate Retail.

With DEMs
Under this bill, merchants selling certain essential consumer goods would generally be prohibited from refusing cash payments, requiring customers to use a credit or debit card, or charging higher prices for cash transactions during specified hours. Violations would be treated as unfair or deceptive trade practices and could result in state enforcement actions and civil penalties.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let corporations turn basic purchases into a privilege reserved for people with bank accounts, credit cards, or digital payment access. This bill protects cash payments for essential goods, fights economic exclusion that disproportionately harms communities of color and unbanked Marylanders, and treats cash refusal as the discriminatory consumer barrier it is.
HB 229Senate 20261x

Rejecting MAGA Austerity Politics by Expanding Public Investment in Maryland Transportation Infrastructure.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the Maryland Transportation Authority's maximum outstanding toll-revenue bond limit would increase from $4 billion to $5 billion, allowing the Authority to carry up to an additional $1 billion in debt backed by future toll revenues.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: Investing in Infrastructure, Housing, and Good Jobs: Democrats will rebuild roads, transit, and public infrastructure, build homes near jobs and transit, and invest in the industries, contracting opportunities, and creative economy that put people to work, rejecting the anti-government austerity politics that starve communities of the investment they need to thrive.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should rebuild and strengthen public infrastructure instead of letting anti-government austerity politics choke off the financing needed for safe bridges, roads, and transportation systems. This bill expands the Maryland Transportation Authority’s bonding capacity, giving the state more power to invest in major transportation projects, protect working-class commuters, and keep critical infrastructure from being sacrificed to right-wing debt panic.
HB 280Senate 20261x

Blocking Trump’s Mental Health Rollback by Codifying Biden-Era Parity Protections in Maryland.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would codify and expand various federal mental health parity requirements into state law, requiring health insurers to collect and analyze additional data, demonstrate that mental health and substance use disorder benefits provide “meaningful” coverage, submit extensive reports to regulators, and comply with new state regulatory standards enforced by the Maryland Insurance Administration.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Expanding Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Democrats will treat mental health and addiction care like the essential health care it is, defending parity protections, funding community providers fairly, and removing cost and coverage barriers so every Marylander can get behavioral health treatment when they need it instead of being abandoned to a broken system.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let Trump, corporate insurers, or federal deregulators drag mental health and addiction coverage backward. This bill locks Biden-era parity protections into state law, forces insurers to treat mental health and substance use disorder care like real health care, and protects patients from being denied lifesaving treatment through discriminatory coverage barriers, prior authorization games, and insurer loopholes.
HB 284Senate 20261x

Cracking Down on Gun Dealers That Let Firearms Flow Into Maryland Communities.

Neutral
Under this bill, licensed firearm dealers would be subject to new requirements for reporting lost or stolen firearms and could face civil penalties for failing to comply with the reporting deadlines established by the state. The bill expands regulatory obligations on firearm dealers even in situations where the dealer is the victim of a theft or robbery.
Chapter Five: Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence – Section: Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence: Democrats will tackle the scourge of gun violence by banning weapons of war and machine-gun conversion devices, holding gun dealers accountable, disarming domestic abusers, and keeping firearms out of dangerous hands, refusing to accept mass shootings and everyday gun deaths as the price of inaction.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should treat gun dealers like serious public-safety actors, not untouchable weapons merchants protected by the NRA and gun lobby. This bill forces firearms dealers to quickly report thefts, break-ins, and security failures, helping law enforcement stop stolen guns from fueling violence while making clear that corporate gun sellers have a responsibility to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of criminals.
HB 315Senate 20261x

Combating Voucher Discrimination by Protecting Poor Renters and Making Landlords Count Positive Rental History.

With DEMs
Under this bill, landlords that use credit history as part of the tenant screening process would generally be prohibited from denying an applicant who receives a housing voucher or other income-based housing subsidy based on the applicant’s income, credit score, or certain adverse credit history that occurred before receiving the subsidy. The bill also imposes new requirements on larger landlords to offer tenants the option of having positive rental payment history reported to consumer reporting agencies.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Making Housing Affordable and Stopping Displacement: Democrats will take on the housing affordability crisis by building more homes, protecting renters and voucher-holders from discrimination, expanding resident-owned and cooperative housing, and stopping speculators and exclusionary barriers from pricing working families out of their communities.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as landlords should not be allowed to lock poor families out of housing just because they use rental assistance, vouchers, or income-based subsidies. This bill treats subsidy discrimination as housing discrimination and helps tenants build credit through positive rental payment reporting.
HB 405Senate 20261x

Breaking HOA Climate Obstruction by Protecting EV Charging Access in Maryland Communities.

Neutral
Under this bill, condominium associations and homeowners associations would be prohibited from maintaining governing documents, covenants, bylaws, or rules that prohibit or “unreasonably restrict” the installation of electric vehicle charging equipment in common or limited common-use parking areas. The bill also applies retroactively, affecting existing condominium and HOA agreements that were adopted before the law takes effect.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Building a Clean Energy Future and Lowering Utility Costs: Democrats will confront the climate crisis and lower energy costs by expanding clean and renewable energy, accelerating solar, storage, and EV access, modernizing the grid, and protecting ratepayers from utility profiteering, securing energy independence that works for families instead of fossil-fuel corporations.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland’s clean-energy future should not be blocked by HOA boards, condo associations, or fossil-fuel backlash politics that make it harder for people to drive electric. This bill advances a Green New Deal vision at the neighborhood level by protecting EV charging access, weakening private veto power over clean transportation, and helping more Marylanders participate in the transition away from gas-powered cars and corporate oil dependence.
HB 444Senate 20261x

Blocking Trump’s Deportation Machine by Ending Local Immigration Enforcement Agreements.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland state agencies, local governments, county sheriffs, and their employees would be prohibited from entering into agreements with the federal government to assist in the enforcement of civil immigration laws. The bill also requires any existing immigration enforcement agreements to be terminated.
Chapter Seven: Securing our Border & Fixing the Broken Immigration System – Section: Protecting Immigrant Families and Fixing a Broken System: Democrats will fix a broken immigration system and protect immigrant families, refusing to turn Maryland's police, jails, hospitals, and public institutions into instruments of mass deportation, and defending community trust, due process, and the dignity of every person against fear-driven anti-immigrant politics.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let local governments, sheriffs, or public agencies become extensions of Trump’s anti-immigrant deportation agenda. This bill cuts off state and local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement agreements, protects immigrant families from local collaboration with ICE, and makes clear that Maryland communities should be built on trust, safety, and due process — not fear, raids, and right-wing mass deportation politics.
HB 497Senate 20261x

Reducing Gun Violence by Disarming Domestic Abusers and Strengthening Protective Orders for Survivors.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the duration of temporary protective orders would be extended from 7 days to 14 days, and final protective order hearings could be delayed for up to 14 days after issuance of the temporary order rather than 7 days. The bill also authorizes courts to order respondents to pay a wide range of expenses and damages through a final protective order proceeding, including medical costs, relocation expenses, property damage, transportation costs, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
Chapter Five: Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence – Section: Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence: Democrats will tackle the scourge of gun violence by banning weapons of war and machine-gun conversion devices, holding gun dealers accountable, disarming domestic abusers, and keeping firearms out of dangerous hands, refusing to accept mass shootings and everyday gun deaths as the price of inaction.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should treat domestic violence as a gun violence crisis and keep firearms out of the hands of abusers before threats become fatal. This bill strengthens protective orders by giving survivors more time before final hearings, creating a clearer path to firearm surrender, and forcing abusers to pay the financial costs of the violence they caused.
HB 746Senate 20261x

Fighting Trump’s Medicaid Attacks by Guaranteeing No-Cost Collaborative Mental Health Care.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland Medicaid and private health insurers would be prohibited from imposing copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles for services provided through the Collaborative Care Model, which integrates behavioral health services into primary care settings. The bill also requires health insurers to provide coverage for these services and expands state mandates governing health insurance benefits.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Expanding Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Democrats will treat mental health and addiction care like the essential health care it is, defending parity protections, funding community providers fairly, and removing cost and coverage barriers so every Marylander can get behavioral health treatment when they need it instead of being abandoned to a broken system.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should expand mental health care while Trump and congressional Republicans try to slash Medicaid, bury patients in paperwork, and rip coverage away from working-class people. This bill bans Medicaid cost-sharing for collaborative care, forces insurers to cover integrated behavioral health treatment, and protects patients from a right-wing health-care agenda that treats mental health and addiction care as expendable.
HB 772Senate 20261x

Forcing Fair Mental Health Funding by Creating a Commission Workgroup to Modernize Behavioral Health Rates.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would create a Workgroup on Behavioral Health Rate Methodology Modernization to develop new reimbursement methodologies for behavioral health providers, conduct cost studies, evaluate provider expenses, and make recommendations regarding future Medicaid reimbursement rates. The bill also requires additional studies, reporting, administrative coordination, and analysis related to behavioral health funding and payment systems.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Expanding Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Democrats will treat mental health and addiction care like the essential health care it is, defending parity protections, funding community providers fairly, and removing cost and coverage barriers so every Marylander can get behavioral health treatment when they need it instead of being abandoned to a broken system.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let underfunded mental health and addiction providers collapse while Trump and Republicans attack Medicaid and abandon people who need care. This bill creates a Maryland Health Care Commission workgroup to develop transparent, cost-based reimbursement rates, pushing the state toward a behavioral health system where community clinics, providers, and patients are not sacrificed to austerity politics and broken payment models.
HB 85Senate 20261x

Taking Housing Back from Greedy Speculators by Expanding Limited-Equity Cooperative Ownership.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would create a new legal framework for cooperative limited equity housing corporations, restrict the resale value of cooperative ownership interests, require most members to be low- or moderate-income households, and authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish a grant program to promote these housing cooperatives. The bill also provides special protections and benefits for qualifying residents and expands the state's role in facilitating and regulating this form of housing.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Making Housing Affordable and Stopping Displacement: Democrats will take on the housing affordability crisis by building more homes, protecting renters and voucher-holders from discrimination, expanding resident-owned and cooperative housing, and stopping speculators and exclusionary barriers from pricing working families out of their communities.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should move housing out of the hands of landlords, investors, and profit-driven real estate interests and put more control in the hands of residents. This bill expands limited-equity cooperative housing, helping preserve long-term affordability, protect tenants from displacement, and build a more democratic housing model where working-class Marylanders can collectively own and govern their homes.
HB 862Senate 20261x

Stopping Corporate Railroads from Reducing the Union Workforce and Jeopardizing Safety to Protect their Profits.

With DEMs
Under this bill, freight trains operating on rail corridors shared with high-speed passenger or commuter rail service would generally be required to have a crew of at least two individuals. Railroad companies that violate the mandate could face civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $25,000 for subsequent violations.
Chapter Two: Rewarding Work, Not Wealth – Section: Defending Worker Power, Unions, and Job Mobility: Democrats will stand with workers and unions against corporate power, defending the freedom to organize and bargain, protecting workers from abusive noncompetes and unsafe corporate cost-cutting, and ensuring that when companies chase profits they cannot trample the rights, mobility, and safety of the people who do the work.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as rail giants should not be allowed to gamble with worker safety and community safety by running dangerous freight trains with skeleton crews. This bill requires at least two crew members on freight trains, backs union rail workers against corporate cost-cutting, and helps protect Maryland communities from derailments, hazardous cargo risks, and a railroad industry that too often puts profits ahead of people.
HB 895Senate 20261x

Stopping Grocery Giants and Delivery Apps from Using Surveillance Data to Price-Gouge Working Families.

Neutral
Under this bill, food retailers and third-party food delivery service providers would be prohibited from using personalized dynamic pricing or consumer data to charge higher prices for food based on an individual consumer’s personal information. The bill also imposes new pricing regulations, disclosure requirements, consumer protection enforcement provisions, and restrictions on certain business practices related to pricing and data use.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Protecting Consumers from Corporate Price-Gouging: Democrats will stand up to corporations that use market power, surveillance data, and hidden fees to squeeze families on everyday essentials, cracking down on price-gouging and predatory practices so no Marylander is exploited simply for buying the goods and services they need.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as corporations should not be allowed to weaponize algorithms, personal data, or protected-class information to squeeze more money out of families buying food. This bill cracks down on predatory pricing by food retailers and delivery platforms, protecting working-class consumers, communities of color, and low-income Marylanders from a surveillance-capitalist grocery system that turns basic necessities into another opportunity for corporate exploitation.
SB 141Senate 20261x

Crushing MAGA Election Lies by Fighting Deepfakes, Disinformation, and Attacks on Democracy.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the State Board of Elections would be authorized to investigate reports of election misinformation and disinformation, seek court orders to remove certain online content, issue subpoenas related to the dissemination of election-related information, and bring civil actions against individuals, campaigns, political committees, or other entities that disseminate election misinformation or disinformation. The bill also creates new civil and criminal penalties for creating, using, or disseminating certain election-related deepfakes and authorizes the state to seek damages, attorney’s fees, and other remedies in court.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Protecting the Freedom to Vote and Defending Democracy: Democrats will defend democracy by protecting the freedom to vote, expanding ballot access, safeguarding mail-in voting, and fighting election lies, deepfakes, and disinformation, standing against MAGA attacks that try to shrink the electorate and place those in power above accountability and the rule of law.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let Trump-style election lies, AI deepfakes, and right-wing disinformation campaigns poison the ballot box. This bill protects democracy by requiring election officials to correct false election information, cracking down on deceptive deepfakes, and making sure voters are not manipulated by bad actors trying to confuse, suppress, or deceive the public.
SB 159Senate 20261x

Forcing Every Ambulance to Be Ready for Babies and Young Children in Emergencies.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the Executive Director of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems would be required to coordinate minimum equipment, supply, and medication requirements for emergency medical services vehicles, including neonatal care equipment. The bill also requires counties and municipalities that operate or contract for EMS services to conduct regular reviews of ambulance performance data, certify those reviews, submit summaries to the state, and establish formal systems for receiving and investigating ambulance-related complaints.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Lowering Health Care, Prescription, and Coverage Costs: Democrats will lower the cost of care by expanding Medicaid and insurance coverage, capping out-of-pocket and prescription costs, and guaranteeing that quality health care – from maternal and cancer care to emergency and preventive services – is a right for every family, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as emergency care for infants, newborns, and young children should not depend on whether an ambulance has been left under-equipped by bare-bones public health planning. This bill requires Maryland EMS vehicles to carry the equipment, supplies, and medications needed for early childhood and neonatal emergencies, rejecting austerity in emergency care and treating children’s survival as non-negotiable public health infrastructure.
SB 197Senate 20261x

Forcing Local Planning to Center on Racial Justice, Climate Justice, Housing Equity, and Community Power.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would substantially restructure the required elements of county and local comprehensive land-use plans by creating new Equity, Resilience, Place, and Ecology elements and requiring local governments to incorporate state guidance, demographic data, environmental justice information, fair housing assessments, climate planning documents, and greenhouse gas emissions considerations into their planning processes. The bill also requires local jurisdictions to address the needs of “overburdened” and “underserved” communities, affirmatively further fair housing objectives, incorporate environmental justice considerations, and evaluate development patterns based on climate-related criteria.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland’s land-use system has too often protected exclusionary zoning, car-dependent sprawl, environmental racism, and planning decisions that push working-class communities and communities of color to the margins. This bill requires local comprehensive plans to center equity, housing, transportation, resilience, ecology, and community needs, using planning policy to confront racial segregation, climate vulnerability, and the pollution burdens imposed on historically excluded neighborhoods.
SB 218Senate 20261x

Reducing Unnecessary Barriers to Shut Down Schools and Switch to Virtual Learning During Pandemics and Climate Disasters.

Neutral
Under this bill, the State Superintendent of Schools would be authorized to declare a “prolonged state of emergency” that prevents regular in-person attendance at public schools for at least 14 consecutive school days due to a natural disaster, civil disaster, public health emergency, or certain security threats. Once such a declaration is made, affected school systems could transition schools to virtual education under previously approved virtual education plans.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Confronting the Climate Crisis and Strengthening Resilience: Democrats will meet the climate emergency head-on with enforceable standards, real investments in resilience, and protections for ecosystems and communities, rejecting greenwashing and delay so Maryland cuts pollution, safeguards its natural resources, and prepares people and institutions for a changing climate.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland students should not lose access to education because pandemics, extreme weather, climate disasters, or other emergencies make in-person school unsafe or impossible. This bill gives the State Superintendent authority to declare a prolonged school emergency, helping schools move quickly to virtual instruction, protect learning continuity, and keep families from being abandoned when crisis disrupts the classroom.
SB 272Senate 20261x

Requiring Insurers to Cover Scalp Cooling and Expanding Cancer Care Equity for Black Women.

With DEMs
Under this bill, health insurers, nonprofit health service plans, health maintenance organizations, and certain managed care organizations that cover chemotherapy treatment would be required to provide coverage for scalp cooling systems used to prevent or reduce hair loss during chemotherapy. The bill adds another mandated health insurance benefit that insurers must include in covered plans.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Lowering Health Care, Prescription, and Coverage Costs: Democrats will lower the cost of care by expanding Medicaid and insurance coverage, capping out-of-pocket and prescription costs, and guaranteeing that quality health care – from maternal and cancer care to emergency and preventive services – is a right for every family, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as cancer patients should not be forced to lose their hair, dignity, or privacy simply because insurers treat scalp cooling as optional. This bill requires coverage for scalp cooling systems during chemotherapy, expanding access to supportive cancer care that is especially important for Black women facing hair-loss stigma, textured-hair barriers, and racial disparities in cancer treatment.
SB 282 Vote 1Senate 20261x

Advancing a Record-Level Budget That Rejects Trump-Era Austerity and Ensures Maryland’s Economy Works for Everyone.

With DEMs
This bill makes the proposed appropriations contained in the State Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 in accordance with Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution, and authorizes the appropriated amounts to be disbursed for the several purposes specified for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. This vote is the third-reading vote in each chamber to advance the largest annual appropriations bill in state history before conference-committee resolution of differences between the chambers. The bill enacts general-fund and special-fund appropriations across every state agency, authorizes new and continuing spending programs, and contains contingent reductions tied to subsequent legislation enacted during the same session. Additionally, the bill papers over an approximately $3 billion structural deficit through one-time fund transfers and bond-swap maneuvers rather than recurring structural reforms. By advancing the largest budget in state history with no meaningful structural reforms while papering over a $3 billion deficit through fund shifts and bond swaps, the bill locks in spending commitments that will require significant tax increases in the years ahead to sustain.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: A Budget That Rejects Austerity and Invests in Working Families: Democrats will fight Trump-era austerity by passing budgets that protect public services and fund schools, health care, transportation, and the safety net, asking the wealthy and well-connected to pay their fair share so the economy grows from the bottom up and the middle out instead of the top down.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should answer Trump’s federal chaos and Republican austerity politics with a budget that protects public services, invests in working families, and keeps the state moving forward. This bill funds a record-level state budget that strengthens education, health care, transportation, safety-net programs, and local priorities while making clear that Maryland’s economy should work for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
SB 282 Vote 2Senate 20261x

Passing a Record-Level Budget That Rejects Trump-Era Austerity and Ensures Maryland’s Economy Works for Everyone.

Neutral
This bill makes the proposed appropriations contained in the State Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 in accordance with Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution, as adopted by the conference committee resolving differences between the House and Senate versions, and authorizes the appropriated amounts to be disbursed for the several purposes specified for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. This vote is the conference-report enactment vote in each chamber and was approved as Chapter 4 of 2026. The bill enacts general-fund and special-fund appropriations across every state agency, authorizes new and continuing spending programs, and contains contingent reductions tied to other legislation passed in the same session. Additionally, the bill papers over an approximately $3 billion structural deficit through one-time fund transfers and bond-swap maneuvers rather than recurring structural reforms — despite repeated warnings from outside good-governance groups about the fiscal trajectory. By enacting the largest budget in state history with no meaningful structural reforms while papering over a $3 billion deficit through fund shifts and bond swaps, the bill locks in spending commitments that will require significant tax increases in the years ahead to sustain.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: A Budget That Rejects Austerity and Invests in Working Families: Democrats will fight Trump-era austerity by passing budgets that protect public services and fund schools, health care, transportation, and the safety net, asking the wealthy and well-connected to pay their fair share so the economy grows from the bottom up and the middle out instead of the top down.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should answer Trump’s federal chaos and Republican austerity politics with a budget that protects public services, invests in working families, and keeps the state moving forward. This bill funds a record-level state budget that strengthens education, health care, transportation, safety-net programs, and local priorities while making clear that Maryland’s economy should work for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
SB 323Senate 20261x

Advancing Racial Justice Through Criminal Justice Reform That Keeps More Maryland Youth Out of Adult Court.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would significantly expand juvenile court jurisdiction by repealing existing provisions that automatically place certain serious juvenile offenses in adult court. The bill removes automatic adult-court treatment for crimes such as robbery, attempted robbery, kidnapping, abduction, first-degree assault, certain firearm offenses, and other serious violent crimes, meaning many juveniles accused of these offenses would instead begin in the juvenile justice system. The legislation also limits the detention and confinement of juveniles in adult facilities and establishes new procedures governing juvenile detention and transfers between juvenile and adult courts.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Racial Justice and Criminal Legal Reform: Democrats will advance racial justice by reforming a criminal legal system that has trapped Black and brown communities, bringing transparency and equity to parole, keeping youth out of adult courts, investing in education and second chances, and replacing a punishment-first model with one built on accountability and dignity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as children should not be automatically thrown into the adult criminal system when the juvenile system is better suited for rehabilitation, accountability, and long-term public safety. This bill limits automatic adult charging, keeps more youth in juvenile court, and rejects a punitive tough-on-crime model that disproportionately traps Black and brown youth in cycles of incarceration instead of giving them a real chance to change.
SB 325Senate 20261x

Providing Housing Certainty by Creating Clearer Rules for Local Permitting and Development Rights.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland's Housing Certainty Act requires local governments and the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission to review housing development applications based on the laws and regulations in effect when a substantially complete application is submitted. The bill also grants developers vested development rights for at least five years after receiving approvals and restricts local governments from collecting certain development impact fees and excise taxes until a residential project is completed or near completion.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Making Housing Affordable and Stopping Displacement: Democrats will take on the housing affordability crisis by building more homes, protecting renters and voucher-holders from discrimination, expanding resident-owned and cooperative housing, and stopping speculators and exclusionary barriers from pricing working families out of their communities.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland needs a housing system that is fair, predictable, and capable of producing more homes for working families. This bill creates clearer permitting rules for housing development, protects approved projects from shifting regulatory standards, and helps reduce uncertainty that can delay construction, increase costs, and make it harder for communities to meet urgent housing needs.
SB 334Senate 20261x

Banning Machine Gun Convertible Pistols Before the Gun Industry Floods Maryland With DIY Automatic Weapons.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, receipt, or transfer of any semiautomatic pistol classified as a "machine gun convertible pistol" beginning January 1, 2027. The bill defines these firearms as semiautomatic pistols with certain trigger-bar designs that state lawmakers believe could be readily converted into a machine gun through the installation of a conversion device using common household tools, and it authorizes the State Police to publish a list of prohibited pistols.
Chapter Five: Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence – Section: Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence: Democrats will tackle the scourge of gun violence by banning weapons of war and machine-gun conversion devices, holding gun dealers accountable, disarming domestic abusers, and keeping firearms out of dangerous hands, refusing to accept mass shootings and everyday gun deaths as the price of inaction.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not wait for more bloodshed before banning pistols designed or manufactured in ways that make them easy to convert into machine guns. This bill cracks down on machine gun convertible pistols, blocks the sale and transfer of firearms that can be turned into automatic weapons, and rejects the gun lobby’s demand that Maryland communities live with weapons engineered for maximum carnage.
SB 344Senate 20261x

Advancing Green New Deal Farming by Subsidizing Community Solar and Agrivoltaics.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would extend from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2030, the deadline for community solar energy generating systems to qualify for favorable agricultural-use property tax assessments. The bill also establishes a process allowing solar developers to obtain preconstruction determinations confirming eligibility for agricultural-use assessments and continue receiving those preferential tax treatment benefits if certain conditions are met.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Building a Clean Energy Future and Lowering Utility Costs: Democrats will confront the climate crisis and lower energy costs by expanding clean and renewable energy, accelerating solar, storage, and EV access, modernizing the grid, and protecting ratepayers from utility profiteering, securing energy independence that works for families instead of fossil-fuel corporations.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should make it easier for farmers and rural communities to produce clean energy without being punished by outdated property tax rules. This bill protects agricultural use assessment for community solar projects, supports agrivoltaics that combine farming with renewable energy, and pushes back against fossil-fuel politics by helping landowners, small farms, and communities build a cleaner, more resilient energy future.
SB 440Senate 20261x

Rejecting MAGA’s Attacks on the Arts by Subsidizing Theater Jobs, Creative Workers, and Maryland’s Cultural Economy.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would extend the state's theatrical production tax credit program for an additional five years, from 2027 through 2032. The bill continues allowing qualified theatrical production entities to claim refundable state income tax credits for production activities in Maryland and permits up to $20 million in previously unused tax credits to be carried forward into future years.
Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out – Section: Investing in Infrastructure, Housing, and Good Jobs: Democrats will rebuild roads, transit, and public infrastructure, build homes near jobs and transit, and invest in the industries, contracting opportunities, and creative economy that put people to work, rejecting the anti-government austerity politics that starve communities of the investment they need to thrive.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should invest in artists, stage crews, performers, union labor, and community culture instead of letting right-wing austerity politicians defund the arts and treat creative workers as disposable. This bill extends the theatrical production tax credit, using public dollars to strengthen Maryland’s cultural economy, support live theater jobs, and make clear that the arts are a public good worthy of state investment.
SB 459Senate 20261x

Funding Minority-Serving Local News by Redirecting State Advertising Dollars Into Underserved Communities.

With DEMs
Under this bill, state agencies would be required to structure their advertising procurement practices so that 50% of the total dollar value of print and digital advertising contracts is awarded directly to qualifying local Maryland news organizations. The bill also requires agencies to prioritize news organizations whose primary mission is reporting on and serving "underserved communities" and authorizes consultation with nonprofit organizations to identify eligible recipients.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Equity for Communities of Color and Marginalized Marylanders: Democrats will advance equity by confronting the legacy of discrimination in contracting, housing, media, and education, defending diversity, equity, and inclusion against MAGA attacks, and investing in the communities of color and marginalized Marylanders long excluded from power and opportunity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let public advertising dollars flow only to large media companies while minority-serving and community-based news outlets struggle to survive. This bill requires state agencies to direct at least half of advertising spending to Maryland news organizations and prioritize outlets serving underserved communities, helping communities of color, immigrant communities, and working-class Marylanders receive trusted local information while strengthening the civic infrastructure that keeps marginalized communities visible and politically engaged.
SB 496Senate 20261x

Expanding Medicaid Obesity Treatment So Poor Marylanders Can Access the Same Care as the Wealthy.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the Maryland Medical Assistance Program would be authorized to provide comprehensive obesity treatment coverage beginning January 1, 2027. The bill defines comprehensive coverage to include intensive behavioral therapy, bariatric surgery, and FDA-approved prescription medications for chronic weight management, and authorizes the state to seek federal approval to provide these benefits through Medicaid.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Lowering Health Care, Prescription, and Coverage Costs: Democrats will lower the cost of care by expanding Medicaid and insurance coverage, capping out-of-pocket and prescription costs, and guaranteeing that quality health care – from maternal and cancer care to emergency and preventive services – is a right for every family, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as obesity treatment should not be reserved for wealthy patients who can afford private care, specialist visits, bariatric surgery, or expensive weight-management medications. This bill authorizes comprehensive Medicaid coverage for obesity treatment, pushing Maryland toward a more equitable health care system where low-income patients can access evidence-based care instead of being denied treatment because they are poor.
SB 625Senate 20261x

Confronting the Climate Crisis by Forcing Carbon Removal Projects to Meet Real Standards.

With DEMs
Under this bill, the Maryland Department of the Environment would be required to develop regulations and permitting standards for carbon dioxide capture, removal, and sequestration projects that utilize biochar or wood vault technologies. The bill directs the Department to consult with the Department of Agriculture when developing these standards and establishes a state regulatory framework for these carbon-removal technologies.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Confronting the Climate Crisis and Strengthening Resilience: Democrats will meet the climate emergency head-on with enforceable standards, real investments in resilience, and protections for ecosystems and communities, rejecting greenwashing and delay so Maryland cuts pollution, safeguards its natural resources, and prepares people and institutions for a changing climate.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should attack the climate crisis with enforceable carbon-removal standards, not vague corporate promises, fossil-fuel delay tactics, or greenwashed climate scams. This bill requires state regulation of biochar and wood vault sequestration projects, helping ensure carbon removal actually cuts pollution, strengthens climate accountability, and prevents polluters from using unregulated technology as cover for continued emissions.
SB 626 (Senate Version)Senate 20261x

Rejecting MAGA’s Anti-Trans Attacks by Modernizing Birth Certificates, IDs, and Gender Markers.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would alter the process for obtaining a new birth certificate with a different sex designation by eliminating the current requirement for documentation from a licensed healthcare practitioner regarding sex-transition treatment or an intersex condition. Instead, an individual, or the parent or guardian of a minor, may request a new birth certificate with a different sex designation through a written request or affidavit submitted under penalty of perjury. The bill also allows birth certificates and state-issued identification documents to display a sex designation of male, female, or "X" for unspecified or another designation, while creating a confidential birth information history database maintained by the Department of Health.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Protecting LGBTQ+ Rights, Women's Health, and Bodily Autonomy: Democrats will protect the freedom of every person to be themselves and control their own body, defending LGBTQ+ and transgender rights, reproductive freedom and abortion access, gender-affirming care, and women's health in the workplace against the right-wing campaign to roll back hard-won rights.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should protect transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse residents from bureaucratic barriers that make it harder to live with accurate identity documents. This bill modernizes sex designation rules for birth certificates, licenses, and identification cards, helping Marylanders obtain documents that reflect who they are while pushing back against right-wing efforts to erase trans people from public life.
SB 775Senate 20261x

Strengthening Gun Control by Ensuring Firearms Collected through Buyback Programs are Destroyed and Not Return to Maryland Streets.

With DEMs
Under this bill, any federal firearms licensee or law enforcement agency operating a gun buyback program would be required to destroy every firearm surrendered through the program, including all attached components and parts, unless the firearm is determined to be stolen or evidence of a crime. The bill imposes fines of up to $10,000 for violations, creates criminal penalties for operating a noncompliant buyback program, and requires revocation of a firearms dealer's license for certain violations.
Chapter Five: Protecting Communities & Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence – Section: Tackling the Scourge of Gun Violence: Democrats will tackle the scourge of gun violence by banning weapons of war and machine-gun conversion devices, holding gun dealers accountable, disarming domestic abusers, and keeping firearms out of dangerous hands, refusing to accept mass shootings and everyday gun deaths as the price of inaction.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as gun buyback programs should take firearms out of circulation permanently, not create loopholes that let deadly weapons or reusable gun parts flow back into communities. This bill requires firearms surrendered through buyback programs to be destroyed, strengthens accountability for dealers and law enforcement agencies operating those programs, and advances Maryland’s gun-control agenda by turning voluntary surrender into real, irreversible firearm reduction.
SB 791Senate 20261x

Blocking Trump’s Deportation Machine by Protecting Immigrant Families from Local Law Enforcement Collaboration.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would prohibit state and local correctional facility employees and law enforcement officers from taking a wide range of actions related to federal immigration enforcement, including investigating immigration status, honoring certain immigration detainers, notifying federal immigration authorities about individuals in custody, transferring individuals to federal immigration authorities in many circumstances, and sharing certain information obtained during the course of their duties. The bill also authorizes individuals to bring civil lawsuits seeking damages and injunctive relief for violations of these restrictions.
Chapter Seven: Securing our Border & Fixing the Broken Immigration System – Section: Protecting Immigrant Families and Fixing a Broken System: Democrats will fix a broken immigration system and protect immigrant families, refusing to turn Maryland's police, jails, hospitals, and public institutions into instruments of mass deportation, and defending community trust, due process, and the dignity of every person against fear-driven anti-immigrant politics.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let jails, police, or correctional officials become extensions of Trump’s anti-immigrant enforcement agenda. This bill strengthens community trust by limiting local participation in civil immigration enforcement, protecting immigrant families from coercion and intimidation, and making clear that Maryland’s public-safety systems should not be weaponized to fuel fear, family separation, and right-wing mass deportation politics.
SB 792Senate 20261x

Keeping Trump’s Deportation Machine Out of Maryland Hospitals to Protect Immigrant Patients.

With DEMs
Under this bill, Maryland would require the Health Services Cost Review Commission to develop and publish a model policy addressing immigration enforcement actions at hospitals. Hospitals would be required to adopt an immigration-enforcement policy consistent with guidance issued by the Attorney General, make the policy available to staff, and provide annual training to all hospital employees on the policy and its implementation.
Chapter Seven: Securing our Border & Fixing the Broken Immigration System – Section: Protecting Immigrant Families and Fixing a Broken System: Democrats will fix a broken immigration system and protect immigrant families, refusing to turn Maryland's police, jails, hospitals, and public institutions into instruments of mass deportation, and defending community trust, due process, and the dignity of every person against fear-driven anti-immigrant politics.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as hospitals should be places of care, not hunting grounds for ICE or Trump’s anti-immigrant enforcement agenda. This bill requires hospitals to adopt clear policies for immigration enforcement actions, protect patient privacy, train staff, and help ensure immigrant families can seek medical care without fear of raids, intimidation, or deportation threats inside health care facilities.
SB 794Senate 20261x

Forcing Insurers to Give Pregnant Marylanders More Control Over When Health Coverage Begins.

With DEMs
Under this bill, individuals who qualify for Maryland's existing special enrollment period for pregnancy would be allowed to choose whether their health insurance coverage becomes effective retroactively to the first day of the month in which the pregnancy was confirmed or on the first day of the month following plan selection. If the individual does not select an effective date, the carrier would be required to make the selection.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Lowering Health Care, Prescription, and Coverage Costs: Democrats will lower the cost of care by expanding Medicaid and insurance coverage, capping out-of-pocket and prescription costs, and guaranteeing that quality health care – from maternal and cancer care to emergency and preventive services – is a right for every family, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as pregnant patients should not be trapped by rigid insurance bureaucracy when they need timely coverage for reproductive and maternal health care. This bill gives Marylanders enrolling through the pregnancy special enrollment period more choice over their coverage start date, making health insurance more flexible, patient-centered, and responsive to the real costs of pregnancy instead of letting insurers dictate the terms.
SB 822Senate 20261x

Advancing Criminal Justice Reform by Forcing Racial Equity in Maryland Parole Decisions.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would make a series of changes to the parole process, including requiring the Maryland Parole Commission to publish parole statistics disaggregated by race, provide additional records and hearing materials to incarcerated individuals, publicly disclose commissioners' reasoning for parole decisions, record parole hearings, and guarantee future parole hearings by prohibiting the Commission from permanently denying parole. The bill also shortens certain reporting deadlines and expands procedural requirements surrounding parole reviews and hearings.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Advancing Racial Justice and Criminal Legal Reform: Democrats will advance racial justice by reforming a criminal legal system that has trapped Black and brown communities, bringing transparency and equity to parole, keeping youth out of adult courts, investing in education and second chances, and replacing a punishment-first model with one built on accountability and dignity.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as parole decisions should not happen inside a black box that hides racial disparities, unexplained denials, or failures to account for wrongful convictions. This bill strengthens transparency and equity in the Maryland Parole Commission, requires clearer reporting and documentation, and pushes the state away from a punishment-first system that keeps incarcerated people – disproportionately Black and brown Marylanders – trapped without meaningful accountability or review.
SB 949Senate 20261x

Protecting Mail-In Ballots from Trump-MAGA Attacks on Voting Rights.

Neutral
Under this bill, Maryland would codify standards for counting absentee ballots and allow mail-in ballots received as late as 10 a.m. on the second Friday after an election to be counted if they were mailed on or before Election Day. If a ballot lacks a postmark or has an illegible postmark, the bill permits election officials to rely on a voter's affidavit asserting that the ballot was mailed on or before Election Day in order for the ballot to be counted.
Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity – Section: Protecting the Freedom to Vote and Defending Democracy: Democrats will defend democracy by protecting the freedom to vote, expanding ballot access, safeguarding mail-in voting, and fighting election lies, deepfakes, and disinformation, standing against MAGA attacks that try to shrink the electorate and place those in power above accountability and the rule of law.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as Maryland should protect voters from confusion, federal interference, and shifting election rules that could threaten whether absentee ballots are counted. This bill strengthens absentee ballot procedures, clarifies print-at-home ballot communications, and ensures Maryland has a uniform backup policy so voters are not disenfranchised by last-minute federal court actions or MAGA attacks on mail-in voting.
HB 1151Senate 20261x

Advancing Economic Equality by Ensuring Poor Marylanders Receive All the Same Hospice Services as the Wealthy through Expanded Medicaid Coverage.

Neutral
Under this bill, the Maryland Health Care Commission and the Maryland Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) would be jointly required to study the impact of requiring the Medicaid program to provide reimbursement for room and board services provided by a hospice house. Room and board at a hospice house is not currently a covered Medicaid benefit, and the study would examine the effect of extending reimbursement to those services under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program.
Chapter Three: Lowering Costs – Section: Lowering Health Care, Prescription, and Coverage Costs: Democrats will lower the cost of care by expanding Medicaid and insurance coverage, capping out-of-pocket and prescription costs, and guaranteeing that quality health care – from maternal and cancer care to emergency and preventive services – is a right for every family, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as dignified end-of-life care should not be reserved for wealthy families who can afford hospice room-and-board costs out of pocket. This bill studies expanding Medicaid reimbursement to include hospice house room-and-board services, pushing Maryland toward a fairer health care system where low-income patients can receive compassionate hospice care in appropriate residential settings instead of being forced into hospitals or intensive treatment because they are poor.
SB 841 (Jennings Amd.)Senate 20261x

Weaponizing the Transmission-Line Permitting Process to Slow Clean Energy Infrastructure and Protect NIMBY Obstruction.

Against DEMs
The Jennings amendment to the "Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act." Under the amendment, individuals who timely apply to intervene in a Public Service Commission proceeding would generally be granted party status unless the Commission determines that their interests are already adequately represented or that the issues they seek to raise are irrelevant. The amendment also requires certified-mail notice to landowners and certain adjacent property owners when transmission-line construction is proposed and requires that those notices explain intervention rights, filing procedures, deadlines, and relevant Commission contact information. In addition, the amendment authorizes the invalidation of a public hearing or the ordering of a new hearing if required notice is not properly provided.
Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence – Section: Building a Clean Energy Future and Lowering Utility Costs: Democrats will confront the climate crisis and lower energy costs by expanding clean and renewable energy, accelerating solar, storage, and EV access, modernizing the grid, and protecting ratepayers from utility profiteering, securing energy independence that works for families instead of fossil-fuel corporations.

DEM Platform Position: Oppose

Oppose is the DEM Position as Maryland should not let procedural roadblocks, landowner obstruction, and anti-clean-energy delay tactics slow the infrastructure needed to lower utility costs and move away from fossil fuels. This amendment would expand intervention and notice requirements for transmission-line projects, giving opponents more tools to invalidate hearings, drag out clean-energy infrastructure, and block the grid upgrades Maryland needs for affordability, electrification, and climate progress.
HB 604Senate 20261x

Strengthening Union Power by Giving Maryland State Workers Binding Arbitration Rights.

With DEMs
Under this bill, state employee collective bargaining disputes could be resolved through binding arbitration, and the Maryland Constitution would be amended to require the Governor to include funding in the state budget for the wages, benefits, and other employment terms negotiated through union agreements. The bill expands the role of arbitrators in labor negotiations and creates new requirements that effectively guarantee funding consideration for collectively bargained compensation packages.
Chapter Two: Rewarding Work, Not Wealth – Section: Defending Worker Power, Unions, and Job Mobility: Democrats will stand with workers and unions against corporate power, defending the freedom to organize and bargain, protecting workers from abusive noncompetes and unsafe corporate cost-cutting, and ensuring that when companies chase profits they cannot trample the rights, mobility, and safety of the people who do the work.

DEM Platform Position: Support

Support is the DEM Position as state workers should not be forced into one-sided bargaining where management can stall negotiations, undercut unions, and deny workers a fair path to better wages, benefits, and working conditions. This bill strengthens collective bargaining for Maryland public employees by creating a neutral arbitration process, giving workers more leverage at the table, and making clear that the State should respect labor power instead of treating public servants like disposable budget items.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sen. Arthur Ellis's voting record?

Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-MD-28) is tracked on the National Democrat Platform legislative scorecard. Highest category scores: Chapter Three: Lowering Costs (100%), Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity (100%), and Chapter One: Growing Our Economy from the Bottom Up & Middle Out (100%). Arthur Ellis represents the 28th District in the Maryland State Senate.

Where does Arthur Ellis serve?

Sen. Arthur Ellis (D-MD-28) represents the 28th District in the Maryland State Senate as a Democrat.

What issue categories does Arthur Ellis score highest and lowest on?

Arthur Ellis's strongest categories on the National Democrat Platform scorecard are Chapter Three: Lowering Costs (100%) and Chapter Six: Strengthening Democracy, Protecting Freedoms, & Advancing Equity (100%). The lowest-scoring categories are Chapter Four: Tackling the Climate Crisis, Lowering Energy Costs, & Securing Energy Independence (75%) and Chapter Eight: Advancing the President’s Unity Agenda (100%).

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