Julie’s Bills — 2025 Legislative Session

Helping Maryland families

  • Free School Meals: Children cannot succeed in school if they are hungry. School meal programs improve academic achievement, attendance, and classroom behavior. Congress made school meals free for all students during the pandemic, but that policy expired. Almost 500,000 children in Maryland have lost this important financial support. This bill would extend free school meals to all students in the highest need schools.

  • Fair Share for Maryland Act: Our state tax system is fundamentally unfair, with huge corporations and the wealthy few paying far less in taxes than they truly owe. Meanwhile, we’re facing a multi-billion deficit, which could result in massive cuts to our public schools. We can make our tax system fairer, generate the money we need to invest in education and transportation, and cut taxes for working families by passing the Fair Share for Maryland Act.

  • Tax Cuts for Working Families: Counties should be able to make their local income taxes progressive—with the wealthy paying a higher rate than low- or middle-income residents. State and federal taxes are structured this way because is more fair than a flat tax. Half of Maryland counties, including Montgomery County, aren’t able to use a law I previously sponsored to create tiered local income taxes in a revenue-neutral way. This bill will allow more counties to provide tax relief to low- and middle-income residents.

  • Sunset Unproductive Tax Credits: This bill would sunset several tax credits for businesses that the Department of Legislative Services has recommended be repealed, as well end certain tax deductions for special interests. Given the State’s $3 billion budget deficit, we should be taking a hard look at tax expenditures that aren’t returning value for our economy.

Education and child care

  • Tax Credit for Child Care Providers: Child care continues to become more and more unaffordable for families and meanwhile child care providers are struggling to stay in business. This bill will significantly expand the authority of local governments to offer a property tax credit for child care providers and businesses that have on-site child care. (Moving in the House)

  • Fostering Family Literacy: Approximately 82,000 children in Maryland have a parent who is incarcerated. The bill will establish a pilot program to promote stronger family connections while improving family literacy. Incarcerated parents will be able to to record themselves reading a book to their child; their child will receive the recording and a copy of the book. (Moving in the House and Senate)

Housing

  • Prohibit Rent Price Fixing: It’s illegal for businesses to collude to set prices, yet some landlords have found a loophole using new technology. This bill will prevent landlords from using non-public competitor data to set rents.

  • Rein in Discriminatory Local Laws: Several local governments in Maryland have enacted laws to fine landlords and property owners for repeated calls for emergency services to their property, even when the resident is a victim seeking help. Such ‘nuisance laws’ are especially discriminatory against victims of domestic violence, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities. In 2022, Maryland enacted a law I sponsored to prevent local governments from enacting such laws. This session, I’m seeking to close a loophole in the law. (Moving in the House; Senate bill passed the Senate)

  • Streamline the Valuation Process for Affordable Housing: State law provides a favorable valuation process for affordable housing developed using federal tax credits, recognizing the inherent constraints on properties renting to people with limited incomes.  But some affordable housing projects have still run into problems.  This bill will clarify state law to ensure the fair and accurate valuation of new affordable housing. (Moving in the House)

Protecting Consumers

  • Stronger Protections in Gambling: As legalized gambling has expanded in Maryland, we’ve seen a rise in gambling addiction. It’s beyond time to act to better protect players. This bill will strengthen player protections by prohibiting use of credit cards in mobile sports betting, referring more people to free counseling, and prohibiting email marketing to players who have temporarily suspended their accounts.

  • Expand Access to Emergency Epinephrine: New life-saving products—beyond EpiPens—are becoming available to treat severe allergic reactions (aka anaphylaxis). State law needs to be updated so that school personnel, child care providers, camp counselors, and others can administer any Food and Drug Administration-approved forms of epinephrine in an emergency. (Moving in the House and Senate)

Election and transparency Reforms

  • Reform Legislative Appointments: Maryland’s state constitution doesn’t allow for special elections to fill vacancies in the General Assembly. This bill will ensure that the appointment process is transparent and includes appropriate public notice and participation.

  • Cracking Down on Scam PACs: Fraudulent activity is becoming more common in politics. Fraudsters create political action committees (PACs) that purport to raise money for a certain candidate or cause, only to keep the money for themselves or funnel it money into businesses they own. This bill will make it harder for scam PACs to hide their practices and give more tools for enforcement.

  • Increase Transparency for Exploratory Committees: For too long, exploratory campaign committees have been exempt from our accountability and disclosure laws. Marylanders deserve to know who is financing prospective candidates for elected office. (Senate bill moving in the Senate)

  • Live Streaming Government Meetings: This bill would restore the ability of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) and the Montgomery County Planning Board to take educational field tours and hold public meetings outside of their headquarters. (Passed the Montgomery County House Delegation and the Prince George’s County House Delegation)

Transportation

  • Sound Cameras for Noisy Vehicles: Neighborhoods are regularly disturbed by the noise of vehicles with illegally modified exhaust systems. In 2024, we enacted a law I sponsored to allow Montgomery County to create a pilot program to use automated technology to detect and ticket excessively loud vehicles. This bill will extend the pilot program. (Senate bill passed the Senate)

  • Bicyclist Safety: We can make our roads safer for bicyclists by allowing them to proceed through an intersection when pedestrians have a walk signal. Allowing vulnerable roadway users to get into the intersection before vehicles proceed is a proven safety measure.