Dozens of new laws just took effect in Maryland, impacting DUI penalties, payouts to sex abuse survivors and more
Sexual abuse survivors
Sexual abuse survivors in Maryland now face caps on court compensation after revisions to the Child Victims Act took effect Sunday.
HB1378 limits payouts to $400,000 for abuse claims involving public institutions and $700,000 for claims against private institutions. Attorney fees are also capped at 20% for cases settled out of court and 25% for cases that go to trial.
Governor Wes Moore signed the revisions into law in April. The changes come as juvenile detention facilities across Maryland face multiple lawsuits from abuse survivors.
The original Child Victims Act allowed payouts up to $890,000 from public institutions and $1.5 million from private institutions. The new caps represent significant reductions from those amounts.
The revisions also establish specific limits on attorney fees for the first time.
Punishments increase for DUI convictions
Maryland drivers convicted of driving under the influence now face stiffer penalties under HB388. The Motor Vehicle Administration will assess 12 points against anyone's license for DUI convictions involving alcohol or other drugs.
Baltimore City will now increase its speed cameras along Interstate 83 from two to four under HB913.
Healthcare and housing changes
Several laws expand healthcare protections and access. HB1045 classifies gender-affirming healthcare as "legally protected health care" in Maryland and makes it not subject to disclosure laws.
Health insurers must now permanently cover telehealth visits under HB869, known as the Preserve Telehealth Act of 2025.
HB390/SB327 allows county governments to exempt rental housing properties from property taxes if owners maintain at least 25% of units as affordable housing and enter payment agreements with counties.
Other notable changes
HB102 delays the Maryland Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program launch 18 months to January 1, 2027.
HB910/SB911 increases property tax exemptions for blind individuals from $15,000 to $40,000.
HB402/SB307 raises Anne Arundel County's student board member scholarship from $8,000 to $15,000.
HB412/SB337 requires local election boards to provide meeting agendas at least 48 hours in advance and offer live video streaming of open meetings.
Maryland also gained two new official state symbols under SB764. Chromite becomes the state mineral, and the orange crush becomes the state cocktail.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
27 minutes ago
- CBS News
Possible measles exposure at Denver International Airport happened in Concourse C, Colorado health officials warn
Officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment warned on Monday about a possible measles exposure at Denver International Airport. The incident that led to the warning happened last week. On Tuesday an out-of-state traveler who had a confirmed case of measles arrived at the airport in the late afternoon and then departed on a different flight, the CDPHE said in a news release. The incoming and outgoing flights were both at Concourse C. The arriving flight came into Gate 51. The departing flight left from Gate 50. The time of possible exposure was between 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist, said in a prepared statement that being in crowded public spaces like airports "increases the risk of exposure to various communicable diseases." "It is important for everyone to stay up to date on their vaccinations, especially before traveling, to protect themselves and others," Herlihy said. The CDPHE says getting the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) is the best way to protect against contracting measles. If you were in Concourse C of Denver's airport in the late afternoon or early evening on Aug. 12, it is recommended to watch out for possible measles symptoms for 21 days after exposure. They begin with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. A rash usually starts on the face several days later and spreads. In the same news release, the CDPHE also revealed that there is another confirmed case of measles in the state -- this time in Mesa County on the Western Slope. The person who got sick is an adult and their vaccination status isn't known.
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Jury selection to begin in trial of matriarch charged with arranging her ex-son-in-law's death
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the trial of the matriarch of a South Florida family on charges of orchestrating the hit man murder of her ex-son-in-law. Donna Adelson is accused of arranging the 2014 killing of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel, who was shot in the head inside his Tallahassee garage. Adelson faces charges of first-degree murder, as well as conspiracy and solicitation to commit first-degree murder, in a trial that could extend into the week of Sept. 8. Adelson is the latest to go on trial for what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot to kill Markel, her former son-in-law, who had been involved in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife, lawyer Wendi Adelson. Markel had gotten a court order barring her from moving from Tallahassee back to South Florida with their two young sons to be closer to her family, who made their fortune practicing dentistry. Authorities say Donna Adelson helped orchestrate the plot to murder Markel, conspiring with her son Charles Adelson and his then-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua, who prosecutors say served as the go-between with two men hired to carry out the killing, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera. Charles Adelson, Magbanua and her ex-boyfriend, Garcia, were all sentenced to life in prison after being convicted earlier of first-degree murder. Garcia's friend, Rivera, is serving a 19-year sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and testifying against the others. The case has riveted Florida's capital for more than a decade, as sordid details emerged about a messy divorce, tensions with in-laws and child custody battles that culminated in the murder of a prominent local professor. Donna Adelson was arrested in 2023 as she and her husband were about to use one-way tickets to board a flight to Vietnam, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. The arrest came one week after her oral surgeon son was found guilty. Authorities say the Adelsons considered offering Markel $1 million to let his ex-wife and sons move to South Florida, but then members of the family began plotting his death. Wendi Adelson and her father, Harvey Adelson, have denied involvement and have not been charged. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Florida man convicted of killing a woman abducted from an insurance office is set to be executed
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of abducting a woman from a Florida Panhandle insurance office and killing her is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening. Kayle Bates, 67, is set to receive a lethal injection at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. It would be Florida's 10th death sentence carried out in 2025, further extending the state record for a single year. Two more executions are planned within the next month. Since the U.S. Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 1976, the highest previous annual total of Florida executions was eight in 2014. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second place with four each. Bates was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in the June 14, 1982, killing of Janet White in Bay County in the Florida Panhandle. Bates abducted White from the insurance office where she worked, took her into some woods behind the building, attempted to rape her, stabbed her to death and tore a diamond ring from one of her fingers, according to court documents. Attorneys for Bates have filed appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as a federal lawsuit claiming DeSantis' process for signing death warrants was discriminatory. The federal lawsuit was dismissed last Tuesday, with the judge finding problems with the lawsuit's statistical analysis. The court ruled that even if the numbers were correct, they wouldn't necessarily prove discrimination. On the same day, the Florida Supreme Court denied Bates' pending claims, including arguments that evidence of organic brain damage had been inadequately considered during his second penalty phase. The court ruled that Bates has had three decades to raise these claims. A U.S. Supreme Court decision is still pending on Bates' final appeal. A total of 28 men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and at least 10 other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. Curtis Windom , 59, is set to become the 11th person executed in Florida on Aug. 28. He was convicted of killing three people in the Orlando area in 1992. David Pittman , 63, would be the 12th person executed in Florida if his death sentence is carried out as scheduled Sept. 17. He was found guilty of fatally stabbing his estranged wife's sister and parents at their Polk County home before setting it on fire in 1990. Florida executions are carried out using a three-drug lethal injection: a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.
