SB-1675: Relating to the licensing and regulation of animal export-import processing facilities; providing penalties; requiring an occupational license; authorizing fees.
Sponsored by: Sen. Eddie Lucio
Scheduled For Public Hearing On . . . on 05/08/2017
You have voted SB-1675: Relating to the licensing and regulation of animal export-import processing facilities; providing penalties; requiring an occupational license; authorizing fees..
SB-1668: Relating to the administration and enforcement of produce safety standards by the Department of Agriculture; authorizing an administrative penalty.
Sponsored by: Sen. Eddie Lucio
Scheduled For Public Hearing On . . . on 05/08/2017
You have voted SB-1668: Relating to the administration and enforcement of produce safety standards by the Department of Agriculture; authorizing an administrative penalty..
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Atrazine Study [HB-1204]
[Public Health ]
[Environmental ]
[Agriculture ]
[Water ]
[Healthcare ]
[Science ]
Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in cooperation with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture, to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of atrazine in the State; specifying the parameters of the study; and requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report the findings and recommendations to the Governor and specified committees of the General Assembly on or before October 1, 2018, and to make the report available to the public on its Web site.
HB-1204: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Atrazine Study
Sponsored by: Sen. Clarence Lam
Unfavorable Report By Environment And Transportation; Withdrawn on 03/18/2017
Criminal Law - Cannabis - Legalization [HB-1185]
[Cannabis ]
[Crime ]
[Criminal Justice ]
[Law Enforcement ]
Repealing specified civil and criminal prohibitions against the use and possession of marijuana; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified persons for using, obtaining, purchasing, transporting, or possessing cannabis under specified circumstances; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified retailers, cannabis product manufacturers, cannabis cultivation facilities, craft cannabis cultivators, and safety compliance facilities under specified circumstances; etc.
HB-1185: Criminal Law - Cannabis - Legalization
Sponsored by: Sen. Nathaniel Oaks
Hearing 3/07 At 1:00 P.m. on 03/07/2017
Agriculture - Maryland Healthy Soils Program [HB-1063]
[Agriculture ]
[Environmental ]
[Science ]
[Funding ]
[Grants ]
[Water ]
[Climate Change ]
Establishing the Maryland Healthy Soils Program to increase biological activity and carbon sequestration in the State's soils by promoting practices based on emerging soil science; requiring the Department of Agriculture to provide incentives, including research, education, technical assistance, and, subject to available funding, financial assistance, to farmers to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils; requiring the Department to determine if the program could complement other agricultural programs; etc.
HB-1063: Agriculture - Maryland Healthy Soils Program
Sponsored by: Rep. Dana Stein
Approved By The Governor - Chapter 373 on 05/04/2017
Criminal Law - Cannabis - Legalization [SB-928]
[Cannabis ]
[Crime ]
[Criminal Justice ]
[Law Enforcement ]
Repealing specified civil and criminal prohibitions against the use and possession of marijuana; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified persons for using, obtaining, purchasing, transporting, or possessing cannabis under specified circumstances; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified retailers, cannabis product manufacturers, cannabis cultivation facilities, craft cannabis cultivators, and safety compliance facilities under specified circumstances; etc.
SB-928: Criminal Law - Cannabis - Legalization
Sponsored by: Sen. Brian Feldman
Hearing 3/02 At 1:00 P.m. on 03/02/2017
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Atrazine Study [SB-932]
[Healthcare ]
[Public Health ]
[Environmental ]
[Agriculture ]
[Water ]
[Science ]
Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in consultation with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture, to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of atrazine in the State; specifying the parameters of the study; and requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report the findings and recommendations to the Governor and specified committees of the General Assembly on or before October 1, 2018, and to make the report available to the public on its Web site.
SB-932: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Atrazine Study
Sponsored by: Sen. Susan Lee
Unfavorable Report By Education, Health, And Environmental Affairs on 03/30/2017
Agriculture - Industrial Hemp - Legalization [HB-902]
[Agriculture ]
[Cannabis ]
Repealing provisions of law relating to growing or cultivating industrial hemp for agricultural research purposes; repealing a contingency on provisions of law authorizing a person to plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell, or buy industrial hemp in the State; repealing a contingency on provisions of law that alter the definition of "marijuana" for purposes of specified provisions of law relating to controlled dangerous substances to exclude industrial hemp; etc.
Conserving Working Waterfront Farms Act of 2017 [SB-719]
[Agriculture ]
[Environmental ]
[Water ]
[Public Health ]
Altering the contents of the criteria developed by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation for counties to consider when determining whether a property qualifies for the Critical Farms Program to include other benefits attributable to wildlife habitat enhancement and shoreline and water quality protection; and requiring the State Department of Agriculture to report to specified committees of the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2017, on its efforts to encourage easement purchases on working waterfront farms.
SB-719: Conserving Working Waterfront Farms Act of 2017
Sponsored by: Sen. Adelaide Eckardt
Unfavorable Report By Education, Health, And Environmental Affairs on 03/13/2017
Higher Education - Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program - Farmers [SB-730]
[Agriculture ]
[Student Loans ]
[Education ]
[Funding ]
Establishing the Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program for Farmers; requiring the Office of Student Financial Assistance in the Maryland Higher Education Commission to assist in the repayment of a higher education loan obtained for tuition, educational expenses, or living expenses for undergraduate or graduate study leading to a degree in agriculture or an agriculture-related field, including farming; requiring the Office, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to adopt specified regulations; etc.
Conserving Working Waterfront Farms Act of 2017 [HB-779]
[Agriculture ]
[Environmental ]
[Water ]
[Public Health ]
Altering the contents of the criteria developed by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation for counties to consider when determining whether a property qualifies for the Critical Farms Program to include other benefits attributable to wildlife habitat enhancement and shoreline and water quality protection; and requiring the State Department of Agriculture to report to specified committees of the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2017, on its efforts to encourage easement purchases on working waterfront farms.
HB-779: Conserving Working Waterfront Farms Act of 2017
Sponsored by: Rep. Dana Stein
Unfavorable Report By Environment And Transportation on 03/14/2017
Retail Pet Stores - Animal Seller, Dog Cage Signs, and Records - Requirement Revisions [HB-781]
[Animals ]
[Consumer Protection ]
[Public Health ]
Requiring a retail pet store to ensure that a specified person from whom the retail pet store obtains a cat or dog has not received a specified citation on a specified report for a direct or critical violation within a specified period of time; requiring specified information to be posted on or near each dog's cage in a retail pet store; and requiring a specified written record about each dog in the possession of a retail pet store to include specified information.
HB-781: Retail Pet Stores - Animal Seller, Dog Cage Signs, and Records - Requirement Revisions
Sponsored by: Sen. Benjamin Kramer
Approved By The Governor - Chapter 343 on 04/18/2017
Pollinator Habitat Plans - Plan Contents - Requirements and Prohibition [HB-830]
[Agriculture ]
[Environmental ]
[Animals ]
[Public Health ]
Requiring a specified pollinator habitat plan to include specified best management practices for the designation of specified habitat areas; requiring that a specified pollinator habitat plan established by the Department of Natural Resources, the Maryland Environmental Service, and the State Highway Administration be as protective of pollinators as the Department of Agriculture's managed pollinator protection plan; prohibiting, with specified exceptions, the use of specified pesticides, seeds, or plants in a specified area; etc.
HB-830: Pollinator Habitat Plans - Plan Contents - Requirements and Prohibition
Sponsored by: Rep. Anne Healey
Approved By The Governor - Chapter 755 on 05/25/2017
Keep Antibiotics Effective Act of 2017 [HB-602]
[Agriculture ]
[Animals ]
[Healthcare ]
[Public Health ]
[Food ]
[Pharmaceuticals ]
Authorizing, on or after January 1, 2018, the administration of specified antimicrobial drugs to cattle, swine, or poultry if, in the professional judgment of a licensed veterinarian, the administration is necessary for specified purposes; prohibiting specified antimicrobial drugs from being administered to cattle, swine, or poultry in a specified pattern or for specified purposes; requiring the Department of Agriculture each year to collect publicly available data on the use in the State of specified antimicrobial drugs; etc.
HB-602: Keep Antibiotics Effective Act of 2017
Sponsored by: Rep. Anne Healey
Enacted Under Article Ii, Section 17(c) Of The Maryland Constitution - Chapter 787 on 05/27/2017
Agriculture - Animal Shelters - Standards of Care and Protocol Implementation and Enforcement [HB-626]
[Agriculture ]
[Animals ]
[Public Health ]
[Law Enforcement ]
Requiring an animal shelter to follow a specified written protocol for reclaiming animals; requiring the Department of Agriculture, on or before January 1, 2018, to adopt specified minimum standards of care for dogs and cats in animal shelters; requiring an animal shelter to follow the minimum standards of care adopted by the Department; and requiring the Department to adopt specified regulations on or before January 1, 2018.
HB-626: Agriculture - Animal Shelters - Standards of Care and Protocol Implementation and Enforcement
Sponsored by: Rep. Eric Bromwell
Approved By The Governor - Chapter 409 on 05/04/2017
Maryland Farms and Families Act [HB-586]
[Agriculture ]
[Food ]
[Funding ]
[Budget and Spending ]
[Public Health ]
[Community Development ]
[Poverty ]
[Human Services ]
Establishing the Maryland Farms and Families Program in the Department of Agriculture; establishing that the purpose of the Program is to double the purchasing power of food-insecure Maryland residents with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables and to increase revenue for farmers through redemption of specified benefits at Maryland farmers markets; establishing a Maryland Farms and Families Fund; requiring the Governor to include a $500,000 appropriation to the Fund each fiscal year subject to the limitations of the State budget; etc.
HB-586: Maryland Farms and Families Act
Sponsored by: Rep. C. William Frick
Approved By The Governor - Chapter 395 on 05/04/2017