​ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today presided over the Moore-Miller Administration’s seventh bill signing, highlighting the administration’s commitment to building a brighter future for Maryland’s children through education and keeping families safe.

“Today is about protecting the future and ensuring the education and safety of every Marylander—that’s what our administration is committed to,” said Gov. Moore. “We signed legislation to keep our children fed, thriving, and learning with world class teachers in every classroom. We have also strengthened common sense gun laws that will help protect our communities across Maryland. This will be Maryland’s decade, and the best way to see that through is to invest in our children and the safety of our communities.”

 

“The legislation signed today will keep Marylanders, particularly children, safe from gun violence; it will give teachers the reinforcements they need to do their jobs; and it will expand free in-school breakfast to nearly 180,000 more children,” said Lt. Gov. Miller. “By investing in the health, safety, and wellbeing of Maryland children, we’re investing in Maryland’s future – an investment that couldn’t be more worthwhile.” 

In attendance at the bill signing ceremony was Melissa Willey, who lost her 16-year-old daughter, Jaelynn Willey, to gun violence on March 20, 2018. Jaelynn was shot to death by a fellow student, who brought his father’s gun to school. Governor Moore today signed into law S.B. 858, Jaelynn’s Law, and gave Melissa Willey the ceremonial pen used to sign the bill.

Included among Governor Moore’s champion pieces of legislation signed today are:

S.B. 858: Firearm Safety – Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn’s Law), alters a certain provision relating to the storage of firearms and ammunition in a location that can be accessed by an unsupervised child. This legislation requires the Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services to develop a youth suicide prevention and firearm safe storage guide, with recommendations from a stakeholder committee.

H.B. 1219: Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act of 2023, helps train, recruit, and retain highly-trained educators for Maryland schools and child care facilities and provides better behavioral health services to students by recruiting and retaining mental health professionals in schools.

S.B. 148: Victim Services Programs - Supplementing Federal Funding and Support (Victim Services Stabilization Act), provides for the stable funding and support of trauma-informed, high-quality programs and services for victims of crime. This legislation requires the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services to help support certain programs providing services for victims of crimes. It requires the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services to consult with certain individuals and organizations regarding the allocation of certain funding and requires the Governor to include certain funding in the State budget.

S.B. 542: Public Safety - Emergency Management - Consumer Protections Against Price Gouging, prohibits a person from selling an essential good or service for more than a certain increase in price during and for a certain time after a certain state of emergency. This legislation requires the Secretary of State to establish an electronic notification system by which a person may register to receive notifications stating that a state of emergency has been declared and an executive order issued.

S.B. 622: Medicaid Waiver Programs – Waitlist and Registry Reduction (End the Wait Act), requires certain Medicaid funding to be used to provide community services to individuals waiting for services through certain waiver programs. This legislation authorizes certain Medicaid funding to be used for expanding provider capacity in certain waiver programs. This legislation alters the uses of certain funding appropriated to the Dedicated Purpose Account in the fiscal year 2023 budget bill.

S.B. 789: Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kits - Preservation and Storage, alters requirements for the storage and preservation of sexual assault evidence collection kits. This legislation requires sexual assault evidence collection kits collected before January 1, 2000, to be retained and transferred in a certain manner and requires the Maryland Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Policy and Funding Committee, on or before December 1, 2023, to issue a report to the Governor and the General Assembly making certain recommendations, in consultation with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

 

S.B. 1: Gun Safety Act of 2023, prohibits a person from knowingly wearing, carrying, or transporting a firearm in certain locations. This legislation prohibits a person from wearing, carrying, or transporting a firearm onto certain property unless the owner or owner's agent has given certain permission. 

To view the complete list of bills signed into law today, visit here.

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