EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
Italics indicate opposite chamber/conference committee amendments.
*hb0238*
HOUSE BILL 238
J1 (4lr0196)
ENROLLED BILL
— Economic Matters/Finance —
Introduced by Chair, Economic Matters Committee (By Request – Departmental –
Health)
Read and Examined by Proofreaders:
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this
_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.
______________________________________________
Speaker.
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Public Health – Clean Indoor Air Act – Revisions 2
FOR the purpose of prohibiting vaping in certain indoor areas and places of employment 3
and certain mass transportation; requiring that certain signs be posted and 4
maintained in a certain manner in each indoor area open to the public and each 5
public entrance to an indoor area where smoking or vaping is prohibited under the 6
Clean Indoor Air Act; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to convene a 7
workgroup to study the issuance of alcoholic beverages licenses to tobacconists; 8
prohibiting a local alcoholic beverages license from being issued to a tobacconist 9
during a certain period of time; and generally relating to the Clean Indoor Air Act. 10
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 11
Article – Health – General 12
Section 24–501, 24–504, 24–505, 24–506, and 24–508(c)(2) 13 2 HOUSE BILL 238
Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2023 Replacement Volume) 2
BY repealing 3
Article – Health – General 4
Section 24–509 5
Annotated Code of Maryland 6
(2023 Replacement Volume) 7
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 8
Article – Labor and Employment 9
Section 5–608(b)(1) 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2016 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 12
BY renumbering 13
Article – Health – General 14
Section 24–510 and 24–511 15
to be Section 24–509 and 24–510, respectively 16
Annotated Code of Maryland 17
(2023 Replacement Volume) 18
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 19
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 20
Article – Health – General 21
24–501. 22
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 23
(b) “Cannabis” has the meaning stated in [§ 5–101 of the Criminal Law Article] 24
§ 1–101 OF THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND CANNABIS ARTICLE. 25
(C) “ELECTRONIC SMOKING DE VICE” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 26
16.7–101 OF THE BUSINESS REGULATION ARTICLE. 27
[(c)] (D) “Employee” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor and 28
Employment Article. 29
[(d)] (E) “Employer” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor and 30
Employment Article. 31
[(e)] (F) “Environmental smoke” means [the]: 32
HOUSE BILL 238 3
(1) THE complex mixture formed from the escaping smoke of a burning 1
tobacco, cannabis, or hemp product or smoke exhaled by the smoker; OR 2
(2) THE COMPLEX MIXTURE F ORMED FROM THE ESCAP ING AEROSOL 3
OF AN ELECTRONIC SMO KING DEVICE OR EXHAL ED AS ELECTRONIC SMO KING 4
DEVICE AEROSOL . 5
(G) “HEMP” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 14–101 OF THE AGRICULTURE 6
ARTICLE. 7
[(f)] (H) “Indoor area open to the public” means: 8
(1) An indoor area or a portion of an indoor area accessible to the public by 9
either invitation or permission; or 10
(2) An indoor area of any establishment licensed or permitted under the 11
Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article for the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages. 12
[(g)] (I) “Place of employment” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor 13
and Employment Article. 14
[(h)] (J) “Smoking” means the burning of a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, or any 15
other matter or substance containing, wholly or in part, tobacco, cannabis, or hemp. 16
(K) “TOBACCO PRODUCT ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 13–1001 OF THIS 17
ARTICLE. 18
(L) “VAPING” MEANS THE USE OF : 19
(1) AN ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE; OR 20
(2) ANY DEVICE THROUGH WH ICH THE USER INHALES AEROSOL 21
CONTAINING HEMP OR CANNABIS TOBACCO, CANNABIS, OR HEMP. 22
24–504. 23
Except as provided in § 24–505 of this subtitle, beginning on February 1, 2008, a 24
person may not smoke OR VAPE in: 25
(1) An indoor area open to the public; 26
(2) An indoor place in which meetings are open to the public in accordance 27
with Title 3 of the General Provisions Article; 28
4 HOUSE BILL 238
(3) A government–owned or government–operated means of mass 1
transportation including buses, vans, trains, taxicabs, and limousines; or 2
(4) An indoor place of employment. 3
24–505. 4
This subtitle does not apply to: 5
(1) Private homes, residences, including residences used as a business or 6
place of employment, unless being used by a person who is licensed or registered under 7
Title 5, Subtitle 5 of the Family Law Article to provide child care, and private vehicles, 8
unless being used for the public transportation of children, or as part of health care or child 9
care transportation; 10
(2) A hotel or motel room rented to one or more guests as long as the total 11
percent of hotel or motel rooms being so used does not exceed 25%; 12
(3) A retail tobacco business that is a sole proprietorship, limited liability 13
company, corporation, partnership, or other enterprise, in which: 14
(i) The primary activity is the retail sale of tobacco products and 15
accessories; and 16
(ii) The sale of other products is incidental; 17
(4) Any facility of a manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, or distributor of 18
tobacco products or of any tobacco leaf dealer or processor in which employees of the 19
manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, distributor, or processor work or congregate; or 20
(5) A research or educational laboratory for the purpose of conducting 21
scientific research into the health effects of [tobacco] ENVIRONMENTAL smoke. 22
24–506. 23
(a) Signs that state “Smoking OR VAPING Permitted in This Room” shall be 24
prominently posted and properly maintained where smoking OR VAPING is allowed under 25
§ 24–505(2) of this subtitle. 26
(B) SIGNS THAT STATE “NO SMOKING OR VAPING” SHALL BE 27
CONSPICUOUSLY POSTED AND PROPERLY MAINTAI NED IN EACH INDOOR A REA OPEN 28
TO THE PUBLIC AND EA CH PUBLIC ENTRANCE T O AN INDOOR AREA WHE RE SMOKING 29
OR VAPING IS PROHIBI TED UNDER THIS SUBTI TLE. 30
[(b)] (C) The signs shall be posted and maintained by the owner, operator, 31
manager, or other person having control of the area. 32 HOUSE BILL 238 5
[(c)] (D) The letters on the signs shall be at least 1 inch in height. 1
24–508. 2
(c) (2) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint brought against a person for 3
a violation of a provision of this subtitle or a regulation adopted under this subtitle that the 4
person or an employee of the person: 5
(i) Posted a “No [Smoking”] SMOKING OR VAPING” sign as 6
required under § 24–506 of this subtitle; 7
(ii) Removed all ashtrays and other smoking OR VAPING 8
paraphernalia from all areas where smoking is prohibited; and 9
(iii) If the violation occurred in a bar, tavern, or restaurant: 10
1. Refused to seat or serve any individual who was smoking 11
OR VAPING in a prohibited area; and 12
2. If the individual continued to smoke OR VAPE after an 13
initial warning, asked the individual to leave the establishment. 14
[24–509. 15
(a) Within 90 days from the receipt of an application for a waiver and the date 16
that all conditions for the application for a waiver required in the regulations adopted by 17
the Secretary have been satisfied, the health officer of a county may grant a waiver from 18
the application of a specific provision of this subtitle, if prior to the granting of the waiver, 19
the applicant for a waiver establishes in writing: 20
(1) Compliance with a specific provision of this subtitle would cause undue 21
financial hardship; or 22
(2) The existence of other factors that would render compliance 23
unreasonable. 24
(b) The Secretary may impose conditions or restrictions on a waiver granted 25
under subsection (a) of this section to: 26
(1) Minimize the adverse effects of the waiver on individuals involuntarily 27
exposed to secondhand smoke; and 28
(2) Ensure that the waiver is consistent with the purposes of this subtitle. 29
(c) The Secretary shall adopt regulations necessary to implement this section. 30 6 HOUSE BILL 238
(d) (1) A waiver may not be granted under subsection (a) of this section on or 1
after January 31, 2011. 2
(2) A waiver granted under subsection (a) of this section terminates on 3
January 31, 2011.] 4
Article – Labor and Employment 5
5–608. 6
(b) (1) The Department shall adopt regulations that prohibit environmental 7
[tobacco] smoke, as defined in § 24–501 of the Health – General Article, in indoor places of 8
employment not normally open to the general public. 9
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That: 10
(a) The Maryland Department of Health shall convene a workgroup to study the 11
issuance of alcoholic beverages licenses to tobacconists. 12
(b) The workgroup shall include: 13
(1) two Senators designated by the President of the Senate; 14
(2) two Delegates designated by the Speaker of the House; 15
(3) one representative from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis 16
Commission; 17
(4) one representative from the Maryland Department of Health; and 18
(5) one representative from a cigar retailers trade association. 19
(c) On or before July 1, 2025, the workgroup shall report its findings and 20
recommendations to the General Assembly in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State 21
Government Article. 22
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That a local alcoholic beverages 23
license may not be issued to a tobacconist from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2026, both inclusive. 24
SECTION 2. 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section(s) 24 –510 and 25
24–511 of Article – Health – General of the Annotated Code of Maryland be renumbered to 26
be Section(s) 24–509 and 24–510, respectively. 27
SECTION 3. 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 28
July 1, 2024. 29