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.
*sb0244*
SENATE BILL 244
J1 4lr0195
(PRE–FILED) CF HB 238
By: Chair, Finance Committee (By Request – Departmental – Health)
Requested: September 13, 2023
Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2024
Assigned to: Finance
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted with floor amendments
Read second time: February 26, 2024
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; altering the exemption from the Clean Indoor Air Act for 7
certain retail tobacco businesses; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to 8
convene a workgroup to study the issuance of alcoholic beverages licenses to 9
tobacconists; prohibiting a local alcoholic beverages license from being issued to a 10
tobacconist during a certain period of time; and generally relating to the Clean 11
Indoor Air Act. 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Health – General 14
Section 24–501, 24–504, 24–505, 24–506, and 24–508(c)(2) 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2023 Replacement Volume) 17
BY repealing 18
Article – Health – General 19
Section 24–509 20
Annotated Code of Maryland 21
(2023 Replacement Volume) 22 2 SENATE BILL 244
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
Article – Labor and Employment 2
Section 5–608(b)(1) 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2016 Replacement Volume and 2023 Supplement) 5
BY renumbering 6
Article – Health – General 7
Section 24–510 and 24–511 8
to be Section 24–509 and 24–510, respectively 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2023 Replacement Volume) 11
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 12
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 13
Article – Health – General 14
24–501. 15
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 16
(b) “Cannabis” has the meaning stated in [§ 5–101 of the Criminal Law Article] 17
§ 1–101 OF THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND CANNABIS ARTICLE. 18
(C) “ELECTRONIC SMOKING DE VICE” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 19
16.7–101 OF THE BUSINESS REGULATION ARTICLE. 20
[(c)] (D) “Employee” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor and 21
Employment Article. 22
[(d)] (E) “Employer” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor and 23
Employment Article. 24
[(e)] (F) “Environmental smoke” means [the]: 25
(1) THE complex mixture formed from the escaping smoke of a burning 26
tobacco, cannabis, or hemp product or smoke exhaled by the smoker; OR 27
(2) THE COMPLEX MIXTURE F ORMED FROM THE ESCAPING AE ROSOL 28
OF AN ELECTRONIC SMO KING DEVICE OR EXHAL ED AS ELECTRONIC SMO KING 29
DEVICE AEROSOL . 30
(G) “HEMP” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 14–101 OF THE AGRICULTURE 31
ARTICLE. 32 SENATE BILL 244 3
[(f)] (H) “Indoor area open to the public” means: 1
(1) An indoor area or a portion of an indoor area accessible to the public by 2
either invitation or permission; or 3
(2) An indoor area of any establishment licensed or permitted under the 4
Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article for the sale or possession of alcoholic beverages. 5
[(g)] (I) “Place of employment” has the meaning stated in § 5–101 of the Labor 6
and Employment Article. 7
[(h)] (J) “Smoking” means the burning of a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, or any 8
other matter or substance containing, wholly or in part, tobacco, cannabis, or hemp. 9
(K) “TOBACCO PRODUCT ” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 13–1001 OF THIS 10
ARTICLE. 11
(L) “VAPING” MEANS THE USE OF : 12
(1) AN ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE; OR 13
(2) ANY DEVICE THROUGH WH ICH THE USER INHALES AEROSOL 14
CONTAINING HEMP OR CANNABIS TOBACCO, CANNABIS, OR HEMP. 15
24–504. 16
Except as provided in § 24–505 of this subtitle, beginning on February 1, 2008, a 17
person may not smoke OR VAPE in: 18
(1) An indoor area open to the public; 19
(2) An indoor place in which meetings are open to the public in accordance 20
with Title 3 of the General Provisions Article; 21
(3) A government–owned or government–operated means of mass 22
transportation including buses, vans, trains, taxicabs, and limousines; or 23
(4) An indoor place of employment. 24
24–505. 25
This subtitle does not apply to: 26
(1) Private homes, residences, including residences used as a business or 27
place of employment, unless being used by a person who is licensed or registered under 28 4 SENATE BILL 244
Title 5, Subtitle 5 of the Family Law Article to provide child care, and private vehicles, 1
unless being used for the public transportation of children, or as part of health care or child 2
care transportation; 3
(2) A hotel or motel room rented to one or more guests as long as the total 4
percent of hotel or motel rooms being so used does not exceed 25%; 5
(3) A retail tobacco business that is a sole proprietorship, limited liability 6
company, corporation, partnership, or other enterprise, in which: 7
(i) The primary activity is the retail sale of tobacco products and 8
accessories; and 9
(ii) The sale of other products is incidental; 10
(4) Any facility of a manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, or distributor of 11
tobacco products or of any tobacco leaf dealer or processor in which employees of the 12
manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, distributor, or processor work or congregate; or 13
(5) A research or educational laboratory for the purpose of conducting 14
scientific research into the health effects of [tobacco] ENVIRONMENTAL smoke. 15
24–506. 16
(a) Signs that state “Smoking OR VAPING Permitted in This Room” shall be 17
prominently posted and properly maintained where smoking OR VAPING is allowed under 18
§ 24–505(2) of this subtitle. 19
(B) SIGNS THAT STATE “NO SMOKING OR VAPING” SHALL BE 20
CONSPICUOUSLY POSTED AND PROPERLY M AINTAINED IN EACH IN DOOR AREA OPEN 21
TO THE PUBLIC AND EA CH PUBLIC ENTRANCE T O AN INDOOR AREA WHE RE SMOKING 22
OR VAPING IS PROHIBI TED UNDER THIS SUBTI TLE. 23
[(b)] (C) The signs shall be posted and maintained by the owner, operator, 24
manager, or other person having control of the area. 25
[(c)] (D) The letters on the signs shall be at least 1 inch in height. 26
24–508. 27
(c) (2) It is an affirmative defense to a complaint brought against a person for 28
a violation of a provision of this subtitle or a regulation adopted under this subtitle that the 29
person or an employee of the person: 30
(i) Posted a “No [Smoking”] SMOKING OR VAPING” sign as 31
required under § 24–506 of this subtitle; 32 SENATE BILL 244 5
(ii) Removed all ashtrays and other smoking OR VAPING 1
paraphernalia from all areas where smoking is prohibited; and 2
(iii) If the violation occurred in a bar, tavern, or restaurant: 3
1. Refused to seat or serve any individual who was smoking 4
OR VAPING in a prohibited area; and 5
2. If the individual continued to smoke OR VAPE after an 6
initial warning, asked the individual to leave the establishment. 7
[24–509. 8
(a) Within 90 days from the receipt of an application for a waiver and the date 9
that all conditions for the application for a waiver required in the regulations adopted by 10
the Secretary have been satisfied, the health officer of a county may grant a waiver from 11
the application of a specific provision of this subtitle, if prior to the granting of the waiver, 12
the applicant for a waiver establishes in writing: 13
(1) Compliance with a specific provision of this subtitle would cause undue 14
financial hardship; or 15
(2) The existence of other factors that would render compliance 16
unreasonable. 17
(b) The Secretary may impose conditions or restrictions on a waiver granted 18
under subsection (a) of this section to: 19
(1) Minimize the adverse effects of the waiver on individuals involuntarily 20
exposed to secondhand smoke; and 21
(2) Ensure that the waiver is consistent with the purposes of this subtitle. 22
(c) The Secretary shall adopt regulations necessary to implement this section. 23
(d) (1) A waiver may not be granted under subsection (a) of this section on or 24
after January 31, 2011. 25
(2) A waiver granted under subsection (a) of this section terminates on 26
January 31, 2011.] 27
Article – Labor and Employment 28
5–608. 29
6 SENATE BILL 244
(b) (1) The Department shall adopt regulations that prohibit environmental 1
[tobacco] smoke, as defined in § 24–501 of the Health – General Article, in indoor places of 2
employment not normally open to the general public. 3
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That: 4
(a) The Maryland Department of Health shall convene a workgroup to study the 5
issuance of alcoholic beverages licenses to tobacconists. 6
(b) The workgroup shall include: 7
(1) two Senators designated by the President of the Senate; 8
(2) two Delegates designated by the Speaker of the House; 9
(3) one representative from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis 10
Commission; 11
(4) one representative from the Maryland Department of Health; and 12
(5) one representative from a cigar retailers trade association. 13
(c) On or before July 1, 2025, the workgroup shall report its findings and 14
recommendations to the General Assembly in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State 15
Government Article. 16
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That a local alcoholic beverages 17
license may not be issued to a tobacconist from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2026, both inclusive. 18
SECTION 2. 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section(s) 24 –510 and 19
24–511 of Article – Health – General of the Annotated Code of Maryland be renumbered to 20
be Section(s) 24–509 and 24–510, respectively. 21
SECTION 3. 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 22
July 1, 2024. 23