Maryland 2025 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB211 Engrossed / Bill

Filed 02/04/2025

                     
 
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. 
          *hb0211*  
  
HOUSE BILL 211 
P4, F5   	5lr0756 
  	(PRE–FILED) 	CF SB 166 
By: Delegates Foley, Charkoudian, Fair, Feldmark, Healey, Kaufman, Korman, 
Lehman, Palakovich Carr, Pena–Melnyk, Pruski, Ruth, Terrasa, Vogel, 
Williams, Wims, and Woorman 
Requested: September 3, 2024 
Introduced and read first time: January 8, 2025 
Assigned to: Appropriations 
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments 
House action: Adopted 
Read second time: February 4, 2025 
 
CHAPTER ______ 
 
AN ACT concerning 1 
 
State Personnel – Collective Bargaining – Graduate Assistants and Postdoctoral 2 
Associates 3 
 
FOR the purpose of providing collective bargaining rights to certain graduate assistants 4 
and postdoctoral associates at certain public institutions of higher education; 5 
establishing a separate collective bargaining units unit for the graduate assistants 6 
and postdoctoral associates; and generally relating to collective bargaining for 7 
graduate assistants and postdoctoral associates at public institutions of higher 8 
education. 9 
 
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10 
 Article – State Personnel and Pensions 11 
Section 3–101 and 3–102(b)(9) and (d)(2) 12 
 Annotated Code of Maryland 13 
 (2024 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14 
 
 SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 15 
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 16 
 
Article – State Personnel and Pensions 17 
 
3–101. 18  2 	HOUSE BILL 211  
 
 
 
 (a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated. 1 
 
 (b) “Board” means the Public Employee Relations Board. 2 
 
 (c) “Chancellor” has the meaning stated in § 12–101 of the Education Article. 3 
 
 (d) “Collective bargaining” means: 4 
 
 (1) good faith negotiations by authorized representatives of employees and 5 
their employer with the intention of: 6 
 
 (i) 1. reaching an agreement about wages, hours, and other 7 
terms and conditions of employment; and 8 
 
 2. incorporating the terms of the agreement in a written 9 
memorandum of understanding or other written understanding; or 10 
 
 (ii) clarifying terms and conditions of employment; 11 
 
 (2) administration of terms and conditions of employment; or 12 
 
 (3) the voluntary adjustment of a dispute or disagreement betwee n 13 
authorized representatives of employees and their employer that arises under a 14 
memorandum of understanding or other written understanding. 15 
 
 (e) “Employee organization” has the meaning stated in § 22–101 of the State 16 
Government Article. 17 
 
 (f) “Exclusive representative” has the meaning stated in § 22–101 of the State 18 
Government Article. 19 
 
 (g) (1) “Faculty at the Maryland School for the Deaf” means employees who 20 
have been granted the following status by the Board of Trustees of the Maryland School for 21 
the Deaf: 22 
 
 (i) after–school program counselors; 23 
 
 (ii) American Sign Language specialists; 24 
 
 (iii) athletic trainers; 25 
 
 (iv) behavior specialists; 26 
 
 (v) clerical aides; 27 
 
 (vi) dorm counselors; 28   	HOUSE BILL 211 	3 
 
 
 
 (vii) employment specialists; 1 
 
 (viii) instructional technology resource specialists; 2 
 
 (ix) librarians; 3 
 
 (x) literacy and reading specialists; 4 
 
 (xi) occupational therapists; 5 
 
 (xii) orientation and mobility specialists; 6 
 
 (xiii) physical therapists; 7 
 
 (xiv) school counselors; 8 
 
 (xv) school IEP coordinators; 9 
 
 (xvi) school nurses; 10 
 
 (xvii) school social workers; 11 
 
 (xviii) speech–language pathologists; 12 
 
 (xix) student support specialists; 13 
 
 (xx) teachers; 14 
 
 (xxi) teacher aides; 15 
 
 (xxii) transition coordinators; and 16 
 
 (xxiii) work–to–learn specialists. 17 
 
 (2) “Faculty at the Maryland School for the Deaf” does not include officers 18 
or supervisory employees at the Maryland School for the Deaf. 19 
 
 (H) “GRADUATE ASSISTANT ” MEANS A GRADUATE STU DENT AT A SYSTEM 20 
INSTITUTION, MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, OR ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF 21 
MARYLAND WHO IS A TEA CHING, ADMINISTRATIVE , OR RESEARCH ASSISTAN T, OR IN 22 
A COMPARABLE POSITIO N, OR A FELLOW, OR A POSTDOCTORAL IN TERN. 23 
 
 (I) “POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIAT E” MEANS AN EMPLOYEE –TRAINEE AT A 24 
SYSTEM INSTITUTION, MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, OR ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF 25  4 	HOUSE BILL 211  
 
 
MARYLAND WHO IS A DOC TORAL DEGREE HOLDER WHOSE ASSIGNMENTS AR E 1 
PRIMARILY RESEARCH O R A COMPARABLE POSIT ION. 2 
 
 [(h)] (J) (I) “President” means: 3 
 
 (1) with regard to a constituent institution, as defined in § 12–101 of the 4 
Education Article, the president of the constituent institution; 5 
 
 (2) with regard to a center or institute, as those terms are defined in §  6 
12–101 of the Education Article, the president of the center or institute; 7 
 
 (3) with regard to the University System of Maryland Office, the 8 
Chancellor of the University System of Maryland; and 9 
 
 (4) with regard to Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College of 10 
Maryland, and Baltimore City Community College, the president of the institution. 11 
 
 [(i)] (K) (J) “System institution” means: 12 
 
 (1) a constituent institution, as defined in § 12–101 of the Education 13 
Article; 14 
 
 (2) a center or institute, as those terms are defined in § 12–101 of the 15 
Education Article; and 16 
 
 (3) the University System of Maryland Office. 17 
 
3–102. 18 
 
 (b) This title does not apply to: 19 
 
 (9) an employee of the University System of Maryland, Morgan State 20 
University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, or Baltimore City Community College who is: 21 
 
 (i) a chief administrator or in a comparable position; 22 
 
 (ii) a deputy, associate, or assistant administrator or in a 23 
comparable position; 24 
 
 (iii) a member of the faculty, including a faculty librarian; 25 
 
 (iv) [a] AN UNDERGRADUATE student employee[, including a 26 
teaching assistant or a comparable position, fellow, or post doctoral intern]; 27 
 
 (v) a contingent, contractual, temporary, or emergency employee, 28 
EXCEPT FOR A GRADUAT E ASSISTANT OR A POSTDOCTORAL AS SOCIATE; 29   	HOUSE BILL 211 	5 
 
 
 
 (vi) a contingent, contractual, or temporary employee whose position 1 
is funded through a research or service grant or contract, or through clinical revenues, 2 
EXCEPT FOR A GRADUAT E ASSISTANT OR A POSTDOCTORAL AS SOCIATE; or 3 
 
 (vii) an employee whose regular place of employment is outside the 4 
State of Maryland; 5 
 
 (d) (2) (i) Each system institution, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s 6 
College of Maryland, and Baltimore City Community College shall have separate 7 
bargaining units. 8 
 
 (ii) Appropriate bargaining units shall consist of: 9 
 
 1. all eligible nonexempt employees, as described in the 10 
federal Fair Labor Standards Act, except eligible sworn police officers; 11 
 
 2. all eligible exempt employees, as described in the federal 12 
Fair Labor Standards Act; [and] 13 
 
 3. all eligible sworn police officers; AND 14 
 
 4. ALL ELIGIBLE GRADUAT E ASSISTANTS; AND 15 
 
 5. ALL ELIGIBLE POSTDOC TORAL ASSOCIATES . 16 
 
 SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 17 
1, 2025.  18 
 
 
 
 
Approved: 
________________________________________________________________________________  
 Governor. 
________________________________________________________________________________  
  Speaker of the House of Delegates. 
________________________________________________________________________________  
         President of the Senate.