EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0740*
HOUSE BILL 740
G1 5lr2924
HB 872/24 – W&M
By: Delegates Kaiser, Guyton, McComas, Palakovich Carr, Pena–Melnyk, Ruth,
Schindler, Taveras, Terrasa, Tomlinson, and Turner
Introduced and read first time: January 27, 2025
Assigned to: Ways and Means
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Election Law – Campaign Materials – Disclosure of Use of Synthetic Media 2
FOR the purpose of requiring certain persons that publish, distribute, or disseminate, or 3
cause to be published, distributed, or disseminated, to another person in the State 4
certain campaign materials that use or contain synthetic media to include a certain 5
disclosure in a certain manner; and generally relating to disclosure of the use of 6
synthetic media in campaign materials. 7
BY adding to 8
Article – Election Law 9
Section 13–401.2 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Election Law 14
Section 13–602 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 17
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 18
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 19
Article – Election Law 20
13–401.2. 21
(A) IN THIS SECTION , “SYNTHETIC MEDIA ” MEANS AN IMAGE , AN AUDIO 22
RECORDING, OR A VIDEO RECORDING THAT HAS BEEN INTENT IONALLY 23 2 HOUSE BILL 740
MANIPULATED WITH THE USE OF GENERATIVE AR TIFICIAL INTELLIGENC E OR 1
OTHER DIGITAL TECHNO LOGY TO CREATE A REA LISTIC BUT FALSE IMA GE, AUDIO 2
RECORDING, OR VIDEO RECORDING T HAT: 3
(1) DEPICTS A REAL INDIV IDUAL, THE INDIVIDUAL ’S SPEECH, OR THE 4
INDIVIDUAL’S CONDUCT; OR 5
(2) PRODUCES A FUNDAMENT ALLY DIFFERENT UNDER STANDING OR 6
IMPRESSION OF AN IND IVIDUAL’S APPEARANCE , SPEECH, OR CONDUCT THAN A 7
REASONABLE INDIVIDUA L WOULD HAVE FROM TH E UNALTERED , ORIGINAL VERSION 8
OF THE IMAGE, AUDIO RECORDING , OR VIDEO RECORDING . 9
(B) THIS SECTION APPLIES TO A CANDIDATE, A CAMPAIGN FINANCE E NTITY, 10
A PERSON REQUIRED TO REGISTER UNDER § 13–306, § 13–307, OR § 13–309.2 OF 11
THIS TITLE, OR AN AGENT OF A CAN DIDATE, CAMPAIGN FINANCE ENT ITY, OR PERSON 12
REQUIRED TO REGISTER UNDER § 13–306, § 13–307, OR § 13–309.2 OF THIS TITLE. 13
(C) IN ADDITION TO THE RE QUIREMENTS UNDER §§ 13–401 AND 13–403 OF 14
THIS SUBTITLE , A PERSON SUBJECT TO THIS SECT ION THAT PUBLISHES , 15
DISTRIBUTES, OR DISSEMINATES , OR CAUSES TO BE PUBL ISHED, DISTRIBUTED, OR 16
DISSEMINATED , TO A PERSON IN THE STATE CAMPAIGN MATERI AL THAT IS 17
PRODUCED USING OR CO NTAINS SYNTHETIC MED IA SHALL INCLUDE THE 18
DISCLOSURE REQUIR ED UNDER SUBSECTION (D) OF THIS SECTION. 19
(D) (1) (I) FOR A STILL IMAGE, THE DISCLOSURE SHALL INCLUDE THE 20
STATEMENT “THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN A LTERED OR MODIFIED T HROUGH THE USE OF 21
COMPUTER PROGRAMS TO DISPLAY AN EVENT OR IMAGE THAT DID NOT O CCUR.”. 22
(II) THE STATEMENT REQUIRE D UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF 23
THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE WRITTEN IN A TYPE SIZE THAT IS: 24
1. EASILY READABLE BY T HE AVERAGE VIEWER ; AND 25
2. NOT SMALLER THAN THE LARGEST TYPE SIZE OF 26
OTHER TEXT APPEARING ON THE STILL IMAGE . 27
(2) (I) FOR MEDIA THAT IS ONL Y AN AUDIO RECORDING , THE 28
DISCLOSURE SHALL INC LUDE THE STATEMENT “THIS AUDIO HAS BEEN A LTERED OR 29
MODIFIED THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTER PROG RAMS TO DISPLAY A SO UND THAT 30
DID NOT OCCUR .”. 31
(II) THE STATEMENT REQUIRE D UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF 32
THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE READ: 33 HOUSE BILL 740 3
1. IN A CLEARLY SPOKEN MANNER AT A PITCH AN D 1
SPEED THAT CAN EASIL Y BE HEARD BY THE AV ERAGE LISTENER ; AND 2
2. A. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE AUDIO RECORDING ; 3
B. AT THE END OF THE AU DIO RECORDING ; AND 4
C. FOR AUDIO RECORDINGS OF 2 MINUTES DURATION OR 5
LONGER, INTERSPERSED THROUGH OUT AT INTERVALS OF NOT MORE THAN 2 6
MINUTES. 7
(3) (I) FOR A VIDEO RECORDING , THE DISCLOSURE SHALL 8
INCLUDE THE STATEMEN T “THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN A LTERED OR MODIFIED 9
THROUGH THE USE OF C OMPUTER PROGRAMS TO DISPLAY AN EVENT , A SOUND, OR 10
AN IMAGE THAT DID NO T OCCUR.”. 11
(II) THE STATEMENT REQUIRE D UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF 12
THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL BE WRITTEN IN: 13
1. TEXT THAT REMAINS VI SIBLE TO THE VIEWER FOR 14
THE DURATION OF THE VIDEO RECORDING; AND 15
2. A TYPE SIZE THAT IS EASILY READABLE TO T HE 16
AVERAGE VIEWER AND P LACED IN A CONSPICUO US LOCATION IN THE F RAME OF THE 17
VIDEO. 18
13–602. 19
(a) (1) A person may not directly or indirectly give, offer, or promise money, 20
aid, a gift, an advantage, a preferment, an emolument, or any other valuable thing to 21
another person for the purpose of inducing or procuring that person to vote or refrain from 22
voting for or against: 23
(i) an individual, question, or measure at an election or political 24
convention; or 25
(ii) the election of an officer by the General Assembly. 26
(2) A person may not directly or indirectly receive, accept, request, or solicit 27
money, aid, a gift, an advantage, a preferment, an emolument, or any other valuable thing 28
from another person for the purpose of inducing or procuring a third person to vote or 29
refrain from voting for or against an individual, question, or measure at an election or 30
political convention. 31
4 HOUSE BILL 740
(3) A person may not vote or refrain from voting for or against an 1
individual, question, or measure at an election or a political convention, in consideration of 2
money, aid, a gift, an advantage, a preferment, an emolument, or any other valuable thing 3
paid, received, accepted, or promised to the advantage of that person or of another person. 4
(4) (i) A person, to defray the costs of a campaign finance entity, may 5
not directly or indirectly pay, give, or promise money or any other valuable thing to any 6
person other than a campaign finance entity. 7
(ii) Subparagraph (i) of this paragraph does not apply to: 8
1. dues regularly paid for membership in a political club if all 9
of the money that is spent by that political club in connection with any campaign finance 10
activity is paid through a treasurer as provided in this title; 11
2. an individual volunteering the individual’s time or 12
personal vehicle in accordance with § 13–232 of this title; 13
3. an employer’s accumulation of employee contributions in 14
accordance with § 13–242 of this title; or 15
4. advertising costs or other expenses incident to the 16
expression of personal views in accordance with § 13–102 of this title. 17
(5) A person may not directly or indirectly pay or promise to pay a 18
campaign finance entity in a name other than the person’s name. 19
(6) A responsible officer of a campaign finance entity may not knowingly 20
receive a payment or promise of payment and enter it or cause it to be entered in an account 21
book in a name that the responsible officer knows is not the name of the person that made 22
the payment or the promise to pay. 23
(7) An employer who pays employees in envelopes may not mark on or 24
enclose in the envelopes a political motto, device, or argument that contains express or 25
implied threats intended to influence the political opinions or actions of those employees. 26
(8) During the 90 days before an election, an employer may not exhibit in 27
the employer’s workplace: 28
(i) a threat, a notice, or information that, on the election or defeat 29
of a particular ticket or candidate: 30
1. work will cease, wholly or partly; 31
2. the workplace will close; or 32
3. employees’ wages will be reduced; or 33 HOUSE BILL 740 5
(ii) any other threat, expressed or implied, intended to influence the 1
political opinions or actions of the employer’s employees. 2
(9) A person may not: 3
(i) publish or distribute, or cause to be published or distributed, 4
campaign material that violates § 13–401 of this title; [or] 5
(ii) publish, distribute, or disseminate, or cause to be published, 6
distributed, or disseminated, campaign material that violates § 13–401.1 of this title; OR 7
(III) PUBLISH, DISTRIBUTE, OR DISSEMINATE , OR CAUSE TO BE 8
PUBLISHED, DISTRIBUTED, OR DISSEMINATED , CAMPAIGN MATERIAL TH AT 9
VIOLATES § 13–401.2 OF THIS TITLE. 10
(10) A candidate may not make a payment, contribution, or expenditure, or 11
incur a liability to pay, contribute, or expend, from the candidate’s personal funds any 12
money or valuable thing in a manner not authorized by § 13–230 of this title. 13
(11) An individual may not sign the name of any other individual on any 14
form or other document under this title, without the authority of the individual whose name 15
is signed. 16
(b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction 17
is: 18
(1) subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 1 19
year or both; and 20
(2) ineligible to hold any public or party office for 4 years after the date of 21
the offense. 22
(c) (1) The State Prosecutor may prosecute, in any jurisdiction of the State, a 23
person that the State Prosecutor believes to be guilty of a willful violation of this section. 24
(2) A State’s Attorney may prosecute a person that the State’s Attorney 25
believes to be guilty of a willful violation of this section in the county in which the State’s 26
Attorney serves. 27
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 28
October 1, 2025. 29