Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB355 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0355
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 355
8	8	K3 5lr2607
9	9
10	10	By: Senator Hershey
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 16, 2025
12	12	Assigned to: Finance
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program – Delay of Implementation 2
19	19
20	20	FOR the purpose of altering the dates on which the payment of contributions and the 3
21	21	submission of claims for benefits are to begin under the Family and Medical Leave 4
22	22	Insurance Program; and generally relating to the Family and Medical Leave 5
23	23	Insurance Program. 6
24	24
25	25	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 7
26	26	Article – Labor and Employment 8
27	27	Section 8.3–601(a)(1), (b), (c)(1), and (d), 8.3–701(a)(1), and 8.3–703(b)(3) and (4) and 9
28	28	(e)(2) 10
29	29	Annotated Code of Maryland 11
30	30	(2016 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 12
31	31
32	32	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 13
33	33	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 14
34	34
35	35	Article – Labor and Employment 15
36	36
37	37	8.3–601. 16
38	38
39	39	(a) (1) Beginning July 1, [2025] 2027, each employee of an employer, each 17
40	40	employer with 15 or more employees, and each self–employed individual participating in 18
41	41	the Program shall contribute to the Fund. 19
42	42
43	43	(b) (1) Subject to subsection (a)(2) of this section, on or before February 1, 20
44	44	[2025] 2027, the Secretary shall set the total rate of contribution based on available cost 21
45	45	analyses of the Program. 22
46	46	2 SENATE BILL 355
47	47
48	48
49	49	(2) The rate set under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be in effect for 1
50	50	the period from July 1, [2025] 2027, to June 30, [2026] 2028, both inclusive. 2
51	51
52	52	(c) (1) On or before November 15 each year, beginning in [2026] 2028, the 3
53	53	Secretary shall conduct a cost analysis of the Program that is focused on the cost of 4
54	54	maintaining solvency and paying benefits to covered individuals that will be used to 5
55	55	determine the appropriate total rate of contribution to the Fund. 6
56	56
57	57	(d) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection and subsection (a)(2) of this 7
58	58	section, on or before February 1 each year, beginning in [2026] 2028, the Secretary shall 8
59	59	set the total rate of contribution that will be in effect for the 12–month period beginning on 9
60	60	the immediately following July 1. 10
61	61
62	62	(2) The rate set under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be based on 11
63	63	the cost analysis required under subsection (c) of this section. 12
64	64
65	65	8.3–701. 13
66	66
67	67	(a) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, beginning July 1, [2026] 14
68	68	2028, a covered individual taking leave from employment may submit a claim for benefits: 15
69	69
70	70	(i) 1. to care for a newborn child of the covered individual during 16
71	71	the first year after the child’s birth; or 17
72	72
73	73	2. because a child is being placed for adoption, foster care, or 18
74	74	kinship care with the covered individual or to care for or bond with the child during the 19
75	75	first year after the placement; 20
76	76
77	77	(ii) to care for a family member with a serious health condition; 21
78	78
79	79	(iii) to attend to a serious health condition that results in the covered 22
80	80	individual being unable to perform the functions of the covered individual’s position; 23
81	81
82	82	(iv) to care for a service member with a serious health condition 24
83	83	resulting from military service for whom the covered individual is next of kin; or 25
84	84
85	85	(v) to attend to a qualifying exigency arising out of the deployment 26
86	86	of a service member who is a family member of the covered individual. 27
87	87
88	88	8.3–703. 28
89	89
90	90	(b) (3) The weekly benefit amount payable under paragraph (1) of this 29
91	91	subsection: 30
92	92
93	93	(i) shall be at least $50; and 31
94	94
95	95	(ii) may not exceed: 32 SENATE BILL 355 3
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99	1. for the 6–month period beginning July 1, [2026] 2028, 1
100	100	$1,000; and 2
101	101
102	102	2. for the 12–month period beginning January 1, [2027] 3
103	103	2029, and each subsequent 12–month period, the amount determined and announced by 4
104	104	the Secretary under paragraph (4) of this subsection. 5
105	105
106	106	(4) (i) In this paragraph, “Consumer Price Index” means the Consumer 6
107	107	Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Washington –Arlington–Alexandria, 7
108	108	DC–VA–MD–WV metropolitan area or a successor index published by the federal Bureau 8
109	109	of Labor Statistics. 9
110	110
111	111	(ii) Subject to subsection (e) of this section, for the 12–month period 10
112	112	beginning January 1, [2027] 2029, and each subsequent 12–month period, the maximum 11
113	113	weekly benefit amount shall be increased by the amount, rounded to the nearest cent, that 12
114	114	equals the product of: 13
115	115
116	116	1. the maximum weekly benefit amount in effect for the 14
117	117	immediately preceding 12–month period; and 15
118	118
119	119	2. the annual percentage growth in the Consumer Price 16
120	120	Index for the immediately preceding 12–month period, as determined by the Secretary 17
121	121	under subparagraph (iii)1 of this paragraph. 18
122	122
123	123	(iii) Beginning September 1, [2026] 2028, and on each subsequent 19
124	124	September 1, the Secretary shall determine and announce: 20
125	125
126	126	1. the annual percentage growth, if any, in the Consumer 21
127	127	Price Index based on the most recent 12–month period for which data are available on 22
128	128	September 1; and 23
129	129
130	130	2. the maximum weekly benefit amount effective for the 24
131	131	12–month period beginning the immediately following January 1. 25
132	132
133	133	(e) (2) Subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection, on or before September 1 26
134	134	each year, beginning in [2026] 2028, the Board shall determine whether the seasonally 27
135	135	adjusted total employment from the Current Employment Statistics series as reported by 28
136	136	the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the most recent 6–month period is negative as 29
137	137	compared with the immediately preceding 6–month period. 30
138	138
139	139	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 31
140	140	October 1, 2025. 32