Hundreds of new Maryland laws will be enacted on July 1. Here's a glance of what's to come.
BALTIMORE - The beginning of July will make way for hundreds of new Maryland laws to take effect. Here's a glance at what's to come July 1.
ALCOHOL DELIVERY
Alcohol delivery will expand in the state. Delivery drivers will be able to apply for a service permit, which will allow for the delivery of alcoholic beverages from an authorized business. There will be an annual $1,000 fee for the permit.
Chuma Chiza, a liquor store owner in Baltimore City, said this legislation will help expand opportunities for small businesses.
"That's an extra income," Chuma Chiza. "It helps us reach farther than our own community."
TICKET SALES AND RE-SALES
The law puts umbrella protections in place for consumers who are in the market to purchase tickets. The legislation bans speculative tickets. The seller must disclose information about the ticket. This includes the total price with fees and taxes.
"What we want to do by this is taking out the deception, taking out this huge profit, taking out this manipulated market and create this fair environment for purchasing tickets," Maryland State Senator Dawn Gile said earlier this year.
CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT
The Maryland Clean Indoor Air Act was amended in 2024 that prohibits vaping in virtually all indoor public spaces and workplaces. The Act, first signed into law in 2007, was updated to "persevere and improve the health, comfort, and environment of the people of Maryland by limiting the exposure to environmental smoke," according to the Maryland Department of Health.
"You aren't allowed to smoke cigarettes in most places," Baltimore resident Joshua Smith said. "Why would vaping be any different?"
The Act prohibits people from smoking and vaping in public meeting places, mass transportation and indoor places of employment.
PAVA LAPERE ACT
The Pava Marie LaPere Act prevents those convicted of first-degree rape and most violent sex crimes from earning early release diminution credits for good behavior.
LaPere, a rising tech CEO in Baltimore where she founded EcoMap Technologies, was brutally murdered at her Mount Vernon apartment building in September 2023.
"We're just happy that other families can be protected," Frank LaPere said. "We can't bring her back, but we know that through this legislation, other families will not go through the grief we've had to go through."
Jason Billingsley is in prison, charged with LaPere's killing, as well as a sexual assault and arson at a nearby complex.
Billingsley is a convicted felon and registered sex offender who was released in 2022 on parole. He pleaded guilty to sexual assault in 2015 and was sentenced to 30 years, with all but 14 suspended. He only served seven, though, being released in October 2022 because he earned enough diminution credits.
LaPere's murder called for change.
NEW VEHICLE FEES
Maryland drivers will have to pay about 60 percent more to register their vehicle. For a typical passenger car, drivers will have to pay $110 per year for their Maryland plates. Currently, Marylanders pay $135 to register their vehicles for two years.
