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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
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*hb0154*
HOUSE BILL 154
F1 6lr0670
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 99
By: Delegate Korman
Requested: August 1, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Ways and Means
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: February 19, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Open Meetings Act – County Boards of Education – Enhanced Requirements 2
(Local Boards of Education Transparency Act) 3
FOR the purpose of establishing enhanced requirements under the Open Meetings Act for 4
county boards of education and the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners; 5
and generally relating to the Open Meetings Act and county boards of education. 6
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 7
Article – Education 8
Section 4–107(b) and (c) 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 11
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Education 13
Section 4–107(d) 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 17
Article – General Provisions 18
Section 3–101(a) and (h)(1) and 3–105 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 21
2 HOUSE BILL 154
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 1
Article – General Provisions 2
Section 3–307 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 5
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND , 6
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 7
Article – Education 8
4–107. 9
(b) A county board may hold any other meetings that its duties and business 10
require. 11
(c) Except as provided in Title 3 of this article, each county board, at its annual 12
meeting, shall elect a president and a vice president from among its members by means of 13
an individually recorded vote. 14
(d) (1) (I) All final actions of a county board shall be taken at a public 15
meeting. 16
(II) The AGENDA, minutes of [the] A meeting, AND LIVE VIDEO 17
STREAMING OF EACH PO RTION OF A MEETING H ELD IN OPEN SESSION shall be 18
PUBLICLY available [to the public ] ON THE COUNTY BOARD ’S WEBSITE IN 19
ACCORDANCE WITH § 3–307 OF THE GENERAL PROVISIONS ARTICLE. 20
(2) A county board may meet and deliberate in execu tive session if the 21
matter under consideration is: 22
(i) Land and site acquisitions; or 23
(ii) Personnel and labor relations. 24
Article – General Provisions 25
3–101. 26
(a) In this title the following words have the meanings indicated. 27
(h) (1) “Public body” means an entity that: 28
(i) consists of at least two individuals; and 29
(ii) is created by: 30
HOUSE BILL 154 3
1. the Maryland Constitution; 1
2. a State statute; 2
3. a county or municipal charter; 3
4. a memorandum of understanding or a master agreement 4
to which a majority of the county boards of education and the State Department of 5
Education are signatories; 6
5. an ordinance; 7
6. a rule, resolution, or bylaw; 8
7. an executive order of the Governor; or 9
8. an executive order of the chief executive authority of a 10
political subdivision of the State. 11
3–105. 12
Whenever this title and another law that relates to meetings of public bodies conflict, 13
this title applies unless the other law is more stringent. 14
3–307. 15
(a) This section applies only to the following public bodies: 16
(1) the Board of Directors of the Bainbridge Development Corporation; 17
(2) the Canal Place Preservation and Development Authority; 18
(3) the Maryland 9–1–1 Board; 19
(4) the Board of Directors of the Maryla nd Agricultural and 20
Resource–Based Industry Corporation; 21
(5) the Board of Directors of the Maryland Clean Energy Center; 22
(6) the Board of Directors of the Maryland Economic Development 23
Corporation; 24
(7) the Board of Directors of the Maryland Environmental Service; 25
(8) the Maryland Food Center Authority; 26
4 HOUSE BILL 154
(9) the Maryland Health and Higher Educational Facilities Authority; 1
(10) the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority; 2
(11) the Maryland Stadium Authority; 3
(12) the Maryland Transportation Authority; 4
(13) the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority; 5
(14) the Public Service Commission; 6
(15) the State Board of Elections; 7
(16) the Maryland Technology Development Corporation; 8
(17) the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission; 9
(18) the State Ethics Commission; 10
(19) the Maryland Aviation Commission; [and] 11
(20) the Maryland Department of Transportation, with respect to quarterly 12
public meetings held by the Vision Zero coordinator on the implementation of Vision Zero 13
under § 8–1004 of the Transportation Article; AND 14
(21) A COUNTY BOARD OF ED UCATION AND THE BALTIMORE CITY 15
BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS. 16
(b) A public body specified in subsection (a) of this section shall make publicly 17
available on its website: 18
(1) each open meeting agenda, together with a summary of any finalized 19
documents, written testimony from the public, and other materials that the public body 20
will vote on at the open meeting: 21
(i) at least 48 hours in advance of each meeting; or 22
(ii) if the meeting is being held due to an emergency, a natural 23
disaster, or any other unanticipated situation, as far in advance of the meeting as 24
practicable; 25
(2) meeting minutes from the portions of a meeting that were held in open 26
session, not more than 2 business days after the minutes are approved; and 27
HOUSE BILL 154 5
(3) subject to subsections (f) , [and] (g), AND (I) of this section, live video 1
streaming of each portion of a meeting that is held in open session. 2
(c) To the extent practicable, each open meeting agenda shall indicate: 3
(1) whether the public body intends to adjourn the open session to a closed 4
session; and 5
(2) if applicable, the expected time at which the public body intends to 6
adjourn the open session to a closed session. 7
(d) (1) The public body shall approve meeting minutes in a timely manner. 8
(2) Each open meeting agenda shall include consideration of the meeting 9
minutes from the most recent meeting. 10
(3) The requirement under paragraph (2) of this subsection does not apply 11
to the agenda of an emergency meeting of a public body if consideration of the meeting 12
minutes from the most recent meeting is not practicable because of the need to hold an 13
emergency meeting. 14
(e) The public body shall maintain on its website: 15
(1) meeting minutes made available under subsection (b) of this section for 16
a minimum of 5 years after the date of the meeting; and 17
(2) except as provided in subsections (f), (g), (H), and [(g–1)] (I) of this 18
section, a complete and unedited archived vid eo recording of each open meeting for which 19
live video streaming was made available under subsection (b) of this section for a minimum 20
of 1 year after the date of the meeting. 21
(f) (1) This subsection applies only to the Maryland Stadium Authority. 22
(2) If the Maryland Stadium Authority meets by telephone conference, the 23
Authority shall: 24
(i) make publicly available on its website live audio streaming of 25
each portion of the meeting that is held in open session; and 26
(ii) maintain on its website a complete and unedited archived audio 27
recording of each meeting for which live audio streaming was made available for a 28
minimum of 1 year after the date of the meeting. 29
(g) (1) This subsection applies only to the Maryland Transportation Authority. 30
(2) The Maryland Transportation Authority is required to provide live 31
video streaming of a meeting only if the meeting is held at: 32
6 HOUSE BILL 154
(i) the headquarters of the Maryland Transportation Authority; or 1
(ii) a location where the Maryland Transportation Authority held at 2
least 10 meetings during the immediately preceding calendar year. 3
[(g–1)] (H) The Maryland Department of Transportation, with respect to quarterly 4
public meetings held by the Vision Zero coordinator on the implementation of Vision Zero 5
under § 8–1004 of the Transportation Article, shall maintain on its website a complete and 6
unedited archived video recording of the meeting for a minimum of 5 years after the date 7
of the meeting. 8
(I) (1) A COUNTY BOARD OF EDUC ATION AND THE BALTIMORE CITY 9
BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS SHALL P ROVIDE LIVE VIDEO ST REAMING OF 10
AN OPEN MEETING IF THE MEETING IS HELD AT: 11
(I) THE HEADQUARTERS OF A COUNTY BOARD OR TH E 12
BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS; OR 13
(II) A LOCATION WHERE A COUNTY BOARD OR THE BALTIMORE 14
CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS HELD AT LEAST FIVE MEETINGS DURING 15
THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING CALENDAR YEAR. 16
(2) (I) A COUNTY BOARD OF EDUC ATION AND THE BALTIMORE 17
CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS SHALL M AINTAIN ON ITS WEBSI TE A 18
COMPLETE AN D UNEDITED AN ARCHIVED VIDEO RECOR DING OF EACH OPEN 19
MEETING FOR WHICH LI VE VIDEO STREAMING W AS MADE AVAILABLE UN DER 20
SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION FOR A MINIMUM OF 5 YEARS AFTER THE DATE OF 21
THE MEETING. 22
(II) A COUNTY BOARD AND THE BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF 23
SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS MAY EDI T AN ARCHIVED VIDEO RECORDING THAT IS 24
REQUIRED TO BE MAINT AINED UNDER THIS SEC TION TO REMOVE CONTE NT FROM 25
THE RECORDING THAT INVOLVES: 26
1. A PORNOGRAPHIC OR OBSCENE EVENT; OR 27
2. AN INSTANCE WHEN A S TUDENT’S PRIVACY I S 28
VIOLATED. 29
(III) IF A COUNTY BOARD OR THE BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF 30
SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS EDITS A RECORDING UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS 31
PARAGRAPH, THE COUNTY BOARD OR THE BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL 32
COMMISSIONERS SHALL NOTIFY THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW COMPLIANCE BOARD. 33
HOUSE BILL 154 7
(3) A COUNTY BOARD OR THE BALTIMORE CITY BOARD OF SCHOOL 1
COMMISSIONERS MAY USE A THIRD –PARTY PROVIDER TO VI EW AND STORE 2
RECORDED VIDEO FOOTAGE. 3
[(h)] (J) The Department of Information Technology shall provide the technical 4
staff, support, and equipment necessary to livestream the open meetings of: 5
(1) the Maryland Transportation Authority; 6
(2) the State Board of Elections; and 7
(3) the State Ethics Commission. 8
[(i)] (K) For purposes of this title, a project site visit or educational field tour 9
may not be considered a meeting of a public body listed under subsection (a) of this section 10
if no organizational business is conducted. 11
[(j)] (L) Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent a public body from 12
altering the agenda of a meeting after the agenda has been made available to the public. 13
[(k)] (M) The requirements of this section are in addition to the other 14
requirements of this subtitle. 15
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 16
1, 2026. 17
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.