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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0268*
HOUSE BILL 268
S1 6lr0268
(PRE–FILED) CF 6lr0267
By: Chair, Government, Labor, and Elections Committee (By Request –
Departmental – Information Technology)
Requested: September 17, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Information Technology – Establishment of the Office of Enterprise Data and 2
State Chief Data Officer and Collaboration With Agency Data Officers 3
FOR the purpose of establishing the position and responsibilities of the State Chief Data 4
Officer; establishing the Office of Enterprise Data in the Department of Information 5
Technology and the re sponsibilities of the Office; requiring certain units of State 6
government and authorizing certain units of State government to appoint an Agency 7
Data Officer and establishing the responsibilities of Agency Data Officers; and 8
generally relating to ensuring the efficient, secure, and ethical use of data in support 9
of State goals and initiatives. 10
BY adding to 11
Article – State Finance and Procurement 12
Section 3.5–319 13
Annotated Code of Maryland 14
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 15
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 16
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 17
Article – State Finance and Procurement 18
3.5–319. 19
(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 20
INDICATED. 21
(2) “DATA” MEANS STATISTICAL OR FACTUAL INFORMATION THAT: 22
2 HOUSE BILL 268
(I) IS IN ALPHANUMERIC OR GEOSPATIAL FORM REFLECTED IN 1
A LIST, A TABLE, A GRAPH, A CHART, A MAP, OR ANY OTHER NONNARRATIVE FORMAT 2
THAT CAN BE DIGITALLY TRANSMITTED OR PROCESSED; 3
(II) IS REGULARLY CREATED OR MAINTAINED BY OR ON BEHALF 4
OF A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY; AND 5
(III) RECORDS A MEASUREMEN T, TRANSACTION, OR 6
DETERMINATION OR PRO VIDES INFORMATION ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES , 7
INITIATIVES, AND RESOURCES RELATED TO THE MISSION OF THE GOVERNMENTAL 8
ENTITY. 9
(3) “DATA GOVERNANCE ” MEANS THE AUTHORITY AND 10
DECISION–MAKING PARAMETERS ES TABLISHED FOR DATA M ANAGEMENT, 11
LITERACY, AND USE THROUGHOUT I TS LIFE CYCLE TO ENS URE THAT THE STATE’S 12
DATA ASSETS ARE ACCU RATE, CONSISTENT, SECURE, AND ACCESSIBLE WHILE 13
MANAGING PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY RISKS, INCLUDING CREATING POLICIES 14
AND PROCEDURES FOR D ATA OWNERSHIP , ACCESS CONTROLS , SECURITY, 15
INTEGRITY, TRAINING, AND COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNA L 16
REGULATIONS. 17
(4) “DATA LIFE CYCLE” MEANS THE FULL LIFE SPAN OF A DATA ASSET 18
FROM CREATION , COLLECTION, AND STORAGE THROUGH USE, SHARING, 19
ARCHIVING, AND DELETION , CONSISTENT WITH NIST–COMPLIANT STANDARDS 20
ESTABLISHED BY THE OFFICE. 21
(5) “DATA LITERACY ” MEANS THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND, 22
INTERPRET, CRITICALLY EVALUATE , AND EFFECT IVELY COMMUNICATE DA TA TO 23
INFORM DECISIONS AND DRIVE ACTION. 24
(6) “DATA MANAGEMENT ” MEANS PRACTICES , PROCESSES, 25
POLICIES, AND TOOLS USED TO CO LLECT, STORE, ORGANIZE, SECURE, MAINTAIN, 26
AND UTILIZE DATA EFFECTIVELY THROUGHOUT ITS ENTIRE LIFE CYCLE. 27
(7) “DATA QUALITY ” MEANS HOW WELL DATA MEETS DEFINED 28
STANDARDS, INCLUDING ACCURACY , RELIABILITY, CONSISTENCY, TIMELINESS, 29
VALIDITY, AND UNIQUENESS. 30
(8) “DATA READINESS ” MEANS DATA ’S FITNESS FOR USE WI TH 31
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIE S SUCH AS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND QUANTUM 32
COMPUTING. 33
HOUSE BILL 268 3
(9) “DATA SHARING ” MEANS MAKING DATA AC CESSIBLE TO OTHER 1
USERS, SYSTEMS, OR ORGANIZATIONS UND ER PRINCIPLES OF SEC URITY, 2
GOVERNANCE, AND PURPOSE. 3
(10) “DATA TRAINING” MEANS EDUCATING STATE EMPLOYEES ABOUT 4
HOW TO USE, MANAGE, AND INTERPRET DATA. 5
(11) “OFFICE” MEANS THE OFFICE OF ENTERPRISE DATA. 6
(B) (1) THERE IS A STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER IN THE DEPARTMENT. 7
(2) THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER SHALL BE APPO INTED AND 8
SUPERVISED BY THE SECRETARY. 9
(3) THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER 10
INCLUDE: 11
(I) ESTABLISHING, COORDINATING, AND IMPLEMENTING THE 12
STATEWIDE DATA STRATEGY AND POLICIES FOR UNITS OF STATE GOVERNMENT; 13
(II) ENSURING RESPONSIBLE GOVERNANCE, USE, AND 14
MANAGEMENT OF STATE DATA; 15
(III) PROVIDING ADVICE , RECOMMENDATIONS, AND 16
CONSULTATIONS TO THE SECRETARY AND ANY UNI T OF STATE GOVERNMENT 17
CONCERNING DATA POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND STANDARDS; 18
(IV) PUBLISHING AN ANNUAL STATE DATA STRATEGIC PLAN; 19
(V) DEVELOPING GUIDELINE S FOR RESPONS IBLE AND 20
EQUITABLE USE OF DAT A WITH CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIE S, 21
INCLUDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSPARENCY, 22
RISK MANAGEMENT, DATA MINIMIZATION, AND BIAS MITIGATION; AND 23
(VI) AT LEAST QUARTERLY, CONVENING AN ENTERPRISE DATA 24
COUNCIL CONSISTING OF THE AGENCY DATA OFFICERS APPOINTED UN DER 25
SUBSECTION (E) OR (F) OF THIS SECTION TO C OORDINATE STATEWIDE DATA 26
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES. 27
(C) (1) THERE IS AN OFFICE OF ENTERPRISE DATA IN THE 28
DEPARTMENT. 29
(2) THE HEAD OF THE OFFICE IS THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER. 30
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(3) THE OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR: 1
(I) ESTABLISHING AND OVE RSEEING STATEWIDE DA TA 2
LITERACY AND GOVERNA NCE PROGRAMS , INCLUDING STATEWIDE POLICIES, 3
FRAMEWORKS, AND STANDARDS FOR DA TA MANAGEMENT , READINESS, AND 4
LITERACY, AND SHARING OF STATE DATA; 5
(II) COMPILING AN AUTHORI TATIVE INVENTORY OF STATE 6
DATA; 7
(III) DEVELOPING STANDARDI ZED MECHANISMS FOR 8
COORDINATION BETWEEN STATE AGENCIES , INCLUDING DATA STAND ARDS, 9
INTEROPERABILITY GUIDELINES, AND INTERAGENCY DATA REQUEST WORKFLOWS; 10
(IV) ESTABLISHING PRIVACY –PRESERVING TECHNICAL 11
STANDARDS FOR METADA TA MANAGEMENT AND DA TA DE –IDENTIFICATION, 12
INCLUDING RISK–BASED AND RE–IDENTIFICATION PROTECTIONS; AND 13
(V) SUPPORTING AND OVERS EEING TRAINING REQUIREMENTS 14
FOR AGENCY DATA OFFICERS, INCLUDING ANNUAL CER TIFICATION AND 15
RECERTIFICATION. 16
(D) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PROV IDE THE OFFICE WITH SUFFICIEN T 17
STAFF TO PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS REQUIRED UNDER THIS SECTION. 18
(E) (1) EACH PRINCIPAL DEPARTMENT LISTED IN § 8–201 OF THE STATE 19
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE SHALL APPOINT AN AGENCY DATA OFFICER. 20
(2) EACH AGENCY DATA OFFICER SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR: 21
(I) COLLABORATING WITH THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER; 22
AND 23
(II) WITH RESPECT TO THEIR UNIT OF STATE GOVERNMENT: 24
1. DEVELOPING POLICIES THAT GOVERN THE USE , 25
MANAGEMENT, AND SHARING OF THE UNIT’S DATA; 26
2. OVERSEEING DATA QUALITY; 27
3. FACILITATING DATA SHARING; 28
HOUSE BILL 268 5
4. SUPPORTING DATA LITERACY AND TRAINING; 1
5. IMPLEMENTING DATA PR IVACY AND RISK 2
MANAGEMENT; 3
6. LIMITING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION 4
COLLECTION; 5
7. REPORTING DATA–RELATED ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING 6
COMPLIANCE WITH STATEWIDE DATA STRATEGY AND POLICIES; 7
8. MAKING REQUESTED DATA AVAILABLE TO THE STATE 8
CHIEF DATA OFFICER; 9
9. SUBMITTING AN ANNUAL INVENTORY OF DATA SE TS 10
TO THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER AND IDENTIFYI NG WHICH DATA SETS A RE 11
PUBLISHABLE CONSISTENT WITH § 3.5–318 OF THIS SUBTITLE; 12
10. FILING AND UPDATING AN ANNUAL OPEN DATA PLAN 13
WITH THE OFFICE S PECIFYING PUBLICATION PRIORITIES , TIMELINES, FORMATS, 14
AND DATA QUALITY EXPECTATIONS CONSISTENT WITH STATEWIDE STANDARDS AND 15
THE TECHNICAL STANDARDS MANUAL; 16
11. SHARING INFORMATION WITH OTHER STATE 17
ENTITIES TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW TO IMPROVE SERVICES AND 18
REDUCE DUPLICATIVE C OLLECTION, SUBJECT TO SECURITY , PRIVACY, AND 19
CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY THE OFFICE; AND 20
12. PARTICIPATING IN THE COUNCIL ON OPEN DATA 21
ESTABLISHED UNDER § 10–1503 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE. 22
(3) EACH AGENCY DATA OFFICER SHALL COMPLY WITH DIRECTIONS 23
FROM THE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER AS TO THE USE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE 24
UNIT’S DATA. 25
(F) A UNIT OF STATE GOVERNMENT THAT IS NOT A PRINCIPAL 26
DEPARTMENT LISTED IN § 8–201 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT ARTICLE MAY: 27
(1) APPOINT AN AGENCY DATA OFFICER FOR THE PURPO SE OF 28
COLLABORATING WITH T HE STATE CHIEF DATA OFFICER ON THE DEVELO PMENT 29
OF POLICIES THAT GOVERN THE USE, MANAGEMENT, AND SHARING OF STATE DATA; 30
AND 31
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(2) DESIGNATE THE AGENCY DATA OFFICER AS A MEMBER OF THE 1
ENTERPRISE DATA COUNCIL CONVENED UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION. 2
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 3
1, 2026. 4