Maryland Military Department – Supervision of State Active Duty Personnel

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0301*

HOUSE BILL 301
P1 EMERGENCY BILL 6lr0282
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 128
By: Chair, Government, Labor, and Elections Committee (By Request –
Departmental – Military)
Requested: September 17, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: February 22, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Maryland Military Department – Supervision of State Active Duty Personnel 2

FOR the purpose of providing for command and control of State active duty personnel 3
during mobilizations of the Maryland National Guard; and generally relating to the 4
Maryland Military Department. 5

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – Public Safety 7
Section 13–702 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 10

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLA ND, 11
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 12

Article – Public Safety 13

13–702. 14

(a) This section applies to ALL UNITS OF the [Maryland Defense Force and the 15
National Guard] DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL GUARD, THE MARYLAND 16
DEFENSE FORCE, AND STATE OPERATIONS. 17

2 HOUSE BILL 301

(b) The Governor may order the militia into State active duty: 1

(1) in times of or on reasonable apprehension of imminent public crisis, 2
disaster, rioting, catastrophe, insurrection, invasion, tumult, or breach of peace; 3

(2) when martial law is declared; 4

(3) to enforce the laws; or 5

(4) to carry on any function of the militia of the State. 6

(c) (1) To enforce the laws, a member of the militia in State active duty has all 7
the authority of a peace or law enforcement officer. 8

(2) The authority of the member extends throughout the State during the 9
State active duty. 10

(D) DURING STATE ACTIVE DUTY , MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT ARE 11
UNDER THE OPERATIONAL COMMAND AND CONTROL OF THE ADJUTANT GENERAL, 12
OR ANY OFFICER OF TH E NATIONAL GUARD DESIGNATED BY T HE ADJUTANT 13
GENERAL, WHETHER THE ADJUTANT GENERAL OR DESIGNEE IS: 14

(1) IN STATE ACTIVE DUTY; OR 15

(2) IN A FEDERAL STATUS IN WHICH THE GOVERNOR IS THE 16
COMMANDER IN CHIEF. 17

[(d)] (E) Whenever the militia is in State active duty, the ranking officer of the 18
militia ordered into State active duty or that officer’s subordinates on State active duty 19
shall: 20

(1) cooperate with local law enforcement authorities; or 21

(2) if the exigencies of the case require and subject only to order from the 22
Governor: 23

(i) direct and control local law enforcement authorities and the 24
Department of State Police; and 25

(ii) assume all the powers vested in these subordinated law 26
enforcement authorities. 27

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 28
1, 2026. 29

HOUSE BILL 301 3

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 1
measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 2
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three –fifths of all the members elected to 3
each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 4
enacted. 5

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.