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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0576*
HOUSE BILL 576
P1, P3 6lr1213
CF 6lr3027
By: Delegates Griffith, Adams, Arentz, Boyce, Buckel, Ciliberti, Fair, Ghrist,
Hartman, Hornberger, Hutchinson, Ivey, Jacobs, A. Johnson, S. Johnson,
Kipke, McComas, T. Morgan, Palakovich Carr, Phillips, Reilly, Rose, Ruff,
Stewart, and Tomlinson
Introduced and read first time: January 28, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
State Archives – Record Services – Fees 2
FOR the purpose o f authorizing the State Archiv es to establish certain fees relating to 3
certain records by regulation; and generally relating to fees established by the State 4
Archives. 5
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – State Government 7
Section 9–1007(c), 9–1009(d), 9–1011(c), and 9–1015(e) 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 10
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 11
Article – State Government 12
Section 9–1009(a), 9–1011(a), and 9–1015(a)(1) and (8) 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 Government 18
9–1007. 19
(c) (1) The State Archivist may establish BY REGULATION reasonable fees for 20
the care and preservation of records and other services provided by the Archives. 21
2 HOUSE BILL 576
(2) Fees may be in the form of: 1
(i) a percentage not to exceed 2% of an existing fee charged at the 2
time of the creation of a record in any form or format; or 3
(ii) a flat rate subscription charge for a publication of the Archives. 4
(3) Of the fees collected, 7% shall be deposited in the Archives Endowment 5
Account of the State Archives Fund established under § 9 –1013 of this subtitle as an 6
educational and entrepreneurial reserve. 7
9–1009. 8
(a) The Archives may: 9
(1) repair and preserve the records under the supervision of the State 10
Archivist, as provided in the State budget; 11
(2) make a copy of any record in the Archives; and 12
(3) certify the copy. 13
(d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Archives 14
may [charge] ESTABLISH BY REGULAT ION a reasonable fee for providing a copy of a 15
record and for certifying the record. 16
(2) If, with the written approval of a judge of a circuit court, the clerk of 17
court asks for a copy of a land record that a court has transferred to the Commission or 18
Archives, the Archives sha ll provide, without charge, a micrographic copy of the land 19
record. 20
9–1011. 21
(a) The Archives is the central depository for and custodian of each deed, title 22
insurance policy, and other record that relates to real property acquired by the State. 23
(c) (1) The Archives shall receive, index, and file durable –backed, microfilm 24
aperture card copies or electronic images of plats showing property or rights –of–way 25
acquired or conveyed by the State Roads Commission and the State Highway 26
Administration. 27
(2) (i) The Archives electronically shall post an image of each plat on 28
the Archives website (http://www.plats.net) for the county where the property or 29
right–of–way is located. 30
HOUSE BILL 576 3
(ii) The posted image shall conform to a generally accepted archival 1
standard in quality and permanence. 2
(iii) The image shall include or be linked to a certification by the State 3
Archivist that the image is an authentic representation of the plat received by the Archives. 4
(iv) Such certification by the State Archivist shall constitute a 5
recordation of the plat. 6
(v) The Archives may [charge] ESTABLISH BY REGULAT ION a 7
reasonable fee to the State Roads Commission, the State Highway Administration, and the 8
courts to recover the cost of electronically posting and maintaining the images of plats. 9
(vi) The Archives may [charge] ESTABLISH BY REGULAT ION a 10
reasonable fee, not to exceed $3, to the public for the cost of reproducing a copy of a plat 11
under this subsection. 12
9–1015. 13
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 14
(8) “Vital record” means a record of birth, death, marriage, absolu te 15
divorce, or marriage annulment required by law to be filed with the Department. 16
(e) The Archives may [charge] ESTABLISH BY REGULATION a reasonable fee to 17
cover the expense of copying vital records or indexes to a vital record, to make extracts from 18
restricted vital records or to undertake a search for vital records. 19
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 20
October 1, 2026. 21