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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
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*hb1352*
HOUSE BILL 1352
P2 6lr1433
HB 957/25 – HGO & ECM
By: Delegate Wilson Delegates Wilson, Fair, Kerr, Lehman, Ruth, Solomon,
Stewart, and Wells
Introduced and read first time: February 12, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 3, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
State Procurement – Worker Residency Requirements 2
FOR the purpose of requiring certain contractors to ensure that a certain percentage of 3
work hours on certain projects are performed by State residents; requiring the 4
Department of Labor to enforce certain worker residency require ments; providing 5
that a person may be debarred from entering into a contract with the State for a 6
certain period of time under certain circumstances; and generally relating to State 7
procurement and worker residency requirements. 8
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 9
Article – State Finance and Procurement 10
Section 16–203 and 17–602 11
Annotated Code of Maryland 12
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 13
BY adding to 14
Article – State Finance and Procurement 15
Section 17 –6B–01 through 17 –6B–06 to be under the new subtitle “Subtitle 6B. 16
Worker Residency Requirements” 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 19
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 20
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 21
2 HOUSE BILL 1352
Article – State Finance and Procurement 1
16–203. 2
(a) A person may be debarred from entering into a contract with the State if the 3
person, an officer, partner, controlling stockholder or principal of that person, or any other 4
person substantially involved in that person’s contracting activities has: 5
(1) been convicted under the laws of the State, another state or the United 6
States of: 7
(i) a criminal offense incident to obtaining, attempting to obtain, or 8
performing a public or private contract, except as provided in § 16–202 of this subtitle; or 9
(ii) fraud, embezzlement, theft, forgery, falsification or destruction 10
of records, or receiving stolen property; 11
(2) been convicted of a criminal violation of an antitrust statute of the 12
State, another state, or the United States; 13
(3) been convicted of a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt 14
Organization Act, or the Mail Fraud Act, for acts in connection with the submission of bids 15
or proposals for a public or private contract; 16
(4) been convicted of a violation of § 14–308 of this article; 17
(5) been convicted of conspiracy to commit any act or omission that would 18
constitute grounds for conviction under any of the laws or statutes described in items (1), 19
(2), (3), or (4) of this subsection; 20
(6) been convicted of a violation of § 7201, § 7203, § 7205, § 7206, or § 7207 21
of the Internal Revenue Code; 22
(7) been convicted of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, § 287, or § 371; 23
(8) been convicted of a violation of Title 13, Subtitle 7 or Subtitle 10 of the 24
Tax – General Article; 25
(9) been found to have willfully or knowingly violated Title 17, Subtitle 2 26
or Title 18 of this article if: 27
(i) 1. the finding was made by a court; and 28
2. the decision of the court became final; or 29
HOUSE BILL 1352 3
(ii) 1. the finding was made in a contested case under the 1
Administrative Procedure Act; and 2
2. the finding was not overturned on judicial review; 3
(10) been found to have willfully or knowingly violated Title 3, Subtitle 3, 4
Subtitle 4, or Subtitle 5 or Title 5 of the Labor and Employment Article if: 5
(i) 1. the finding was made by a court; and 6
2. the decision of the court became final; or 7
(ii) 1. the finding was made in a contested case under the 8
Administrative Procedure Act; and 9
2. the finding was not overturned on judicial review; 10
(11) been found civilly liable under an antitrust statute of the State, another 11
state, or the United States for acts or omissions in connection with the submission of bids 12
or proposals for a public or private contract; 13
(12) been found to have willfully or knowingly violated Title 20, Subtitle 6 14
of the State Government Article if: 15
(i) 1. the finding was made by a court; and 16
2. the decision of the court became final; or 17
(ii) 1. the finding was made in a contested case under the 18
Administrative Procedure Act; and 19
2. the finding was not overturned on judicial review; or 20
(13) been found in a final adjudicated decision to have violated the 21
Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy under Title 19 of this article with regard to a public 22
or private contract. 23
(b) A person may be debarred from entering into a contract with the State if, 24
during the course of an official investigation or other proceedings, the person, an officer, 25
partner, controlling stockholder or principal of that person, or any other person 26
substantially involved in that person’s contracting activities has admitted, in writing or 27
under oath, an act or omission that constitutes grounds for conviction or liability under any 28
law or statute described in subsection (a) of this section. 29
(c) A person may be debarred from entering into a contract with the State if the 30
person, an officer, partner, controlling stockholder or principal of that person, or any other 31
4 HOUSE BILL 1352
person substantially involved in that person’s contracting activities has been debarred from 1
federal contracts under: 2
(1) the Federal Acquisition Regulations, as provided in 48 C.F.R. Chapter 3
1; or 4
(2) federal Executive Order 11246, as amended due to discriminat ory 5
hiring practices in the State. 6
(d) A person may be debarred from entering into a contract with the State: 7
(1) if the Board finds that the person was established or operates in a 8
manner designed to evade the application of this title or to defeat the purpose of this title; 9
(2) if the person is a successor, assignee, subsidiary, or affiliate of a person 10
who is debarred or suspended; 11
(3) except as provided under item (4) of this subsection, for one of the 12
following violations of a contract provi sion if the Board believes it to be serious enough to 13
justify debarment: 14
(i) the deliberate failure, without good cause, to perform in 15
accordance with the specifications, or within the time limit, provided in a contract; or 16
(ii) within the preceding 5 years, the failure to perform or 17
unsatisfactory performance in accordance with the terms of one or more contracts, unless 18
the failure to perform or unsatisfactory performance was caused by acts beyond the control 19
of the person; 20
(4) for a period not exceeding 3 years if the person persistently fails to meet 21
contract goals in the absence of mitigating factors under the criteria established under § 22
14–305(c)(2) of this article; 23
(5) FOR A PERIOD NOT EXCEEDING 5 YEARS IF THE PERSON IS FOUND 24
TO HAVE VIOLATED THE RE QUIREMENTS OF § 17–6B–03 OF THIS ARTICLE FIVE 25
TIMES IN A 5–YEAR PERIOD; 26
[(5)] (6) if the person is a competing contractor, or any officer, employee, 27
representative, agent, or consultant of any competing contractor who violates § 13 –211 of 28
this article; or 29
[(6)] (7) for any other cause that the Board determines to be so serious as 30
to affect the integrity of the procurement process. 31
17–602. 32
(a) There is a State Apprenticeship Training Fund in the Department. 33
HOUSE BILL 1352 5
(b) The Fund consists of: 1
(1) payments made by contractors or subcontractors in accordance with 2
this subtitle and Subtitle 6A of this title; 3
(2) penalties collected as a result of violations of this subtitle and [Subtitle] 4
SUBTITLES 6A AND 6B of this title; and 5
(3) penalties collected as a result of violations of Title 14, Subtitle 8 of this 6
article. 7
(c) The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7 –302 of this 8
article. 9
(d) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the Comptroller shall 10
account for the Fund. 11
(e) The Secretary shall use money in the fund to: 12
(1) promote preapprenticeship programs and other workforce development 13
programs in the State’s public secondary schools and community colleges that assist 14
students in preparing for and entering apprenticeship training programs; and 15
(2) pay any costs associated with carrying out the provisions of this subtitle 16
and [Subtitle] SUBTITLES 6A AND 6B of this title or Title 14, Subtitle 8 of this article. 17
SUBTITLE 6B. WORKER RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS. 18
17–6B–01. 19
(A) IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 20
INDICATED. 21
(B) “APPRENTICESHIP HOUR ” MEANS 1 HOUR OF TIME SPENT I N AN 22
APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM AND MAY INCLUDE OBSERVATION, PERFORMING WORK, 23
OR WORK–RELATED DISCUSSION. 24
(C) “COVERED LARGE PROJECT ” MEANS A PUBLIC WORK CONTRACT 25
SUBJECT TO SUBTITLE 2 OF THIS TITLE THAT IS VALUED AT $5,000,000 OR MORE. 26
(D) “DEPARTMENT” MEANS THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 27
(E) “REGISTERED APPRENTICE SHIP PROGRAM ” MEANS AN 28
APPRENTICESHIP PROGR AM REGISTERED WITH T HE DIVISION OF WORKFORCE 29
DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT LEARNING WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. 30
6 HOUSE BILL 1352
(F) “SECRETARY” MEANS THE SECRETARY OF LABOR. 1
17–6B–02. 2
(A) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION , THIS 3
SUBTITLE APPLIES ONLY TO: 4
(1) CONTRACTORS AWARDED A STATE CONTRACT THAT IS A COVERED 5
LARGE PROJECT; AND 6
(2) COVERED LARGE PROJECTS LOCATED IN: 7
(I) ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY; 8
(II) BALTIMORE CITY; 9
(III) BALTIMORE COUNTY; 10
(IV) HOWARD COUNTY; 11
(V) MONTGOMERY COUNTY; AND 12
(VI) PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY. 13
(B) THIS SUBTITLE DOES NO T APPLY TO A STATE CONTRACT FOR WH ICH 14
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROVIDES MONEY. 15
17–6B–03. 16
(A) A CONTRACTOR THAT IS AWARDED A PROCUREMENT CONTRACT FOR A 17
COVERED LARGE PROJECT SHALL ENSURE THAT , FOR THE APPLICABLE P ROJECT, 18
AT LEAST 35% OF APPRENTICESHIP HOURS ARE PERFORMED BY STATE RESIDENTS. 19
(B) AS A CONDITION OF REC EIVING THE CONTRACT , A CONTRACTOR 20
SUBJECT TO THIS SUBTITLE SHALL PROVIDE TO THE UNIT AND THE DEPARTMENT A 21
STATEMENT ATTESTING THAT THE CONTRACTOR SHALL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS 22
OF THIS SECTION FOR THE APPLICABLE PROJECT. 23
17–6B–04. 24
(A) THE SECRETARY MAY ADOPT R EGULATIONS AUTHORIZI NG A 25
CONTRACTOR, AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FULFILLING THE REQUI REMENTS OF § 26
17–6B–03 OF THIS SUBTITLE, TO ELECT TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO: 27
HOUSE BILL 1352 7
(1) THE STATE APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING FUND ESTABLISHED 1
UNDER § 17–602 OF THIS TITLE; OR 2
(2) A REGISTERED APPRENT ICESHIP PROGRAM OPER ATING AND 3
TRAINING APPRENTICES IN THE STATE. 4
(B) THE DEPARTMENT IS RESPONS IBLE FOR ENFORCING T HE 5
REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBTITLE. 6
(C) WHEN DETERMINING COMPLIANCE WITH THIS SUB TITLE, APPLICABLE 7
PERCENTAGES ESTABLIS HED UNDER § 17–6B–03 OF THIS SUBTITLE SHA LL BE 8
CALCULATED BY ROUNDING TO THE NEAREST WHOLE NUMBER. 9
17–6B–05. 10
A CONTRACTOR THAT EXCE EDS THE REQUIREMENTS OF § 17–6B–03(A) OF 11
THIS SUBTITLE ON A C ONTRACT MAY APPLY TH E EXCESS APPRENTICESHIP HOURS 12
TO ANOTHER CONTRACT SUBJECT TO THIS SUBTITLE THAT IS ENTERED INTO BY THE 13
CONTRACTOR WITHIN 2 YEARS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST CONTRACT. 14
17–6B–06. 15
(A) A CONTRACTOR THAT FAIL S TO MEET THE REQUIR EMENTS OF THIS 16
SUBTITLE SHALL BE LI ABLE FOR AN AMOUNT E QUAL TO TWICE THE NU MBER OF 17
APPRENTICESHIP HOURS AT THE APPRENTICE RATE BY W HICH THE CONTRACTOR 18
FAILED TO MEET THE APPLICAB LE REQUIREMENT PAYMENT RATE SET UND ER § 19
17–605 OF THIS TITLE. 20
(B) PAYMENTS COLLECTED UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE PAID TO: 21
(1) THE STATE APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING FUND ESTABLISHED 22
UNDER § 17–602 OF THIS TITLE; OR 23
(2) A REGIS TERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM OPERATING AN D 24
TRAINING APPRENTICES IN THE STATE OR AN ORGANIZATION T HAT HAS 25
REGISTERED APPRENTIC ESHIP PROGRAMS LOCAT ED IN THE STATE, FOR THE 26
PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING THESE PROGRAMS. 27
(C) THE SECRETARY SHALL ADOPT REGULATIONS TO ESTABLISH 28
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE DURES FOR THE COLLEC TION AND DISTRIBUTIO N OF 29
PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SECTION. 30
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 31
October 1, 2026. 32