SB0035 • 2026

State Designations and Commemorative Days - State Shark, State Natural Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Senator Jackson
Last action: 2026-05-12
Official status: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 505
Effective date: 2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide details on how Purple Lights Night will be observed or funded, nor does it specify penalties for non-compliance.

State Shark, Natural Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night

This law designates the megalodon as Maryland's state shark, The Natural History Society of Maryland as the state natural sciences museum, and requires the Governor to annually proclaim October 1st as Purple Lights Night to honor victims and survivors of domestic violence.

What This Bill Does

Designates the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) as the official State shark of Maryland.
Names The Natural History Society of Maryland as the official State natural sciences museum.
Requires the Governor to annually proclaim October 1st as Purple Lights Night to honor individuals in the state who are victims or survivors of domestic violence.

Who It Names or Affects

The people of Maryland, especially those interested in state symbols and those affected by domestic violence.

Terms To Know

Megalodon: A prehistoric shark species that lived millions of years ago.
Natural History Society of Maryland: An organization dedicated to the study and preservation of natural history in Maryland.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how Purple Lights Night will be observed or funded.
It is unclear if there are any penalties for failing to comply with the proclamation requirements.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

403925/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 403925/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL 35 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL 35 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
1 On page 1, in line 2, strike “ Science” and substitute “ Sciences”; in the same line, before the second “ Natural” insert “ The”; in line 4, strike the second “the” and substitute “ The”; and in line 5, in each instance, strike “science” and substitute “sciences”.
AMENDMENT NO.
2 On page 2, in line 2, strike “SCIENCE” and substitute “SCIENCES”.

763121/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 763121/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL 35 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL 35 (Third Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
1 On page 1, strike in their entirety lines 2 and 3 and substitute “ State Designations and Commemorative Days – State Shark, State Natural Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night”; in line 4, after the first “of” insert “designating the megalodon as the State shark; ”; in lin e 5, after “museum;” insert “ requiring the Governor to annually proclaim a certain day as Purple Lights Night;”; strike beginning with “a” in line 5 down through “museum” in line 6 and substitute “State designations and commemorative days”; in line 9, strike “7–325 and” and substitute “7–310, 7–325,”; in the same line, after “7–326” insert “, and 7–417 through 7–421”; in line 10, strike “7– 326.1 and” and substitute “7–311, 7–326.1,”; in the same line, after “7–325” insert “, and 7–418 through 7–422”; in line 15, after “Section” insert “7–310,”; in the same line, after “7–326” insert “, and 7–417”; in line 19, strike “7–325 and 7–326” and substitute “7–310, 7–325, 7–326, and 7–417 through 7–421”; in line 20, strike “7 –326.1 and 7 –325” and substitute “7–311, 7–326.1, 7–325, and 7–418 through 7–422”.
AMENDMENT NO.
2 On page 2, after line 3, insert: “7–310.

Bill History

2026-05-12 Post Passage
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 505
2026-04-11 House
Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-04-01 House
Third Reading Passed (133-0)
2026-03-30 House
Favorable with Amendments { 763121/1 Adopted
2026-03-30 House
Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-03-27 Senate
Senate Concurs House Amendments
2026-03-27 Senate
Third Reading Passed (43-0)
2026-03-27 Senate
Passed Enrolled
2026-03-26 House
Hearing 4/07 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-03-18 Senate
Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-03-07 House
Referred Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-03-03 Senate
Third Reading Passed (44-0)
2026-03-02 Senate
Favorable with Amendments { 403925/1 Adopted
2026-03-02 Senate
Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-02-16 Senate
Hearing 2/16 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-02-16 Senate
Hearing canceled
2026-02-16 Senate
Hearing 3/12 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-01-14 Senate
First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment
2025-09-15 Senate
Pre-filed
Maryland General Assembly
Text - First - State Designations - State Natural Science Museum - Natural History Society of Maryland
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - Senate - Committee - Education, Energy, and the Environment
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Third - State Designations - State Natural Sciences Museum - The Natural History Society of Maryland
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - House - Committee - Government, Labor, and Elections
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Enrolled - State Designations and Commemorative Days - State Shark, State Natural Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Chapter - State Designations and Commemorative Days - State Shark, State Natural Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night

Official Summary Text

Designating the megalodon as the State shark; designating The Natural History Society of Maryland as the State natural sciences museum; and requiring the Governor to annually proclaim October 1 as Purple Lights Night to honor individuals in the State who are victims or survivors of domestic violence and express support for the elimination of domestic violence in the State.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

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.
Italics indicate opposite chamber/conference committee amendments.
*sb0035*

SENATE BILL 35
P1 (6lr0840)
ENROLLED BILL
— Education, Energy, and the Environment/Government, Labor, and Elections —
Introduced by Senator Jackson

Read and Examined by Proofreaders:

_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.

Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this

_______ day of _________ ______ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.

______________________________________________
President.

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

State Designations – State Natural Science Sciences Museum – The Natural 2
History Society of Maryland 3
State Designations and Commemorative Days – State Shark, State Natural 4
Sciences Museum, and Purple Lights Night 5

FOR the purpose of designating the megalodon as the State shark; designating the The 6
Natural History Society of Maryland as the State natural science sciences museum; 7
requiring the Governor to annually proclaim a certain day as Purple Lights Night; 8
and generally relating to a State natural science sciences museum State designations 9
and commemorative days. 10

BY renumbering 11
Article – General Provisions 12
Section 7–325 and 7–310, 7–325, 7–326, and 7–417 through 7–421 13
2 SENATE BILL 35

to be Section 7–326.1 and 7–311, 7 –326.1, 7–325, and 7 –418 through 7 –422, 1
respectively 2
Annotated Code of Maryland 3
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 4

BY adding to 5
Article – General Provisions 6
Section 7–310, 7–326, and 7–417 7
Annotated Code of Maryland 8
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 9

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 10
That Section(s) 7–325 and 7–326 7–310, 7–325, 7–326, and 7–417 through 7–421 of Article 11
– General Provisions of the Annotated Code of Maryland be renumbered to be Section(s) 12
7–326.1 and 7–325 7–311, 7–326.1, 7–325, and 7–418 through 7–422, respectively. 13

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 14
as follows: 15

Article – General Provisions 16

7–310. 17

THE MEGALODON (OTODUS MEGALODON) IS THE STATE SHARK. 18

7–326. 19

THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MARYLAND IS THE STATE NATURAL 20
SCIENCE SCIENCES MUSEUM. 21

7–417. 22

THE GOVERNOR ANNUALLY SHALL PROCLAIM OCTOBER 1 AS PURPLE LIGHTS 23
NIGHT TO HONOR THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE STATE WHO ARE VICTIMS OR SURVIVORS 24
OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND EXPRESS SUPPORT FO R THE ELIMINATION OF 25
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE STATE. 26

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 27
October 1, 2026. 28