SB0897 • 2026

Cecil County - Alcoholic Beverages - Alteration of License Quota

Elections

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Cecil County Senators
Last action: 2026-05-26
Official status: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 826
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how the change will impact existing businesses or license holders, leaving this as an open question.

Cecil County Alcoholic Beverage License Changes

This law changes how many Class A alcohol licenses can be issued in Cecil County based on voter numbers and requires at least two licenses per election district.

What This Bill Does

Changes the number of Class A alcohol licenses that can be issued by the Board of License Commissioners for Cecil County, based on a ratio related to registered voters.
Requires the Board to issue at least two Class A licenses in each election district within Cecil County.

Who It Names or Affects

The Board of License Commissioners for Cecil County
Businesses applying for Class A alcohol licenses in Cecil County

Terms To Know

Class A license: A type of alcoholic beverage license that allows the sale of certain types of drinks.
Election district: An area within a county where people vote in elections.

Limits and Unknowns

The law only applies to Cecil County and does not affect other counties.
It is unclear how the change will impact existing businesses or license holders.

Amendments

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

413124/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 413124/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 897 (First Reading File Bill) On page 2, in line 1, strike “Subject to paragraph (2)” and substitute “EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAG RAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION A ND SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (3)”; in line 2, strike “1,200” and substitute “2,000”; after line 4, insert: “(2) THE BOARD MAY ISSUE NOT FEWER THAN 2 CLASS A LICENSES IN EACH ELECTION DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY.”; and in line 5, strike “(2)” and substitute “(3)”.

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 897 (First Reading File Bill) On page 2, in line 1, strike “Subject to paragraph (2)” and substitute “EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAG RAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION A ND SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (3)”; in line 2, strike “1,200” and substitute “2,000”; after line 4, insert: “(2) THE BOARD MAY ISSUE NOT FEWER THAN 2 CLASS A LICENSES IN EACH ELECTION DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY.”; and in line 5, strike “(2)” and substitute “(3)”.
SB0897/413124/1 BY: Finance Committee

Bill History

2026-05-26 Post Passage
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 826
2026-04-11 House
Favorable Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-04-02 House
Third Reading Passed (120-0)
2026-03-27 House
Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
2026-03-27 Senate
Returned Passed
2026-03-02 Senate
Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance
2026-02-25 House
Referred Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-02-23 Senate
Third Reading Passed (44-0)
2026-02-20 Senate
Favorable with Amendments { 413124/1 Adopted
2026-02-20 Senate
Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-02-11 Senate
Hearing 2/20 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-02-06 Senate
First Reading Finance
Maryland General Assembly
Text - First - Cecil County - Alcoholic Beverages - Alteration of License Quota
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - Senate - Committee - Finance
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Third - Cecil County - Alcoholic Beverages - Alteration of License Quota
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - House - Committee - Government, Labor, and Elections

Official Summary Text

Altering the quota on the number of alcoholic beverages licenses that the Board of License Commissioners for Cecil County may issue to apply only to Class A licenses based on a certain ratio; and establishing that the Board may not issue fewer than two Class A licenses in each election district in the county.

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.
*sb0897*

SENATE BILL 897
A2 6lr1722
CF HB 664
By: Cecil County Senators
Introduced and read first time: February 6, 2026
Assigned to: Finance
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: February 20, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Cecil County – Alcoholic Beverages – Alteration of License Quota 2

FOR the purpose of altering the quota on the number of alcoholic beverages licenses that 3
the Board of License Commissioners for Cecil County may issue to apply only to 4
Class A licenses based on a certain ratio; and generally relating to alcoholic 5
beverages in Cecil County. 6

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 7
Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 8
Section 17–102 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2024 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 11

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 13
Section 17–1601 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2024 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 17
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 18

Article – Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis 19

17–102. 20
2 SENATE BILL 897

This title applies only in Cecil County. 1

17–1601. 2

(a) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (2) 3
OF THIS SUBSECTION AND SUBJECT TO PARAGRAPH (3) of this subsection, the Board 4
may not issue a number of CLASS A licenses that, in the aggregate, exceeds 1 for e very 5
[400] 1,200 2,000 registered voters or major fraction in the county, as determined by the 6
current registration of voters. 7

(2) THE BOARD MAY ISSUE NOT FEWER THAN 2 CLASS A LICENSES IN 8
EACH ELECTION DISTRICT OF THE COUNTY. 9

(2) (3) [A Class BLX beer, wine, and liquor restaurant license, Class C club 10
license, motel–restaurant complex license, hotel –restaurant complex license, or Class GC 11
(golf course) beer, wine, and liquor (on–sale) license] NO OTHER CLASS OF LICENSE may 12
[not] be counted in the computation of the aggregate number of licenses. 13

(b) The quota shall be computed and applied separately for each election district 14
of the county. 15

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 16
1, 2026. 17

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