Policy Alert: House Bill 1210

Maryland Nonprofits plans to submit testimony on HB1210, which is being heard in the House Economic Matters Committee this Wednesday, Feb. 24. We recognize and will point out numerous questions and concerns shared with us individually or in an online discussion convening 150 organizations that we held on Friday, February 19.

These questions include but are not limited to:

• Whether the scope of diversity recognized by the term “underrepresented community” in the bill is appropriate or too narrow (ex: should people with disabilities or the LGBTQIA+ community be included in the scope?); and
• The intended meaning of or what the prospective definitions of several broad terms might include, such as “demonstrate … membership of underrepresented communities” and “support for underrepresented communities in the entity’s mission”; and
• The extent to which the impact of the legislation is dependent on the outcome of a regulatory process

Our testimony urges passage of the bill, but also asks that the bill be amended to either clarify these and other questions subject to regulation, or to require that the regulations be available for public review and legislative consideration in 2022 before they take effect. The bill would not take effect until July 2022.

We encourage you to share your particular views or concerns with your own representatives in the legislature and those on the Economic Matters Committee (listed below).

House Economic Matters Committee