Katie Hester D

Establishing the Expedited Hiring Program in the Department of Budget and Management for the purpose of hiring eligible applicants for vacant positions in the State Personnel Management System, subject to certain requirements; authorizing an appointing authority to recruit for certain vacant positions in State government under certain circumstances; and authorizing the Secretary of Budget and Management to contract with a …

Requiring a certain developer of, and a certain deployer who uses, a certain high-risk artificial intelligence system to use reasonable care to protect consumers from known and reasonably foreseeable risks of certain algorithmic discrimination in a certain high-risk artificial intelligence system; regulating the use of high-risk artificial intelligence systems by establishing certain requirements for disclosures, impact assessments, and other consumer …

Repealing the requirement that county boards of education prioritize the purchase of digital devices with certain funds; requiring each local school system to comply with, and certify compliance with, the State minimum cybersecurity standards and to conduct a cybersecurity maturity assessment every 2 years; requiring the Office of Security Management within the Department of Information Technology to annually update the …

Requiring the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Board of Education and the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in K-12 Education, to develop or update guidance on artificial intelligence for county boards of education; requiring the Department, in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, to develop and update annually a list of approved artificial intelligence tools; …

Prohibiting a person from utilizing certain personal identifying information or engaging in certain conduct in order to cause certain harm; prohibiting a person from using certain artificial intelligence or certain deepfake representations for certain purposes; and providing that a person who is the victim of certain conduct may bring a civil action against a certain person.

Establishing an expedited certificate of public convenience and necessity review process for certain co-located energy generation projects that have received a fast track pass; establishing a Data Center Fast Track Advisory Committee in the Public Service Commission to facilitate the application for and review and awarding of fast track passes; altering the requirements for qualified data center personal property to …

Defining the term "visual representation" as it relates to the crime of revenge porn to be an unaltered image of the person or an image created with or without using other existing depictions of the person that is indistinguishable from the person, from the perspective of an ordinary person; and authorizing a person to bring a civil action for revenge …

Establishing the On-Farm Organics Diversion and Recycling Grant Program in the Department of Agriculture to award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement on-farm organics recycling and compost use, wasted food prevention, and food rescue; establishing a solid waste disposal surcharge on the final disposal of solid waste in the State; requiring the Department to report to the General …

Requiring a certain large load customer to register with the Public Service Commission before interconnecting with the electric system; establishing the requirements for the registration of a large load customer; requiring that a certain data center be eligible for and considered a "qualified data center" for a certain tax exemption under certain circumstances; requiring the Commission to take certain curtailment …

Establishing the Algorithmic Addiction Fund to be administered by the Maryland Department of Health; providing the Fund consists of all civil penalties received by the State from any source resulting, directly or indirectly, from a judgment against or settlement relating to claims concerning harm to children from the use of social media and the improper use of algorithms; requiring the …

Establishing the On-Farm Organics Diversion and Recycling Grant Program in the Department of Agriculture to award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement on-farm organics recycling, compost use, wasted food prevention, and food rescue; and establishing the Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Grant Program and the County Wasted Food Reduction Block Grant Program in the Department of the Environment …

Requiring electric companies to submit to the Public Service Commission cost containment plans for electric distribution and transmission system planning on or before January 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter; requiring the plans to combine to reduce peak electric system loads in a certain manner; and requiring electric companies to submit certain progress reports on the implementation of the …

Establishing the Maryland Artificial Intelligence Partnership in the University System of Maryland to provide a single nexus for certain stakeholders in artificial intelligence initiatives to advance artificial intelligence in the State; establishing the Artificial Intelligence Incubation Lab in the University System of Maryland to assist State agencies to accelerate the responsible use of artificial intelligence; altering the Cyber Warrior Diversity …

Establishing the Maryland Cyber Reserve within the Military Department; providing the purpose of the Maryland Cyber Reserve is to provide educational and technical support to prevent and resolve attacks against State, county, and local government agencies, and critical infrastructure within the State; etc.

Authorizing a certain protected individual or the agency, entity, or office that the protected individual serves or served to request that a governmental entity or person not publish personal information on the Internet, social media, or social networks or that the governmental entity or person remove the information from any existing publication; etc.

Establishing the Critical Infrastructure Protection Branch in the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center; requiring the Department of Emergency Management, in consultation with the Center, to take certain action in response to an attack on the State's critical infrastructure; and requiring the Department of Information Technology to allow the owner or operator of critical infrastructure to become a member of the …

Establishing a data broker registry; requiring by January 31 each year a business entity that acted as a data broker during the previous calendar year to submit a certain form to the Comptroller and pay a fee determined by the Comptroller; requiring the Comptroller to make the information submitted by business entities publicly available on the Office's website; requiring the …

Allowing a credit against the State income tax for 25% of an investment made in qualified Maryland companies up to $1,000,000; providing that investments in companies engaging in certain emergent technology may qualify for the tax credit subject to certain requirements; providing that a qualified investor shall make an investment in a qualified Maryland company within a certain amount of …

Requiring the State Department of Education to provide certain guidance on artificial intelligence to Local school systems, educators, parents, and student through an online platform; requiring the Department to publish certain guidance for certain groups; requiring the Department to develop strategies to implement certain guidelines and best practices; requiring each county board to designate a coordinator for the use of …

Requiring each local school system to designate a local point of contact for certain communications, to comply with, and certify compliance with, the State minimum cybersecurity standards, and to conduct a cybersecurity maturity assessment every 2 years; repealing the requirement that county boards of education prioritize the purchase of digital devices with certain funds; requiring the Office of Security Management …

Exempting certain large load customers from requirements to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity; requiring the Public Service Commission to establish a certain process for large load customers to interconnect to the electric system; establishing requirements for a large load customer to interconnect to the electric system and contract for service; authorizing certain large load customers to receive …

Requiring electric companies to submit to the Public Service Commission cost containment plans for electric distribution and transmission system planning on or before January 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter; requiring the plans to combine to reduce peak electric system loads in a certain manner; and requiring electric companies to submit certain progress reports on the implementation of the …

Reserving jurisdiction with respect to certain federal land in the State under certain conditions; authorizing the Central Collection Unit of the Department of Budget and Management to collect a certain amount of delinquent federal funds; authorizing the Central Collection Unit, under a certain circumstance, to collect certain federal funds owed to the State, place liens on federal property in the …

Establishing the Rural Readiness Program administered by the Rural Maryland Council to provide assistance to rural communities to enhance their capacity for economic development; requiring priority to be given when making certain grants to entities that have completed the Rural Readiness Program; and establishing the Rural Maryland Capacity Building Fund to be administered by the Council to provide grants to …

Establishing the On-Farm Organics Diversion and Recycling Grant Program in the Department of Agriculture to award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement on-farm organics recycling, compost use, wasted food prevention, and food rescue; and establishing the Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Grant Program and the County Wasted Food Reduction Block Grant Program in the Department of the Environment …

Prohibiting a person from utilizing certain personal identifying information or engaging in certain conduct in order to cause physical injury, serious emotional distress, or economic damages; prohibiting a person from using certain artificial intelligence or certain deepfake representations for certain purposes; providing penalties of 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 or both where one victim …

Requiring the State Administrator of Elections to take certain actions if the State Administrator receives a credible report that election misinformation or election disinformation, including a deepfake, has been or is being communicated, disseminated, or distributed; requiring the Administrator to communication correct information to the public; prohibiting a person, under certain circumstances, from knowingly or with reckless disregard using or …

Prohibiting a certain public service company from recovering through rates any costs associated with a supervisor's annual compensation once the compensation exceeds 110% of the maximum annual salary payable to the chair of the Commission for the same calendar year; requiring the Public Service Commission to publish guidance defining "reasonable cost limitations"; requiring each public service company to send a …