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SB 496

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in educational tax credits, further providing for school participation in program.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Maria Collett and 13 co-sponsors

Maryland requires the Dept. of Commerce to run a public portal for complaints about processing delays over 60 days on licenses/permits, plus an annual report to the Legislature.

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Bill Summary · SB 496

SB 496 — Department of Commerce — Complaint Portal and Annual Report (Maryland)

Summary
SB 496 requires the Maryland Department of Commerce to create and maintain an online complaint portal that allows businesses and nonprofit organizations to report when a government entity (state or local) takes longer than 60 days to process an application for a license, form, certificate, certification, permit, or registration. The Department must compile and submit an annual report on portal complaints to the General Assembly.

Key purpose / intent
- Increase transparency and oversight of government processing times for business and nonprofit licensing-related applications.
- Provide lawmakers with data to identify agencies or processes that cause persistent delays and inform potential policy or operational fixes.

Major provisions
- Portal creation and scope
- Commerce must create and maintain a public-facing portal on its website for complaints about processing delays exceeding 60 days.
- “Governmental unit” is broadly defined to include counties, municipal corporations, state units, local units, and other public bodies created by law, ordinance, or resolution.
- A complaint may not be filed through the portal if a state or local law, ordinance, or resolution explicitly authorizes the governmental unit to take longer than 60 days to process the application.

  • Annual reporting

    • By September 15, 2025, and each September 15 thereafter, Commerce must submit a report (per §2–1257, State Government Article) to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee summarizing complaints received through the portal during the prior fiscal year.
    • For each complaint, the report must identify the governmental unit responsible for processing the relevant license/permit/etc.
    • Commerce must make reasonable efforts to anonymize data to protect the privacy of affected businesses or nonprofit organizations.

  • Effective date

    • The Act takes effect July 1, 2025.

Who is affected
- Businesses and nonprofit organizations applying for licenses, permits, registrations, certificates, or similar approvals from state or local government entities in Maryland.
- State and local governmental units that process such applications (may be named in reports).
- The Department of Commerce (responsible for portal and reporting).

Fiscal and practical impact
- Commerce has indicated it can meet the bill’s requirements using existing resources; no revenue impact.
- The bill is not expected to materially affect local government finances or operations.
- Impact on small businesses is minimal: the portal provides a new mechanism to report delays and may help speed corrective action over time.

Procedural / status notes
- Sponsor: Senator Ellis (Maryland).
- Hearing: noted as scheduled for 2/13 at 1:00 p.m. (finance/administration committee assignments per docket).
- Cross-file / related legislation: HB 1038 (cross-file noted in fiscal analysis).

Potential effects to monitor
- Whether Commerce has sufficient staffing and IT capacity to maintain the portal and produce meaningful, anonymized reports.
- How frequently reported delays identify systemic bottlenecks and whether the General Assembly or agencies adopt remedies.
- The practical interaction between the 60‑day threshold and statutory timelines that already authorize longer processing periods.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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