An Act amending Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in game or wildlife protection, prohibiting the purchase, sale, offer for sale or possession with intent to sell covered animal parts or products; and imposing penalties.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Lisa Boscola and 3 co-sponsors

SB 945 requires licensing authorities to share licensing criteria on request and designate a single contact for complaints about community-based residential facilities.

Referred to Game & Fisheries

Purpose

SB 945 requires State licensing authorities that oversee certain community‑based residential facilities to (1) provide, on request, the criteria they use to decide whether to issue or renew a facility license, and (2) designate a single point of contact to receive and respond to complaints, concerns, or issues about those facilities. The intent is to increase transparency about licensure standards and to improve access to a responsible contact for community members and family members.

Key provisions

On request, a licensing authority must provide an “interested party” the criteria used to determine whether to issue or renew a license for a “community facility.”

Each licensing authority must designate a single point of contact to respond to complaints, concerns, or issues regarding a community facility.

Adds a new Subtitle 25 (24‑2501 and 24‑2502) to the Health — General Article to implement these requirements.

Effective date: October 1, 2025.

Definitions (selected)

“Community facility”: community‑based residential facilities covered by:

Title 7.5 or Title 8 of the Health — General Article, or
COMAR Title 10, Subtitle 22 or Subtitle 63, or
Facilities subject to COMAR Title 14, Subtitle 31.

“Interested party”: an individual with a legitimate interest in a facility’s licensure, including a family member of a resident or a nearby resident.

“Licensing authority”: a State agency that issues licenses for community facilities (includes MDH, DHS, DJS as applicable).

Agencies affected

Maryland Department of Health (MDH) — including Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) and Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA).

Department of Human Services (DHS).

Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) — noted can implement with existing resources.

Governor’s Office for Children is referenced in the bill’s background (COMAR coordination for residential child care).

Fiscal impact (per Maryland Department of Legislative Services)

General fund expenditures increase:

FY 2026: $237,500 total (MDH $163,535; DHS $73,900) for staff and operating costs.
FY 2027 and later: higher ongoing costs as annualized and indexed — e.g., FY 2027 ≈ $280,800; FY 2030 ≈ $319,400.

No revenue impact. Local government operations not materially affected; no small business effect noted.

Procedural status & related bills

Introduced: January 27–28, 2025 (sponsored in Maryland by Senators Hettleman, Brooks, and Attar per the MD text).

Assigned to Finance; bill text sets Oct 1, 2025 effective date.

Companion/related bills: HB 434 and HB 1136 (listed as companions).

(Note: background documents provided include other jurisdictional bill texts with the same bill number; this summary focuses on the Maryland SB 945 content and fiscal note.)

Practical effect

If enacted, the bill would increase transparency about licensing standards for community‑based residential facilities and provide community members and families a clear, designated contact at licensing agencies for complaints and questions. It imposes modest administrative costs on State agencies to staff the required contacts and handle requests for licensing criteria.

Bill