Bill
SB 652
Local governments in Maryland may voluntarily provide paid leave, including disaster-service leave, to their employees, with details and limits set locally.
Summary
SB 652 authorizes county and municipal governments in Maryland to provide various types of paid leave to local employees, and creates a limited disaster-service paid-leave option for eligible local employees who volunteer with specified emergency organizations. The bill is permissive (local units “may” provide leave) and leaves implementation details to each county or municipality.
Key purposes and intent
- Expand local governmental authority to offer paid leave for disaster volunteer service and several other purposes (jury duty, certain training, court appearances, administrative removal, etc.).
- Encourage and enable local public-sector employees to participate in approved disaster-response activities without losing pay.
- Give local executives flexibility to provide additional paid leave as needed.
Main provisions / changes
- Disaster service leave with pay (Article – Local Government §1‑207)
- On request, a local employee may be entitled to disaster service leave with pay if either:
- the employee is American Red Cross–certified and the Red Cross requests their services for a disaster designated Level II or higher; or
- the employee is a member of specified volunteer organizations (Civil Air Patrol; U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary; Maryland VOAD; volunteer EMS department; volunteer fire department; volunteer rescue company/squad; or a Community Emergency Response Team).
- Limit: up to 15 days of disaster service leave in any 12‑month period, and use requires approval from the local governmental unit.
- During a prolonged or recurrent disaster, the local unit may waive the approval requirement and may increase the number of leave days if in the public interest.
Who is affected
- All employees of county and municipal governmental units in Maryland are eligible for the authority created by the bill, but access to leave is discretionary and subject to each local unit’s policies and approval processes.
- Fiscal impacts fall to local governments that choose to adopt and grant paid leave.
Fiscal and administrative impact
- State finances: none (bill applies only to local governments).
- Local finances: potential increase in expenditures (possibly significant) where local units choose to provide additional paid leave. Costs depend on local decisions about approval, frequency of use, overtime or temporary coverage needs, and whether leave caps are exceeded during prolonged disasters.
- The bill is authorizing in nature; any fiscal impact occurs only if local governments act to implement the options.
Procedural status & timeline
- Introduced: January 25, 2025 (Sen. Jennings).
- Assigned to: Senate Finance Committee.
- Hearing scheduled: March 26, 2025 (user-provided status: 3/26 at 2:30 p.m.).
- Effective date if enacted: October 1, 2025.
Notes / considerations
- The bill is permissive — local governments retain discretion to adopt, define, and limit leave benefits.
- During major disasters, the waiver and expanded-leave provisions give local officials flexibility to support emergency response staffing needs.
- Localities evaluating adoption should consider payroll, overtime, temporary staffing, and service‑continuity costs.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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