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HB 521

State Procurement - Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy - Antisemitism

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Sandy Rosenberg

Maryland's bill would prohibit antisemitism in state procurement, requiring bidders to certify no antisemitic conduct and expand nondiscrimination safeguards across contracts.

Withdrawn by Sponsor
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Bill Summary · HB 521

Summary — HB 521: State Procurement — Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy — Antisemitism

Status: Withdrawn by sponsor (introduced Nov 12, 2024; first reader Feb 13, 2025)
Primary sponsor: Delegate Kathleen (Katie) Rosenberg (introduced Jan 22, 2025 in one filing)
Committee: Health and Government Operations (Maryland)
Primary subject: State procurement / commercial nondiscrimination policy

Purpose / intent

The bill would expand Maryland’s existing commercial nondiscrimination policy for State procurement to expressly prohibit antisemitism. Its aim is to require businesses seeking or holding State contracts (and parties receiving State assistance for economic development projects) to certify that they do not engage in antisemitic conduct when selecting subcontractors or suppliers, and to make antisemitism a covered form of prohibited commercial discrimination under State procurement rules.

Key provisions

  • Adds a statutory definition of “antisemitism” to the State Finance and Procurement Article. The bill uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition: “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” including rhetorical and physical manifestations directed at Jewish (and non‑Jewish) individuals, their property, Jewish community institutions, and religious institutions.
  • Expands the State’s Commercial Nondiscrimination Policy to include antisemitism among the forms of prohibited discrimination when a business solicits, selects, hires, or commercially treats vendors, suppliers, subcontractors, or commercial customers.
  • Requires bidders on State contracts to certify (as part of bidding/award processes) that they have not engaged in antisemitism in the selection of potential subcontractors and suppliers.
  • Extends the requirement to entities participating in economic development projects funded or supported by the State; each contract/subcontract connected to such projects must contain a nondiscrimination clause and be subject to submission/complaint procedures under existing practice.
  • Keeps existing remedies and investigative procedures for commercial discrimination complaints in place; the bill is primarily framed as clarifying and expanding the list of prohibited conduct.

Who would be affected

  • Businesses that bid for or contract with the State, including prime contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, vendors, and commercial customers.
  • Entities (governmental, quasi‑governmental, developers, contractors) that receive State assistance for economic development projects and their subcontractors.
  • The Commission on Civil Rights and State procurement officials, who administer and enforce commercial nondiscrimination certifications and complaint procedures.

Fiscal and operational impact

  • Maryland Department of Legislative Services fiscal note: no material effect on State or local finances or operations. The bill is characterized as clarifying in nature; any administrative workload change is expected to be minimal. Small business impacts are assessed as minimal.
  • Implementation would rely on existing procurement compliance and complaint‑handling mechanisms.

Additional notes

  • The bill explicitly adopts the IHRA working definition of antisemitism; that definition has been widely used by federal agencies and some states but can be politically sensitive in application.
  • Procedural status provided with the documents indicates the bill was introduced and referred to committee, but the top-level status supplied by the requester is “Withdrawn by Sponsor.” If reintroduced or amended, compliance and enforcement details (e.g., certification language, timelines, remedies) would determine practical effects on contracting practices.

If you want, I can:
- Extract and present the exact statutory text changes proposed (by section), or
- Draft a one‑page checklist for contractors explaining what certifications and recordkeeping they would likely need if the measure becomes law.

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

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