HB 797

Employment Discrimination - Fire and Rescue Public Safety Employees - Use of Medical Cannabis

Sponsor: Adrian Boafo (District 23)Committee: Economic MattersSubject: Human RelationsStatus: Favorable Report by Finance (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Prohibiting an employer from taking certain discriminatory employment actions against a fire and rescue public safety employee based on the employee's use of medical cannabis, subject to certain conditions; and requiring an employer to report an incident of a fire and rescue public safety employee reporting for work while impaired by cannabis to the State Emergency Medical Services Board.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (30)

MGA witness list

FAV 22FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 5UnfavorableINFO 2Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Trone, David	David Trone for Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	CARR, DANIEL	IAFF LOCAL 1715	Oral
FAV	Johnson, David "Matt"	IAFF Local 2000	Written (PDF)
FAV	Gardell, John	International Association of Fire Fighters	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Nash, Katielobbyist	Jenoptik Smart Mobility Systems	Written (PDF)
FAV	Reid, Emma L.	Law Office of E. L. Reid, Esq.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Klukas, Bradley	Local 2000	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	O'Keefe, Karen	Marijuana Policy Project	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Bryce, Corey	Maryland Alliance for Sensible Drug Policy	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dove, S. Spencer	Maryland Commission on Civil Rights	Written (PDF)
FAV	Armentano, Paul	National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Buddle, Jeffrey	Professional Fire Fighters of Maryland	Oral
FAV	Cano, Christopherlobbyist	SEIU Local 500	Written (PDF)
FAV	Reisinger, Renee	Veteran's Initiative 22 and Maryland Chapter Americans for Safe Access	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kaplowitz, Richard KAP	Year	Written (PDF)
FAV	Blalock, Jennifer	Individual	Position only
FAV	Boafo, Delegate Adrian	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Carr, Warren (Rusty)	Individual	Position only
FAV	Delegate Boafo, Delegate Boafolegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Lewis, Shanetha	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Reed-McCullough, Susannah	Individual	Oral
FAV	Walker, Grant	Individual	Oral
UNF	Smothers, Eric	Eric L. Smothers	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Anderson, Karrington	Maryland Association of Counties (MACo)	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Cox, Michael	Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at the University of Maryland	Written (PDF)
UNF	Wallace, Gordon	Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Council of Maryland	Written (PDF)
UNF	Meyerovich, Mark	Individual	Position only
FWA	Hatch, Lyn	Individual	Written (PDF)
INFO	Delbridge, Theodore	Maryland Institute for EMS Systems (MIEMSS)	Written (PDF)
INFO	Vandrey, Ryan	Individual	Oral

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVNash, KatieJenoptik Smart Mobility SystemsRegistered for: Jenoptik; Career Firefighter Association of Frederick County; Vistra Corporate Services Company; Ivory Investments, LLC; Cybersecurity Association of Maryland, Inc.; Sunrun, Inc.…

FAVCano, ChristopherSEIU Local 500Registered for: SEIU Local 500

HB 797

What this bill does

Testimony (30)

Organizations on record

Registered lobbyists who testified