Public notice joins bills slated for Moore’s veto

An effort to end the publication of estate notices in newspapers around Maryland appears headed for a veto.

House Bill 1258 proposes to end public notice advertising for estates. It’s a bill that has financial ramifications for newspapers across the state, which profit from the current requirement that public notices be published in newspapers of general circulation

The public notice bill is one of six bills passed by the General Assembly this year that await a decision by Gov. Wes Moore and face a potential veto. Multiple sources confirmed to Maryland Matters that the public notice bill was on the list of remaining legislation slated to fall to Moore’s veto pen next week.

A veto of the public notice bill would represent a significant reversal of fortune for publications in Maryland and the association that represents them. The bill slipped through the legislature this year without the attention of either and forced the industry to regroup and lobby Moore to kill the bill.

Those efforts appear to have paid off.

“Based on the level of advocacy that we’ve done and some communications that we’ve had, we are hopeful that it will be vetoed but we don’t have a confirmation letter,” said Rebecca Snyder, executive director of the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association.

HB 1258, sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Embry (D-Baltimore City), would allow for the creation of a central website where registers of wills could publish public notice on estates, eliminating the newspaper publication requirement. But Snyder said there is a public benefit to having notices published “in a widely accessible, independent spot.”

“You’re looking for potential heirs, you’re looking for creditors,” Snyder said. “The idea is that notices should be placed in areas that are independent of the entities that are placing them; that they are widely accessible; that they’re archivable and verifiable.”

“From the sands of time in this country, newspapers have been the way that has happened,” said Snyder. “You see that littered throughout statues in the state and across the country.”

Public notice advertising — everything from zoning and tax notices to government procurement, estates and foreclosures — represents a significant revenue stream for some newspapers.

“It can be a chunk” of revenue, Snyder acknowledged. “Nobody (in the industry) is rolling around on a pile of dollar bills, for sure. This bill really would hurt a lot of very local publications since estate notices run in every local newspaper in every jurisdiction.”

Costs are often borne by not only the taxpayer but also, in the case of estate notices, the families of the deceased.

Embry said a group of registers of wills from around the state approached her about moving public notices to a centralized website.

“They have set up a very effective and functioning single website for all public notice in the state of Maryland,” Embry said. “That exists and is running and is successful and proven and is a better way to provide notice.”

The move would save estates money. The cost to place one public notice ad can cost between $200 to $400.

“This is a cost we’re forcing Marylanders to pay when they go through probate — from their pockets,” Embry said.

Embry’s bill managed to pass the House and the Senate without opposition from the association or newspapers in Maryland. It was only after passage that the industry became aware that the bill was headed to Moore’s desk.

“It flew under the radar,” Snyder said. “It’s embarrassing. This is something we absolutely would have been at the table on.”

“I feel like this is a situation where, because we didn’t weigh in, there wasn’t a full and public discussion about it,” Snyder said.

Moore’s veto pen awaits

The governor held a final public bill signing for the 2024 legislative session on Thursday. There are strong indications that many of the remaining bills will be vetoed.

Last year, Moore vetoed three bills. Two were considered duplicates of bills he had already signed into law. He allowed 10 others to become law without his signature.

This year, a total of six bills await a final disposition. Eric Luedtke, the governor’s chief legislative officer, and a spokesperson for the governor both declined to talk about the fate of the remaining bills. Both said announcements about the legislation would be made in the coming week.

In addition to HB 1258, multiple sources said Moore will veto three Senate bills: SB 60, SB 380 and SB 693.

SB 693 authorizes Carroll County government to borrow $28.9 million through bonds for projects within the county. Moore signed an identical House bill into law on May 9, rendering the Senate version duplicative.

Similarly, sources said SB 380 faces a veto because it is considered too similar to an existing police recruitment and retention efforts. The bill would create a 21-member workgroup to examine efforts to recruit and retain police officers around the state, but the panel is seen as duplicative of efforts Moore announced last year including a $6.3 million grant program.

Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County), lead sponsor of the bill, did not return a call seeking comment.

SB 60 faced strong opposition from recreational vehicle dealers in the state. It would temporarily authorizes out-of-state dealers to display motorhomes, recreational vehicles and/ trailers at shows around the state. The out-of-state dealers could not take orders nor accept deposits under the measure.

The bill also requires the Department of Commerce to conduct a study on the impact of out-of-state dealers at the Maryland RV show held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The study must be conducted on or after Oct. 1, 2026, with study results delivered to the legislature by Dec. 1, 2026. The bill sunsets on May 31, 2027.

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Eastern Shore), lead sponsor of the bill, said she has been told it would be vetoed.

“We really believe that if you have more interest and attendees at these shows — especially at the show in Ocean City — that can only benefit in-state Maryland RV dealers because they’re the only ones who can sell at the show,” she said.

Meanwhile, Moore is expected to let two identical bills — HB 464 and SB 795 — become law without his signature. The bills would let licensed audiologists diagnose and treat auditory conditions; sell, dispense and fit hearing aids and external portions of cochlear implant devices; perform ear cleaning; and order blood work and tests as it relates to auditory conditions.

MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, opposed the bill that it said “vastly expanded” the work of audiologists.

“This legislation … would permit audiologists to provide care beyond their education and training and would provide a more expansive scope of practice for audiologists than any of our sister states,” the association said in an April 24 letter to Moore requesting a veto.

Sen. Dawn Gile (D-Anne Arundel), lead sponsor of the Senate version, said the changes will give greater access to care, especially in rural communities.

She said she was told the legislation would become law without Moore’s signature, and expects a bill next year from the Moore administration to address some specific concerns expressed by the medical society.

In past years, governors have traditionally waited until the Friday before Memorial Day to announce the fate of bills not signed in official ceremonies.

This year, Moore began signing dozens of bills in what is described as non-public ceremonies.

Luedtke, the governor’s chief legislative officer, said Moore began doing so in order to deal with the large number of bills passed by the legislature. Previous administrations would announce before the holiday a tranche of bills that would become law without a signature at the same time vetoes are made public.

Luedtke said Moore opted for a different approach.

Bills put on the non-public lists typically consist of departmental and local bills that are important but don’t require the traditional pomp and officials photos. Those pieces of legislation are put into the pile of bills signed in public, but are not announced during the ceremony, Luedtke said.

“The governor believes that every bill deserves a signature if it is a good bill,” he said.

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