Maryland AI Laws: HB 820, SB 818 and What's Next (2027)

As of November 2026, Maryland has not enacted a comprehensive AI law. It has narrower laws by subject: HB 820 (Ch. 747 of 2025, Ins. 15-10B-05.1) bars AI tools from denying, delaying or modifying care in health insurance utilization review, and the Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (SB 818, Ch. 496 of 2024) governs state agencies' use of AI.

This page covers Maryland state law, with one short note on the federal layer. Bill statuses are as shown on the General Assembly's site on November 4, 2026. For how other states compare, see the US AI laws hub.

Maryland AI Laws at a Glance

HB 820: AI in Health Insurance Utilization Review

HB 820 was approved May 20, 2025, and took effect October 1, 2025. Section 15-10B-05.1 applies to a carrier using "an artificial intelligence, algorithm, or other software tool for the purpose of utilization review," and to pharmacy benefits managers and private review agents doing utilization review for a carrier.

The core rule is subsection (d): "An artificial intelligence, algorithm, or other software tool may not deny, delay, or modify health care services."

A carrier must also ensure, among other things, that the tool:

• Bases determinations on the enrollee's medical or other clinical history, individual clinical circumstances presented by the requesting provider, or other relevant clinical information.
• "Does not base its determinations solely on a group dataset."
• Is "open to inspection for audit or compliance reviews by the Commissioner."
• Is "reviewed and revised, if necessary and at least on a quarterly basis."

The act also amended Ins. 15-10A-06. Carrier quarterly reports now state "whether an artificial intelligence, algorithm, or other software tool was used in making the adverse decision," and the Commissioner compiles an annual summary. Section 15-10B-05.1 itself states no penalty or private right of action.

Separately, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' implementation list, status as of November 3, 2026, shows Maryland adopted its AI model bulletin as Bulletin No. 24-11 on April 22, 2024. A bulletin is a regulator's statement of expectations under existing law, not a new law.

SB 818: The Artificial Intelligence Governance Act of 2024

SB 818 was approved May 9, 2024, and took effect July 1, 2024. It covers units of state government, not private businesses. The Attorney General, Comptroller and Treasurer are exempt but had to adopt compatible policies by June 1, 2025.

The code defines high-risk AI as AI "that is a risk to individuals or communities, as defined under regulations adopted by the Department" of Information Technology in consultation with the Governor's AI Subcabinet. It includes rights-impacting and safety-impacting AI.

• Inventory (3.5-803). "On or before December 1, 2025, and regularly thereafter," each unit inventories systems that employ high-risk AI. The Department posts an aggregated statewide inventory. Impact assessments of high-risk systems are due December 31, 2026, for systems procured on or after February 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027, for earlier systems.
• Policies (3.5-804). The Department had to adopt policies and procedures on high-risk AI by December 1, 2024.
• Procurement and impact assessments (3.5-805). Beginning July 1, 2025, a unit "may not procure or deploy a new system that employs artificial intelligence unless the system complies with the policies and procedures." Units using high-risk AI conduct "regular impact assessments, as determined by" the Subcabinet.
• AI Subcabinet (3.5-806). The act puts in statute the Governor's AI Subcabinet, which the fiscal note says was established by Executive Order 01.01.2024.02.

Facial Recognition in Maryland: Job Interviews and Police Use

Lab. & Empl. 3-717, from HB 1202 (Ch. 446 of 2020), is the Maryland employment law on the subject. "An employer may not use a facial recognition service for the purpose of creating a facial template during an applicant's interview for employment unless an applicant consents."

The waiver must state in plain language the applicant's name, the interview date, that the applicant consents to facial recognition during the interview, and whether the applicant read the waiver. A facial recognition service is "technology that analyzes facial features and is used for recognition or persistent tracking of individuals in still or video images."

The section covers only that use. It says nothing about resume screeners or other hiring software, and it contains no penalty or enforcement clause.

Police use is separate. HB 338 and its cross-file SB 182, in force since October 1, 2024, say results "may not serve as the sole basis to establish probable cause or the positive identification of an individual" in a criminal investigation or proceeding, require additional, independently obtained evidence, and limit use to specified crimes.

HB 895: Personalized Pricing for Food

HB 895, the Protection From Predatory Pricing Act, was approved April 28, 2026, and took effect October 1, 2026. It is not written as an AI law. The enacted section does not use the words artificial intelligence or algorithm. We list it because readers looking for rules on algorithmic pricing will look here.

It applies to a food retailer (a business establishment of at least 15,000 square feet selling tax-exempt food) and to third-party delivery service providers. They may not engage in "dynamic pricing" to set a higher price for tax-exempt food for a specific consumer, or use personal data to set a higher price for that food for a single consumer. Separately, they may not use protected class data to offer, advertise or sell a consumer good or service if that has the effect of withholding or denying an accommodation, advantage or privilege accorded to others. That rule is not limited to food.

Dynamic pricing means "the discriminatory practice of offering or setting a personalized price for a good or service that is specific to a consumer based on the consumer's personal data," whether the seller collected or purchased the data. The pricing bans exclude, among other things, loyalty and promotional pricing, cost-based differences, subscription prices, and prices offered to a consumer who consents to provide data.

A violation is an unfair, abusive or deceptive trade practice. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division must first give notice and 45 days to cure. The section does not authorize a private right of action, and the act takes these violations out of the Consumer Protection Act's private action and criminal penalty sections.

AI in Maryland Schools and State Programs

• SB 720 (AI Ready Schools Act). The State Department of Education provides AI guidance through an online platform. Each local school system must adopt an aligned AI policy within 120 days of its release and name an AI coordinator.
• SB 597 (Maryland AI Partnership). It creates a partnership in the University System of Maryland, technology extension hubs, a public service fellowship, and an AI Incubation Lab subject to a memorandum of understanding.
• SB 114 (3-1-1 Program). A state board designates two counties with 3-1-1 systems and two without, and sets up AI chatbots and voicebots to answer questions and route calls. These are government services, not rules on private chatbots.
• HB 956 (AI Implementation Workgroup). The workgroup monitors AI issues and makes yearly recommendations, including on AI used in decisions that affect livelihoods.

The workgroup's July 2026 annual report says it did not convene formal meetings in its first year because co-chairs had not been appointed, so it adopted no recommendations. Its July 23, 2026 minutes record an inaugural kickoff meeting.

Maryland Deepfake Laws: SB 360, SB 141 and SB 8

SB 360 (Ch. 219, in force July 1, 2025) extended the state's revenge-porn law to computer-generated images indistinguishable from the person. A violation is a misdemeanor, up to 2 years or $5,000, and the person depicted has a civil action for defamation per se or invasion of privacy.

SB 141 (Ch. 444, in force June 1, 2026) makes it a misdemeanor, up to 5 years or $5,000, to knowingly or with reckless disregard create, use or disseminate a deepfake to produce materially false information, with intent to affect voting decisions, election facts or petition signing, where the deepfake results or is intended to result in harm to a voter, potential voter or petition. Satire, parody and certain broadcasters and publishers are excluded.

SB 8 (Ch. 445, in force October 1, 2026) bars knowingly, willfully and with fraudulent intent using AI or a deepfake representation to impersonate or falsely depict someone, or to create or distribute false records, with the harmful intents the statute lists. It is a felony: up to 5 years or $10,000 with one victim, up to 10 years or $15,000 with two or more. Victims may bring a civil action.

See the Maryland deepfake laws page for the detail.

Maryland AI Bills That Failed

Maryland bills do not carry over between sessions. These are the final statuses on the General Assembly's master lists and bill pages.

AI Chatbots, Automated Decisions and Other Subjects in Maryland

We found no Maryland law regulating private AI chatbots, frontier AI safety, or general AI disclosure. That rests on a term filter of the General Assembly's bill master lists for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 regular sessions, over titles and synopses, using words including artificial intelligence, automated, algorithm, chatbot, generative, deepfake and pricing. We read the chapters of the AI-related acts that surfaced. We did not search the full text of every chapter, so a provision inside an unrelated bill could be missed.

One privacy rule is related. The Maryland Online Data Privacy Act lets consumers opt out of "profiling in furtherance of solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning the consumer." It reaches businesses that handled the personal data of at least 35,000 consumers in the preceding year, or at least 10,000 consumers with more than 20% of gross revenue from selling personal data. It exempts state bodies, financial institutions subject to Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and protected health information, among others.

AI Note-Takers and Maryland Recording Law

Whether an AI note-taker may record a meeting turns on recording consent, and this site classifies Maryland as an all-party consent state. See Maryland AI meeting recording laws.

Federal AI Policy and Maryland

As of November 4, 2026, we found no federal statute in the public laws of the 119th Congress that sets general rules for private AI systems or generally preempts state AI laws. In December 2025, Executive Order 14365 directed federal agencies to challenge or discourage state AI laws the administration views as conflicting with national policy, and called for a federal framework from Congress. The order itself does not declare any state law invalid.

See Trump's AI executive orders and state AI law preemption for what has happened since.

What Changes in Maryland AI Law in 2027

As of November 4, 2026, we found no new AI rule for private companies scheduled to take effect in Maryland in 2027; we searched the General Assembly's bill master lists for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 sessions. The 2027 session starts in January, and nothing carries over from 2026.

The dated items we found are government and education deadlines:

After 2027, the education collaborative ends May 31, 2028, a plan to expand the 3-1-1 program to each county is due by July 1, 2028, with the program implemented under that plan and each county then deciding the scope and manner of its participation, and the AI Workgroup act ends June 30, 2029.

More Maryland Laws

• Maryland Recording Laws
• Maryland Surveillance Camera Laws
• Maryland Data Privacy Laws
• Maryland Sexting Laws
• Maryland Background Check Laws
• Maryland Whistleblower Laws
• All AI Laws by State
• Maryland Deepfake Laws
• Maryland AI Meeting Recording Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Maryland have an AI law?

Not a comprehensive one, as of November 4, 2026. Maryland has narrower laws: HB 820 on AI in health insurance utilization review, SB 818 on state government AI, Lab. & Empl. 3-717 on facial recognition in job interviews, and deepfake laws including SB 360, SB 141 and SB 8.

What does Maryland HB 820 do?

HB 820, in force since October 1, 2025, covers carriers using an AI, algorithm or other software tool for utilization review, and pharmacy benefits managers and private review agents doing that review for a carrier. The tool may not deny, delay or modify health care services, may not base determinations solely on a group dataset, and is open to audit by the Insurance Commissioner.

What is the Maryland Artificial Intelligence Governance Act?

It is SB 818 of 2024. It applies to units of state government, which inventory systems that employ high-risk AI, conduct regular impact assessments and may not procure or deploy a new AI system unless it follows policies adopted by the Department of Information Technology. It does not regulate private companies.

Can employers in Maryland use AI in hiring?

Maryland's law on the subject is narrow. Lab. & Empl. 3-717 bars using a facial recognition service to create a facial template during a job interview unless the applicant signs a consent waiver. We found no Maryland statute on other AI hiring tools, in a term filter of bill titles and synopses for the 2024 to 2026 sessions.

Are deepfakes illegal in Maryland?

Some are. SB 360 covers computer-generated intimate images, SB 141 covers certain election deepfakes made with intent to affect voting decisions, election facts or petition signing, and SB 8 makes certain fraudulent uses of AI or a deepfake representation a felony. Each law has its own elements.

Does Maryland have a law on AI chatbots?

We found no law regulating private AI chatbots as of November 4, 2026. HB 952, on companion chatbots, passed the House in 2026 but did not get out of the Senate, and HB 1250 and SB 827 did not advance past a hearing. SB 114 sets up government 3-1-1 chatbots, which is a state service, not a rule on private companies.

Did Maryland ban surveillance pricing?

In part. HB 895, in force since October 1, 2026, bars food retailers of at least 15,000 square feet and third-party delivery service providers from using dynamic pricing or personal data to set a higher price for tax-exempt food. The pricing bans have exclusions, a separate rule limits protected class data, and the law has a 45-day cure period and no private right of action.

Will Maryland pass new AI laws in 2027?

We cannot predict that. As of November 4, 2026, we found no new AI rule for private companies scheduled to take effect in Maryland in 2027. The AI Workgroup, which monitors AI issues and makes recommendations to the General Assembly, has its next report due July 1, 2027.