A Look at Some New Laws Taking Effect in Maryland

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Here is a glance at some of the new laws that went into effect in Maryland October 1:

CHEMOTHERAPY PARITY

Health insurance companies will have to level the playing field for out-of-pocket patient expenses for oral treatments to fight cancer with intravenous treatments.

CHILD SAFETY SEATS

An exception to the state’s child safety seat law for children under 8 who weigh more than 65 pounds is being repealed.

CHILD SUPPORT-PRISONERS

Prisoners won’t have to pay child support while they are incarcerated.

FANTASY COMPETITIONS

Games such as “Fantasy Football” will be exempt from prohibitions against betting, wagering and gambling in state law.

FIREARMS

A person won’t be able to possess a regulated firearm, rifle or shotgun, if the individual has been convicted of a federal charge or an offense in another state that would be a disqualifying crime of violence or drug crime if committed in Maryland.

HANDLING REMAINS

Funeral establishments will have new requirements to maintain bodies in a specific manner, and they will be prohibited from embalming bodies or artificially preserving them except for under specific circumstances.

MARIJUANA PENALTIES

The penalty for possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana will be reduced to 90 days in prison or a fine of $500. Current law allows for a maximum prison sentence of one year and a $1,000 fine.

PHYLICIA’S LAW

State officials will be required to publish a list of missing children and annual statistics. The law is named in memory of North Carolina teen Phylicia Barnes, who disappeared in 2010 while visiting Baltimore and was later found dead.

SOCIAL MEDIA-JOB APPLICANTS

Employers will be prohibited from requiring or requesting employees or applicants to disclose their user names or passwords to access personal Internet sites and We-based accounts as a condition of employment.

SPERM AND EGG DONATIONS

Sperm or eggs from a donor who has died won’t be able to be used for assisted reproduction without prior permission.