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Prohibiting a lender from accepting a tip from a consumer or giving a consumer the option to provide a tip; altering the timeline for certain refunds; subjecting certain earned wage access providers and loan lenders to certain consumer loan requirements; etc.

Prohibiting a person from engaging in certain surveillance-based price setting; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice that is subject to enforcement and penalties under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and prohibiting an employer from engaging in certain surveillance-based wage setting.

Altering certain exemptions relating to a prohibition on a consumer contract that sets a shorter time to bring an action under or on the consumer contract under certain circumstances; prohibiting a consumer contract from waiving, limiting, impairing, or disclaiming certain remedies if authorized by federal or State law, subject to certain exemptions and a certain exception; prohibiting a waiver by agreement of certain provisions in the Act; and applying the Act prospectively.

Prohibiting a merchant, in a certain transaction between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., from prohibiting a person from making a cash payment to purchase an essential consumer good, requiring a person to purchase an essential consumer good by using a credit or debit card, or charging or collecting from a person a higher price than for an equivalent cashless transaction for making a cash payment for the purchase of an essential consumer good; establishing that a violation of the Act is an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice; etc.

Prohibiting a lender from accepting a tip from a consumer or giving a consumer the option to provide a tip; altering the timeline for certain refunds; subjecting certain earned wage access providers and loan lenders to certain consumer loan requirements; etc.

Requiring certain home builders that construct model homes to make certain information about the model home available to prospective home buyers in a certain manner; requiring a home builder to provide certain information about model home upgrades to a home buyer at the time of signing a certain contract; providing that a home buyer has a right to rescind a contract for the intent to purchase a new home for any reason within a certain period of time; etc.

Requiring certain ticket resellers to register annually with the Division of Consumer Protection of the Office of the Attorney General to resell an event ticket in the State; regulating the sale and resale of event tickets in the State; establishing that a violation of the Act is an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice subject to enforcement and penalty provisions under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; etc.

Providing that consumer wire transfers involving electronic funds transfers made ancillary to bank-to-bank transfers via a wire service are subject to certain provisions of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act of 1978.

Requiring a landlord to provide certain written disclosures before accepting an application or screening fee; providing that a prospective tenant shall be allowed to dispute and provide evidence regarding certain information contained in a tenant screening report; establishing that a landlord is not liable for certain information included in a tenant screening report under certain circumstances; requiring a landlord to report certain information to a person that produces tenant screening reports; etc.

Establishing the Common Ownership Community Oversight Division in the Department of Housing and Community Development to receive and respond to certain complaints; requiring the Division to make an annual report to the General Assembly by December 1, on its activities; requiring common ownership communities to file certain governing documents with the Department which the Department must use to create a publicly accessible database; establishing requirements for a certain local common ownership commission; etc.

Prohibiting a landlord from using certain algorithmic devices to determine the amount of rent to charge for, occupancy levels of, and lease terms and conditions for a residential dwelling unit; making a violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and applying the Act prospectively.

Prohibiting a food retailer and a third-party food delivery service provider from engaging in the practice of dynamic pricing or using consumer data to set a price for consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer and a third-party food delivery service provider from using protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service under certain circumstances; making a violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice that is subject to certain enforcement and penalties; etc.

Prohibiting a certain controller from knowingly selling the personal data of a consumer to a certain governmental unit that has engaged in or supported civil immigration enforcement under certain circumstances; requiring a custodian of a public record to take reasonable steps to determine whether a public record is accessed for enforcing immigration law; requiring an entity that operates a certain message switching system to take certain actions regarding system access; etc.

Establishing the Office of the Attorney General Enforcement Recovery Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund; requiring that the Fund be used only to support the consumer protection, antitrust, and securities enforcement activities of the Office; and requiring certain money to be deposited into the Fund.

Repealing the requirement to include taxes in the total price for a ticket on a ticket listing and at each step of a ticket purchase transaction; authorizing a consumer, an artist, or a venue to file a private right of action against a ticket issuer, secondary ticket exchange, or reseller for a certain violation; authorizing a court to award economic and punitive damages; and establishing the circumstances under which damages may not exceed certain amounts.

Prohibiting a certain controller from knowingly selling the personal data of a consumer to a certain governmental unit that has engaged in or supported civil immigration enforcement under certain circumstances; requiring a custodian of a public record to take reasonable steps to determine whether a public record is being accessed for purposes of enforcing immigration law; requiring an entity that operates a certain message switching system to take certain actions regarding system access; etc.

Prohibiting a food retailer and a third-party delivery service provider from engaging in the practice of dynamic pricing or using consumer personal data to set a price for consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer and a third-party delivery service provider from using protected class data to offer, advertise, or sell a consumer good or service under certain circumstances; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice that is subject to enforcement and penalties; etc.

Prohibiting a developer of artificial intelligence from making, or knowingly causing artificial intelligence to make, certain representations or statements or to provide certain services or experiences relating to behavioral health care; requiring certain artificial intelligence sold, leased, given, or otherwise provided to consumers in the State to include a certain notice or protocols; making a violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; etc.

Prohibiting a certain video streaming service from transmitting to a consumer in the State the audio of a commercial advertisement in a manner that is louder than the audio of the accompanying video programming or video content of the video streaming service; providing that compliance with certain federal regulations shall be considered compliance with the Act; and establishing that a violation of the Act is subject to certain enforcement provisions under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.

Altering certain requirements for a controller relating to the collection of personal data; and prohibiting a controller, unless consumer consent is obtained, from collecting, processing, sharing, or selling precise geolocation data for the purpose of targeted advertising.

Establishing the Division of Data Protection within the Office of the Attorney General to investigate and bring civil actions related to violations; establishing the Maryland Data Privacy Implementation and Innovation Workgroup to study Maryland's consumer data privacy framework and evaluate implementation issues; and requiring the Workgroup to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by January 1, 2027.

Prohibiting a person from sending a check or other negotiable instrument to an individual under certain circumstances; establishing that an individual who receives a check or other negotiable instrument is not liable for the amount of the check or negotiable instrument under certain circumstances; and providing that a person who violates the Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not to exceed $500.

Requiring certain operators of companion chatbots to establish, maintain, and publish certain protocols and provide certain information to users of the companion chatbot; requiring operators to establish enhanced measures for minor users of companion chatbots; limiting the amount and type of data an operator may collect; requiring an operator to establish and maintain a complaint system; requiring the Office of Suicide Prevention to annually publish certain data compiled from operators; etc.

Establishing a data broker registry; requiring certain data brokers to register each year with the Comptroller; requiring by January 31 each year, a business entity that acted as a data broker during the previous calendar year to submit a certain form to the Comptroller and pay a fee determined by the Comptroller; requiring the Comptroller to make the information submitted by business entities publicly available on the Office's website; requiring the Comptroller to report certain information to the General Assembly by December 31 annually; etc.

Requiring a person that is not V.A. accredited that is seeking compensation for certain services related to veterans benefits matters to enter into a certain written fee agreement with the recipient of the services that complies with certain laws; requiring the fee agreement to contain a certain notice; requiring a certain notice to be given orally and acknowledged in writing; prohibiting the imposition or collection of a certain fee under certain circumstances; etc.

Prohibiting a certain video streaming service from transmitting to a consumer in the State the audio of a commercial advertisement in a manner that is louder than the audio of the accompanying video programming or video content of the video streaming service; providing that compliance with certain federal regulations shall be considered compliance with the Act; and establishing that a violation of the Act is subject to certain enforcement provisions under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.

Prohibiting a person from swiping the driver's license or ID card of an individual except for certain purposes; prohibiting a person that swipes a driver's license or ID card from storing, selling, or sharing the personal information collected except under certain circumstances; authorizing certain persons to use personal information collected through swiping only for certain purposes; authorizing a governmental entity to swipe only for certain purposes; establishing a violation of the Act as an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice; etc.

Prohibiting a landlord from requiring or requesting from a prospective tenant certain information relating to criminal history and prohibiting a landlord from considering certain information when evaluating the prospective tenant; permitting a landlord to consider certain criminal history information prior to extending a conditional offer to a prospective tenant and requiring the landlord to consider certain information provided by a prospective tenant relating to a criminal history records check; etc.

Establishing a data broker registry; defining "data broker" as a business that knowingly collects and sells or licenses personal consumer data to third parties with whom the consumer does not have a direct relationship; requiring certain data brokers to register each year with the Office of the Attorney General; requiring a data broker to report certain material changes to the Office of the Attorney General; and requiring the Office of the Attorney General to establish a certain publicly accessible, searchable database.

Establishing consumer protections related to health care financing, including disclosure and refund requirements; prohibiting health care providers and certain agents of health care providers from offering, obtaining, applying, assisting in applying for certain financing; prohibiting a health care provider from promoting certain financing to certain patients or billing a certain financier before a certain number of days prior to a procedure; etc.

Requiring the Motor Vehicle Administration to study and report on the repair and training requirements of advanced driver assistance systems; and requiring the Administration to reports its findings and recommendations to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and the House Economic Matters Committee by January 1, 2027.

Regulating the manner in which a developer designs and creates and an operator makes available to users in the State a chatbot, including establishing safety and privacy protections for users, establishing an enhanced protection for users who are minors under the age of 13 years, and requiring the display of certain warnings when using a chatbot; establishing that a chatbot is considered a product for certain product liability actions; applying certain provisions of the Act to governmental units; etc.

Requiring, to make a claim under a warranty for certain agricultural equipment, a consumer to provide written notice to certain parties to report a nonconformity, defect, or condition occurring in certain agricultural equipment; requiring certain parties to correct the nonconformity, defect, or condition in a certain manner; authorizing a court, in addition to other remedies, if a manufacturer or factory branch or agent or authorized distributor is found to have acted in bad faith, to award the consumer damages up to $5,000; etc.

Prohibiting a person from engaging in surveillance-based price setting to set the price of consumer goods or services; prohibiting a food retailer from using electronic shelving labels to display the prices of consumer goods, and instead requiring the use of nondigital presentations of price; making a certain violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act; and prohibiting an employer from engaging in surveillance-based wage setting.

Prohibiting a landlord from requiring or requesting from a prospective tenant certain information relating to criminal history and prohibiting a landlord from considering certain information when evaluating the prospective tenant; permitting a landlord to consider certain criminal history information prior to extending a conditional offer to a prospective tenant; and requiring the landlord to consider certain information provided by a prospective tenant relating to a criminal history records check; etc.

Requiring a person that operates a social media platform to display to State users of the social media platform the general geographical location of each adult user whose account is visible to the State user on the platform, unless the user is a minor or certifies participation in the Address Confidentiality Program.

Establishing consumer protections related to health care financing, including disclosure and refund requirements; prohibiting health care providers and certain agents of health care providers from offering, obtaining, applying for, or assisting in applying for certain financing; prohibiting a health care provider from promoting certain financing to certain patients or billing a certain financier before a certain number of days prior to a procedure; etc.

Establishing requirements for application store providers and developers; creating requirements for age verification and parental consent; prohibiting application store providers and developers from enforcing certain contracts under certain circumstances; prohibiting application store providers and developers from misrepresenting parental consent disclosures; making a violation of the Act an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice; etc.

Establishing a data broker registry; requiring by January 31 each year a business entity that acted as a data broker during the previous calendar year to submit a certain form to the Comptroller and pay a fee determined by the Comptroller; requiring the Comptroller to make the information submitted by business entities publicly available on the Office's website; requiring the Comptroller to report certain information to the General Assembly by December 31 annually; etc.

Regulating the manner in which a developer designs and creates and an operator makes available to users in the State a chatbot, including establishing safety and privacy protections for users; establishing, an enhanced protection for users who are minors under the age of 13 years; requiring the display of certain warnings when using a chatbot; establishing that a chatbot is considered a product for certain product liability actions; applying certain provisions of the Act to governmental units; etc.

Establishing certain child safety and data privacy requirements for certain toys featuring artificial intelligence; requiring an artificial intelligence toy to contain certain labeling; prohibiting the manufacturer of an artificial intelligence toy from using certain data for certain marketing; etc.

Requiring, beginning April 1, 2028, manufacturers of menstrual hygiene products to include a list of all ingredients listed in order of predominance and displayed prominently in conspicuous type on each consumer-facing package of menstrual hygiene products sold in the State.

Establishing requirements for consumer reporting agencies that use algorithmic systems to assemble or evaluate consumer credit information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties; and requiring the Commissioner of Financial Regulation of the Maryland Department of Labor to establish certain assessment thresholds for algorithms, mandate regular training for human reviewers, and implement a certain whistleblower protection program.

Requiring, to make a claim under a warranty for certain agricultural equipment, a consumer to provide written notice to certain parties to report a nonconformity, defect, or condition occurring in certain agricultural equipment; requiring certain parties to correct the nonconformity, defect, or condition in a certain manner; and requiring certain parties to provide a consumer with the opportunity to replace agricultural equipment or receive a refund under certain circumstances.

Requiring a manufacturer of certain motor vehicles to provide certain information and tools related to the diagnosis, service, and repair of motor vehicles to certain owners and independent repair facilities under certain circumstances; requiring an original farm equipment manufacturer to make available certain documentation, updates, or information to an independent repair provider or owner of farm equipment to allow for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the farm equipment; applying the Act prospectively; etc.

Prohibiting a commercial entity from publishing or advertising information on certain residential property unless the commercial entity verifies that the person offering the property is the property's legal owner or the agent of the legal owner or is exercising a legal remedy to sell the residential property under State law; requiring the commercial entity to maintain the verification for at least 3 years; etc.

Prohibiting a merchant from setting the price of consumer goods or services using personalized algorithmic pricing and issuing a certain communication in a certain manner unless the merchant includes a certain disclosure; prohibiting a person from knowingly or recklessly operating or licensing in a certain manner to perform a coordinating function to facilitate a certain agreement; prohibiting residential rental property owners or managers from knowingly or recklessly setting or adjusting rental terms in a certain manner; etc.

Authorizing a consumer to send certain notice relating to alleged identity theft debt to a creditor; requiring a creditor to conduct a certain investigation following receipt of notice and to provide certain notice or take certain actions under certain circumstances; authorizing a consumer to file a civil action under certain circumstances and authorizing a consumer to demand a jury trial; prohibiting collection of certain debt under certain circumstances; etc.

Requiring a commercial telecommunications service provider to automatically provide a service disruption credit to the account of a customer impacted by a material service outage; establishing the minimum amount of the credit for the service outage; and establishing that a violation of the Act is an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice subject to enforcement and penalty provisions under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.

Establishing the Common Ownership Community Ombudsman Unit in the Division of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General to receive and respond to certain complaints; requiring common ownership communities to file certain governing documents with the Department of Housing and Community Development, which the Department must use to create a publicly accessable database; and establishing requirements for a local common ownership commission established by the local government of a county.

Requiring a certain owner or operator of a certain covered platform to take reasonable measures to prioritize account privacy and establish certain default settings; requiring a covered provider to allow the parent or legal guardian of a minor to take certain actions regarding the minor's account on the covered platform; and authorizing the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of the Act and requiring the Attorney General to provide certain notice before bringing an enforcement action.