As the calendar turns to 2025, Maryland residents can expect a host of new laws coming into effect starting January 1, addressing a range of issues from road worker safety to the burgeoning opioid crisis. Chief among them, as reported by FOX Baltimore, is the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act—one precipitated by the harrowing incident on I-695 where a car, traveling at perilous speeds over 100 miles per hour, took the lives of six road workers in a crash, igniting a discussion on work zone safety.
This legislation introduces a tiered fine system for speeding in work zones, where fines will range from $60 to $500, with penalties doubling when workers are on site. According to CBS News Baltimore, such hawk-eyed measures hope to prevent another tragedy akin to the I-695 calamity. In addition to speed cameras, the law, shaped out of Lt. Governor Aruna Miller's work zone safety work group recommendations, will also see an increase in evasion penalties initially raised in June from $40 to $80.
Beyond the asphalt, the approach to the opioid epidemic sees a significant transformation with the enactment of new protocols requiring hospitals not only to follow specific screening and diagnosing practices for opioid emergencies but also to ensure that patients are referred to community providers for continued care after an overdose incident. This move was born from legislation, including HB 1155 and SB 1071.
On the environmental front, the Annapolis Plastic Bag Reduction Act, effective January 22, bans plastic bags in retail and encourages paper alternatives with a 10-cent charge kept by retailers—a small but meaningful step toward reducing environmental harm. Meanwhile, healthcare accessibility improves with Medicaid covering hearing aids, orthoses, and prostheses under the new legislation, reducing barriers for those relying on such aids.
