Bill > SB180

This bill amends Maryland law to allow for the lawful interception of oral communications by individuals acting as "fair housing testers" for specific government entities or qualified nonprofit civil rights organizations. A fair housing tester is defined as someone working for a program operated by the federal government, the state, a local government, or a nonprofit civil rights organization that has at least two years of experience in complaint intake, investigation, and testing for fair housing violations. The interception is permissible if the tester is a party to the communication and the purpose is to gather evidence of a fair housing violation under federal, state, or local law. While the contents of such intercepted communications and any derived evidence cannot generally be used in trials or other proceedings, they may be used specifically for enforcing fair housing laws. This change is set to take effect on October 1, 2026.

Justice

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0180?ys=2026RS