Bill > HB1604

This bill, titled "Public School System Contracts - Prohibited Provisions," aims to protect public school systems by preventing them from entering into contracts with certain unfavorable terms. A "public school system contract" is defined as any agreement made by a public school system. The bill specifies that, unless required by state or federal law, these contracts cannot include provisions that force the school system to pay for another party's legal defense or hold them harmless without dedicated funds, agree to binding arbitration or other non-court dispute resolution, choose a legal venue outside of Maryland, limit their liability for damages caused by the other party's negligence or misconduct, accept unknown or unilaterally changeable terms, allow employees without authority to bind the system electronically, restrict the school system's choice of legal counsel, contradict their obligations under specific state laws, incur debts or spend beyond their budget without appropriated funds, automatically renew contracts and obligate future funding, or prevent them from recovering costs for replacement contractors. If a contract contains any of these prohibited provisions, that specific provision will be considered void from the beginning, and the rest of the contract will still be enforceable as if the invalid clause wasn't there. Furthermore, any contract with such a provision will be governed by Maryland state law, regardless of what the contract itself says. This Act will only apply to contracts entered into on or after its effective date of July 1, 2026, and will not affect existing contracts or their renewals.

Government Affairs

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/HB1604?ys=2026RS