Each January, the Maryland General Assembly convenes to begin its legislative session. During the session, the MSBA not only monitors hundreds of bills but also supports legislation that protects the legal profession, preserves the integrity of the judicial system, and ensures access to justice for Marylanders. The MSBA’s practice-based Sections and Laws Committee regularly offers insight and perspective to legislators on the potential impact of bills as well.
The MSBA’s advocacy takes many forms, including drafting bills and amendments, providing testimony and advice to legislators, mobilizing MSBA members on priority bills, and convening our members and legislators. Throughout the 2023 session, the MSBA provided bi-weekly bill reports to members with relevant bills and held weekly calls with Section legislative liaisons to discuss advocacy strategies and priority issues. The MSBA regularly features advocacy content and updates through our various channels, including our website, e-weekly, Section newsletters, Maryland Bar Journal, and social media.The MSBA was pleased that several of our priority bills passed this year. Several other bills impacting the legal profession passed as well.
The following MSBA-supported bill, which affects corporate and transactional attorneys, goes into effect on October 1, 2023.
Corporations and Associations – Revisions (HB209)
HB209, sponsored by the Committee on Corporation Law of the MSBA’s Business Law Section, is a combination of fixes to highly technical corporate laws, including 1) allowing a corporation’s charter or bylaws to provide for ex officio directors, 2) clarifying that stock certificates may not be issued in bearer form, 3) clarifying annual meeting requirements for investment companies, and, 4) establishing a Notice of Termination requirement with SDAT for termination of real estate investment trusts.
The ability to make a difference in Annapolis is just one of the many reasons we need all legal professionals to belong to the MSBA to ensure we remain a strong and vibrant association. Thank you for your support. Visit us at msba.org/advocacy and contact us at advocacy@msba.org.