Amid a slew of bills passed on the last day of their four-month legislative session, Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Monday to a measure that will create a sports betting industry in the state. Lawmakers also approved multiple police reform measures, passed a bill to expand voting rights for formerly incarcerated people, and signed off on legislation permitting alcohol sales with restaurant takeout.

The last-minute rush to finalize the bills capped off the first full legislative session in Annapolis conducted during the pandemic, and many of the measures lawmakers debated addressed the economic fallout from COVID-19 or the demands for police reforms stemming from last summer’s racial justice protests.

Gov. Larry Hogan, who will now decide whether to sign or veto many of the bills headed to his desk, lauded the legislative session as one of the “best” since he took office. Speaking at a press conference, Hogan highlighted a package of relief measures for residents and businesses hammered by the year-long pandemic.

“The most successful, biggest progress we had, I would say, is the RELIEF Act, which was our number one priority during this pandemic. It was the largest tax cut in Maryland history — $1.45 billion,” Hogan said. “It helped small businesses, helped put people to work, helped struggling Marylanders, helped people at every level. That was really the highlight of the session.”

Both Hogan and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said there were multiple bipartisan efforts to pass legislation, including the state budget. Ferguson zeroed in on bills that were brought up because of the inequities that were exacerbated by the pandemic.

“I think one of the biggest lessons that we’ve seen from this pandemic is that the gaps that exist in our society… the foundational breakdowns of our social contract, they existed before the pandemic, but they were put on display on a billboard for just how bad these gaps are,” Ferguson said. “And I think that’s what we’ve been successful [at] putting forward legislation to measure the problem and make sure that our solutions are having an impact.”

While many bills were passed during the session in Annapolis, a few things were not addressed during the legislative session. The state did not make inroads on legalizing recreational marijuana, even as neighboring Virginia will legalize possession and home cultivation starting July 1. (Legal sales are expected to start in 2024.) Republicans, who are in the legislature’s minority, also say there was no movement on measures to deal with violent crime.

“We really have to do something about the violent crime that’s taken over our streets,” Hogan told reporters on Monday. “And I’m hopeful that that can still happen.”

Here is a list of crucial bills that are heading to Hogan’s desk:

Implementation of sports betting

After Maryland voters approved the legalization of sports betting by a 2-1 margin during November’s election, lawmakers finalized legislation on Monday to establish the new industry. The bill was voted out of the House chamber mostly along party lines, and unanimously voted out of the Senate chamber with amendments stipulating different kinds of licenses.

Under a compromise between the House and Senate, the state is expected to issue 10 licenses to the state’s larger casinos like the MGM Grand in National Harbor, the Laurel Horse Racing track, large bingo facilities, and sports facilities for the Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles. There will also be 30 licenses issued for restaurants, bars, small race tracks, and other businesses that want on-site betting. Up to 60 companies will be able to apply for a mobile license to offer online or mobile betting.

Some Republicans, like Sen. Stephen Hershey from the Eastern Shore counties, said they thought it would be better to have an unlimited number of licenses for businesses like restaurants and bars.

“We had a number of concerns with medical marijuana when that was capped, and not everyone that wanted to participate in that program was able to do that,” Hershey said. “It just brings a selection process into this that is uneasy and unsure.”

The legislation also says that two of the state’s historically Black institutions, Morgan and Bowie State universities, will receive $1.5 million each in funding to establish a center for the study of data analytics and sports gaming. The institutions will be responsible for studying the participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in the new industry.

Sports betting could generate more than $17 million annually for the state, much of which will be put toward education. Both D.C. and Virginia have already legalized sports betting, as have more than two-dozen states across the U.S.

Jordan McNair Act

Nearly three years after Jordan McNair’s death, lawmakers passed legislation that would provide health and safety measures for college athletes.

The 19-year-old University of Maryland player died from heatstroke after staff failed to treat his symptoms or seek help. More than an hour passed between when McNair first started showing symptoms to when a trainer called 911. Two external investigations following McNair’s death found numerous lapses at the university, including a football program “where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out.” UMD fired football coach D.J. Durkin in Oct. 2018 after the university board of regents initially decided to retain him.

The bill requires college sports teams to adopt guidelines to prevent, assess, and treat sports-related conditions like brain injury, heat illness, sickle cell, asthma, and rhabdomyolysis, a condition which leads to a breakdown in muscle tissue and the release of proteins which can damage kidney function. The bill also requires the state’s university system to implement return-to-play protocol for athletes that experience serious sports injury or illness.

Other provisions of the bill allow student athletes to enter into sponsorship deals with athletic brands. The bill allows a company to use an athlete’s name, image or likeness so long as they’re not engaged in official team activities and they disclose the contract to the athletic program.

Additional police reform

Along with the other five police reform bills that passed last week — three of which were vetoed by Hogan and overridden Saturday — a sixth measure would expand the prohibition on officers having sexual contact with any victims, witnesses, or suspects of ongoing investigations.

Current law states that officers may not engage in sexual contact or intercourse with a person in their custody, with penalties of three years in prison and/or a $3,000 fine. It will now be expanded to cover more people who come into contact with law enforcement.

The bill was voted out of both chambers mostly along party lines. The Senate added an amendment which shields officers who had previous personal relationships with victims, witnesses and suspects.

The legislation would have helped several victims of alleged sexual abuse by Prince George’s County Police officers. Over the past few years, at least two officers were charged with rape and sexual assault.

Renters’ access to counsel

A bill the General Assembly passed will provide Maryland households that earn less than 50% of the state’s median income — or less than $48,000 in 2019 — access to legal representation in eviction suits by Oct. 1, 2025. The bill was voted out of both chambers along party lines, with many Republicans saying it would not help people pay their rents.

The bill is expected to be expensive, according to a fiscal analysis, mainly because of the sheer number of eviction and other tenant-related cases filed in Maryland each year. In a state with approximately 805,000 renter households, landlords file more than 655,000 eviction suits annually, according to the attorney general’s office. Most filings don’t result in court proceedings. The bill’s sponsors say implementing the program could cost $28 million a year.

Protecting immigrants’ rights

The legislation would prevent drivers from having their license information shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. This would make it illegal for counties’ police officers or state agencies to share undocumented residents’ personal information with ICE. The bill makes an exception for those individuals with an outstanding federal warrant. The bill passed out of both chambers along party lines.

Another bill would prohibit state agencies from entering into contracts with private companies to open immigrant detention centers or allow for the construction of new immigrant detention facilities. Any contract between a local government and a private company to facilitate an immigrant detention center cannot be renewed and must be terminated by Oct. 1, 2022. It would also phase out the two immigration detention facilities left in the state and end the 287(g) program that partners ICE with local county detention officers to identify and remove undocumented immigrants from the country.

“A [yes] vote means Maryland does not balance budgets on family separation,” Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery County) told his colleagues Monday night.

Both bills were voted out of the two chambers with thin margins. Many Republicans rejected the measures, stating that it would allow non-citizens to get away with criminal acts. Hogan has made it clear he will veto these bills.

Changes to rights of incarcerated individuals

During the 2020 election, criminal justice advocates in Maryland worked to make sure that 40,000 people with felony convictions who are no longer imprisoned but haven’t yet completed their parole or probation process were able to receive mail-in ballots.

These formerly incarcerated individuals gained the right to vote in 2016, but there was no legislation requiring the state’s corrections department to inform them of that right or get ballots to them. In response, lawmakers passed a bill this session that codifies the right to vote for these formerly incarcerated individuals into law.

Another bill that passed out of both chambers along party lines would stipulate that an inmate sentenced to life imprisonment would not be eligible for parole before serving for 15 years of their sentence. For those sentenced to life imprisonment after Oct. 1, they would be eligible for parole after 20 years.

The bill also partially removes the governor’s authority to approve of parole decisions and places some of the authority with the parole commission, whose members are appointed by the governor. (Maryland is one of three states in which the governor presides over the parole board.) That decision would then go to the governor who would have 180 days to respond. If the governor doesn’t respond, the decision of the commission holds.

The bill was voted out of the Senate along party lines. Democratic lawmakers said they wanted to make sure that the governor doesn’t have the ultimate decision making power on parole matters. Republicans rejected the measure, saying the bill was too lenient on inmates and would allow dangerous criminals to get parole.

Alcohol carryout sales

Following its implementation during the pandemic, the legislature legalized the sale of alcohol for carry out at bars and restaurants. The bill was unanimously voted out of both chambers, and it’s likely that Hogan will sign it.

Early in the pandemic, Hogan signed an emergency order that allowed the sale of alcohol for carry out during the health emergency. This measure has helped some restaurants survive the pandemic, while at least 40% of the state’s restaurants permanently closed.

The Maryland Restaurant Association is strongly supportive of the legislation, but does not want third-party delivery apps like GrubHub or UberEats to be able to deliver alcohol. The measure will not allow the sale of alcohol after 11 p.m. Some public health officials said they were concerned that this legislation would increase drunk driving and fuel alcoholism.