FAILED:
SB 75   ‘Alcoholic Beverages – Class A License – Food Retailers’
(No cross-file bill) 
(Would have allowed food establishments meeting certain size and other criteria to sell beer and wine. This definition incvudes most 7-11s, Royal Farms, and Highs gas stations, Costco, Sam’s, and every standard grocery store chain. This is according to testimony by the MD Public Health Association (MdPHA) against a prior iteration of this bill. MdPHA also testified that research consistently demonstrates that increased alcohol outlet density, especially those selling unopened containers, is associated with an increase in violence, criminal activity, domestic violence, and child maltreatment. It is also very costly; a recent study in Baltimore City demonstrated that alcohol-related harms cost $582 million each year. Large chain stores can lower costs of alcohol products, which can lead to increased levels of consumption and harms, and can negatively affect locally owned alcohol outlets unable to compete. It is possible that MdPHA may not be able to make these excellent points this year. MDDCSAM’s testimony presents these and arguments, including the fact that at least half of all alcohol sold is consumed in heavy drinking episodes, which are associated with harms). 
MDDCSAM testimony in OPPOSITION

FAILED:
HB 766   ‘Retail Tobacco Businesses and Establishment of a Premium Cigar Lounge Alcoholic Beverages License’
(X-file bill: SB 428)  
(The bill would have made exceptions, for the first time, to the state’s landmark Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) enacted in 2007. MDDCSAM has opposed similar bills over the years, and opposition was a top priority for public health groups including state chapters of the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society and the Maryland Smoke-free Coalition. It was expected to pass because, this year, it had the support of leadership. The bill would affect some Maryland workers who do not want to be exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS), who may develop mild or severe symptoms from SHS (e.g., an asthma attack that can lead to hospitalization or worse), have certain health conditions such as heart or lung disease, who prefer not to increase their risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer,  premature death, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease, who know they are pregnant, or do not know they are pregnant, as a condition of their employment. Also, clean indoor air protections in Maryland have been followed by robust declines in smoking rates (tobacco use disorder) more effectively than efforts prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. When smoke-free air rules were implemented leading up to the law’s enactment, between 1998 and 2010 the smoking rate in Maryland declined by 32%, double the national average). 
MDDCSAM’s testimony in OPPOSITION

FAILED:
HB 518  ‘Gaming – Problem Gambling and College Athlete Protections’
(No X-file bill) 
(This bill …
(1) Enhances Maryland’s current program of allowing individuals to ban themselves from playing the Maryland Lottery or gambling at Maryland casinos. (The “voluntary exclusion program”). It allows the Maryland Center for Excellence on Problem Gambling to proactively offer services from a peer support specialist to individuals who make this type of request. 
(2) Raises the age to participate in online fantasy gambling from 18 to 21. MDDCSAM’s proposed amendment is to eliminate the exemption for 18–20-year-olds who have an existing fantasy competition account. (Fantasy sports are known to be highly addictive).  
(3) Prohibits “proposition bets” on collegiate sports events, i.e., wagering on events unrelated to the final score or outcome. These include wagering on an individual athlete’s performance which can contribute to harassment of college athletes, and is  opposed by the NCAA.  
(4) Requires sports wagering licensees to report de-identified transactional data to certain research institutions in order to evaluate measures to minimize the harms of sports gambling).
MDCSAM’s testimony: SUPPORT WITH AMENDMENT