Maryland SB 925: Sales and Use Tax – Distribution of Cannabis Sales Tax Revenue – Maryland Veterans Trust Fund

Bill Text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*sb0925*

SENATE BILL 925
Q4 6lr3473
CF HB 151
By: Senator Harris
Introduced and read first time: February 6, 2026
Assigned to: Budget and Taxation

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Sales and Use Tax – Distribution of Cannabis Sales Tax Revenue – Maryland 2
Veterans Trust Fund 3

FOR the purpose of requiring a certain percentage of sales and use tax revenue collected 4
from the sale of cannabis to be distributed to the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund; 5
and generally relating to the distribution of cannabis sales tax revenue and the 6
Maryland Veterans Trust Fund. 7

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 8
Article – State Government 9
Section 9–913 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 12

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Tax – General 14
Section 2–1302.2 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 17
(As enacted by Chapters 604 and 605 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 2025) 18

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 19
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 20

Article – State Government 21

9–913. 22

(a) In this section, “Fund” means the Maryland Veterans Trust Fund. 23

2 SENATE BILL 925

(b) (1) There is a Maryland Veterans Trust established for the purpose of 1
providing monetary and other assistance to: 2

(i) veterans and their families; 3

(ii) members of the Maryland National Guard and their families; 4
and 5

(iii) public and private programs that support veterans and their 6
families. 7

(2) There is a Maryland Veterans Trust Fund. 8

(c) The Trust shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual existence, 9
subject to modification or termination by the General Assembly if necessary to effectuate 10
its purpose or if its substantial purpose ceases to exist. 11

(d) The Fund consists of: 12

(1) gifts and grants that the Trust receives under § 9–914.2(a)(1) of this 13
subtitle; 14

(2) contributions to the Fund from: 15

(i) the sale of tickets from instant ticket lottery machines under § 16
9–112(d) of this title; 17

(ii) the donations from video lottery facility players under § 18
9–1A–04(d)(19) of this title; 19

(iii) the designated fees from special registration plates for recipients 20
of an individually earned, combat–related armed forces medal under § 13–619.1 of the 21
Transportation Article; and 22

(iv) civil penalties collected in accordance with § 9–905.1 of this 23
subtitle; [and] 24

(3) the net proceeds from contributions under the income tax checkoff 25
established under § 2–117 of the Tax – General Article; AND 26

(4) REVENUE DISTRIBUTED TO THE FUND UNDER § 2–1302.2 OF THE 27
TAX – GENERAL ARTICLE. 28

(e) Money in the Fund may only be used to: 29

(1) make grants and loans under § 9–914.2(a)(3) of this subtitle; 30

SENATE BILL 925 3

(2) be invested under § 9–914.3(b) of this subtitle; and 1

(3) pay the costs of administering the Fund through distribution to an 2
administrative cost account in the Department. 3

(f) Money expended from the Fund is not intended to take the place of funding 4
that would otherwise be appropriated to the Department. 5

Article – Tax – General 6

2–1302.2. 7

After making the distributions required under §§ 2–1301 through 2–1302.1 of this 8
subtitle, of the sales and use tax collected under § 11–104(k) of this article from the sale of 9
cannabis, as defined in § 1–101 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, the 10
Comptroller quarterly shall distribute: 11

(1) 75% of the revenues as follows: 12

(i) to the Cannabis Regulation and Enforcement Fund, established 13
under § 36–206 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article, an amount necessary to 14
defray the entire cost of the operations and administrative expenses of the Maryland 15
Cannabis Administration established under Title 36 of the Alcoholic Beverages and 16
Cannabis Article; 17

(ii) to the Department of Social and Economic Mobility Special Fund, 18
established under § 9–4107 of the State Government Article, an amount necessary to defray 19
the operations and administrative expenses of the Office of Social Equity within the 20
Department of Social and Economic Mobility; 21

(iii) after making the distribution required under items (i) and (ii) of 22
this item: 23

1. 35% to the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund 24
under § 1–322 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article for fiscal years 2024 through 25
2033; 26

2. 5% to counties, which shall be allocated to each county 27
based on the percentage of revenue collected from that county, except that a county shall 28
distribute to a municipality located in the county 50% of the allocation received under this 29
item that is attributable to the sales and use tax revenue generated by a dispensary located 30
in that municipality; 31

3. 5% to the Cannabis Public