---
type: "Bill"
title: "State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government"
description: "State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 159"
citation: "Maryland HB 159 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 16
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2020-01-15"
last_action: "2020-05-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f254f5c6-1a12-412f-8e7f-40b4baba90ad"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0159?ys=2020RS&search=True"
source_hash: "9cf14a4cd1c67e75239796c61696a2dbe6bfd27ebcb95eb30349647325af6e94"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-md"]
---

# Maryland HB 159 (2020) — State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Chapter - State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2020RS/Chapters_noln/CH_87_hb0159t.pdf)
2. **First - State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2020RS/bills/hb/hb0159f.pdf)
3. **Third - State Ethics Commission – Determination of Public Official in an Executive Unit – Information From Units of State Government** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2020RS/bills/hb/hb0159t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **139–0** (pass) · lower
- On Third Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Chair, Environment and Transportation Committee — primary (organization)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-15** First Reading Environment and Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-17** Hearing 2/04 at 2:00 p.m.
- **2020-01-17** Hearing canceled
- **2020-01-17** Hearing 2/04 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2020-02-17** Favorable Report by Environment and Transportation `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-18** Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-02-20** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2020-02-21** Referred Rules `referral-committee`
- **2020-03-14** Rereferred to Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs
- **2020-03-15** Hearing 3/16 at 11:00 a.m.
- **2020-03-17** Favorable Report by Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-03-17** Favorable Adopted `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2020-03-17** Second Reading Passed
- **2020-03-17** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2020-03-18** Returned Passed
- **2020-05-08** Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 87 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f254f5c6-1a12-412f-8e7f-40b4baba90ad`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).