---
type: "Bill"
title: "State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification"
description: "State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 642"
citation: "Maryland SB 642 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Elfreth", "Jackson"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 14
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-01-29"
last_action: "2021-05-30"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b5c7ccbd-acbc-40b5-9866-d86189b2c96e"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0642?ys=2021RS&search=True"
source_hash: "1a860bd4e588b09f25dff3c4d7b9217f488e5c9ea3aef11d26486b8ca5a2d53f"
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 SB 642 (2021) — State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification

## Version chain

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

1. **Chapter - State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/Chapters_noln/CH_422_sb0642t.pdf)
2. **First - State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/sb/sb0642f.pdf)
3. **Third - State Retirement and Pension System - COVID-19-Related Death Benefits - Clarification** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/sb/sb0642t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper
- On Third Reading — **138–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Chair, Joint Committee on Pensions — primary (organization)
- Elfreth — primary (person)
- Jackson — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-01-29** First Reading Budget and Taxation `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-02** Hearing 2/18 at 9:00 a.m.
- **2021-03-10** Favorable with Amendments Report by Budget and Taxation `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-11** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-11** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2021-03-12** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2021-03-16** Referred Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-20** Hearing 3/30 at 1:30 p.m.
- **2021-03-22** Hearing canceled
- **2021-04-07** Favorable Report by Appropriations `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-07** Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-08** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2021-04-08** Returned Passed
- **2021-05-30** Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 422 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b5c7ccbd-acbc-40b5-9866-d86189b2c96e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).