---
type: "Bill"
title: "Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language Assistance Program"
description: "Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language Assistance Program"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 685"
citation: "Maryland SB 685 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Augustine"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 13
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2025-01-30"
last_action: "2025-05-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9a8824e4-cd05-49fb-ad9a-8d944f852bc2"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0685?ys=2025RS&search=True"
source_hash: "5577889d4d4045529c8f99d791e9bb55ec2d602043a321a8e06a1708ade5d31a"
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 685 (2025) — Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language Assistance Program

## Version chain

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

1. **Chapter - Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language Assistance Program** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_277_sb0685t.pdf)
2. **First - Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language-Related Assistance** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0685f.pdf)
3. **Third - Election Law - Local Boards of Elections - Language Assistance Program** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/sb/sb0685t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **32–12** (pass) · upper
- On Third Reading — **104–31** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Augustine — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-30** First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-04** Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2025-04-03** Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-03** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-03** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2025-04-04** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2025-04-04** Referred Rules and Executive Nominations `referral-committee`
- **2025-04-04** Rereferred to Ways and Means
- **2025-04-05** Favorable Report by Ways and Means `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-07** Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-07** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2025-04-07** Returned Passed
- **2025-05-06** Approved by the Governor - Chapter 277 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/9a8824e4-cd05-49fb-ad9a-8d944f852bc2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).