---
type: "Bill"
title: "Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment ( Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act)"
description: "Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment ( Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/md"
legislature: "Maryland General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 972"
citation: "Maryland HB 972 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Adams", "Allen", "Anderson", "Arentz", "Arikan", "Baker", "Beauchamp", "Behler", "Bouchat", "Boyce", "Buckel", "Chisholm", "Ciliberti", "Fair", "Foley", "Fraser-Hidalgo", "Ghrist", "Griffith", "Guyton", "Hartman", "Healey", "Hinebaugh", "Holmes", "Hornberger", "Howard", "Hutchinson", "J. Long", "Jacobs", "Kipke", "Korman", "Lewis", "M. Morgan", "Mangione", "McComas", "Metzgar", "Miller", "Nkongolo", "Odom", "Pippy", "R. Long", "Reilly", "Rose", "Schmidt", "Simpson", "Stein", "Stonko", "T. Morgan", "Tomlinson", "Valentine", "Wivell", "Ziegler"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 14
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-02-06"
last_action: "2026-04-28"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5627e045-b44f-489a-a534-5953f86290bd"
source_url: "http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0972?ys=2026RS"
source_hash: "6bb1ccd73ba0589d2170723a961062e9368c1c672bdcfae3c39074a5ee0b8656"
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 972 (2026) — Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment ( Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act)

## Version chain

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

1. **Chapter - Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment ( Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_163_hb0972t.pdf)
2. **First - Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment (Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0972f.pdf)
3. **Third - Maryland Fair and Agricultural Education Promise Fund - Establishment ( Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0972t.pdf)

## Votes

- On Third Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper
- On Third Reading — **137–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Adams — primary (person)
- Allen — primary (person)
- Anderson — primary (person)
- Arentz — primary (person)
- Arikan — primary (person)
- Baker — primary (person)
- Beauchamp — primary (person)
- Behler — primary (person)
- Bouchat — primary (person)
- Boyce — primary (person)
- Buckel — primary (person)
- Chisholm — primary (person)
- Ciliberti — primary (person)
- Fair — primary (person)
- Foley — primary (person)
- Fraser-Hidalgo — primary (person)
- Ghrist — primary (person)
- Griffith — primary (person)
- Guyton — primary (person)
- Hartman — primary (person)
- Healey — primary (person)
- Hinebaugh — primary (person)
- Holmes — primary (person)
- Hornberger — primary (person)
- Howard — primary (person)
- Hutchinson — primary (person)
- J. Long — primary (person)
- Jacobs — primary (person)
- Kipke — primary (person)
- Korman — primary (person)
- Lewis — primary (person)
- M. Morgan — primary (person)
- Mangione — primary (person)
- McComas — primary (person)
- Metzgar — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Nkongolo — primary (person)
- Odom — primary (person)
- Pippy — primary (person)
- R. Long — primary (person)
- Reilly — primary (person)
- Rose — primary (person)
- Schmidt — primary (person)
- Simpson — primary (person)
- Stein — primary (person)
- Stonko — primary (person)
- T. Morgan — primary (person)
- Tomlinson — primary (person)
- Valentine — primary (person)
- Wivell — primary (person)
- Ziegler — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-06** First Reading Environment and Transportation `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-10** Hearing 2/25 at 1:00 p.m.
- **2026-03-20** Favorable with Amendments Report by Environment and Transportation `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-21** Favorable with Amendments { `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-21** Second Reading Passed with Amendments
- **2026-03-23** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-03-23** Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment Budget and Taxation `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-24** Hearing 3/31 at 1:00 p.m. (Education, Energy, and the Environment)
- **2026-04-09** Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-09** Favorable Adopted `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-09** Second Reading Passed
- **2026-04-13** Third Reading Passed `passage`
- **2026-04-13** Returned Passed
- **2026-04-28** Approved by the Governor - Chapter 163 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5627e045-b44f-489a-a534-5953f86290bd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Maryland legislature records).