Maryland 2026 Session Status: Introduced 3 D cosponsors

HB1406 — Criminal Law - Self-Defense - Prior Acts by Victim

Last action — Hearing (Primary, House of Origin)

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House of Delegates
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced February 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Authorizing a person charged with murder or manslaughter in any degree or a crime under Title 3, Subtitle 2 of the Criminal Law Article to assert the defense that the person acted in self-defense and need not prove that the person believed danger was imminent or immediate if the victim had previously committed a certain act against the person.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB1406 on the official Maryland source →

Action History

  1. Hearing (Primary, House of Origin)

  2. First Reading (House of Origin)

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 185 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (2)

Not signed on (185)

185 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 185 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB1406 do?
Authorizing a person charged with murder or manslaughter in any degree or a crime under Title 3, Subtitle 2 of the Criminal Law Article to assert the defense that the person acted in self-defense and need not prove that the person believed danger was imminent or immediate if the victim had previously committed a certain act against the person.
Who sponsors HB1406?
HB1406 is sponsored by Delegate Stephanie Smith (Democrat), Delegate Elizabeth Embry (Democrat), and Delegate Malcolm P. Ruff (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB1406?
This bill has been introduced in the House of Delegates. Introduced February 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB1406?
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Last checked for changes about 4 hours ago · updated continuously

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