Maryland 2026 Session Status: Introduced 1 D cosponsors

HB1568 — Local Government - Animal Control - Dogs At Large (Dog Leash Laws)

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.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

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.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Requiring each county and municipality to adopt certain laws or ordinances prohibiting a dog from being at large; providing the Act may not be construed to preempt a local government from enacting and enforcing more stringent measures; and stating it is the intent of the General Assembly that the Act be applied and interpreted to recognize the definition of the term "running at large" as used by the Appellate Court of Maryland in Blitzer v. Breski, 259 Md. App. 257 (2023).

Bill Text

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

Read HB1568 on the official Maryland source →

Action History

  1. Hearing (Primary, House of Origin)

  2. First Reading (House of Origin)

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 187 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (187)

187 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 187 →

"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 HB1568 do?
Requiring each county and municipality to adopt certain laws or ordinances prohibiting a dog from being at large; providing the Act may not be construed to preempt a local government from enacting and enforcing more stringent measures; and stating it is the intent of the General Assembly that the Act be applied and interpreted to recognize the definition of the term "running at large" as used by the Appellate Court of Maryland in Blitzer v. Breski, 259 Md. App. 257 (2023).
Who sponsors HB1568?
HB1568 is sponsored by Delegate Kim Ross (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB1568?
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 HB1568?
Track HB1568 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB1568

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB1568

Last checked for changes about 1 hour ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →