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Read. Follow. Verify.Maryland expands tax whistleblower reward program to cover all state tax violations and empowers Attorney General and state agencies
Last action · March 25, 2026: Hearing 4/02 at 1:00 p.m.Sponsor: Craig Zucker
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate Bill 766 expands Maryland's Whistleblower Reward Program beyond income and business taxes to cover any state tax violation enforced by the Comptroller, the Attorney General, or other state agencies, effective October 1, 2026. The legislation authorizes the Attorney General and state agencies to bring s, establishes retroactive award eligibility for whistleblowers who submitted information on or after October 1, 2021, and prohibits employer retaliation against employees reporting any tax violation.
Tax whistleblowers can now receive monetary awards ranging from 15% to 30% of collected taxes, penalties, and interest resulting from tips on non-income state taxes, while the Attorney General gains new authority to litigate these cases and share information with the Comptroller.
- Maryland's Whistleblower Reward Program previously authorized financial awards for individuals providing original information regarding state and county income taxes and select business taxes. context
- The Office of Administrative Hearings handles contested state agency decisions and administrative challenges in Maryland. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Tax whistleblowers
Eligible individuals or entities providing original tax violation information may receive monetary awards ranging from 15% to 30% of collected funds across all state taxes and are protected from workplace retaliation.
State Comptroller
Must share whistleblower information with other agencies, determine award amounts, and coordinate tax enforcement actions with the Attorney General.
Employers and contractors
Prohibited from discharging, demoting, harassing, or retaliating against employees who report tax violations or participate in investigations.
Key Facts
- Expands the Whistleblower Reward Program to cover enforcement actions for any tax imposed under any article of the Maryland Annotated Code and collected by or paid to the State.
- Authorizes the Attorney General and state agencies to bring covered enforcement actions under the whistleblower program.
- Entitles eligible whistleblowers to a monetary award of 15% to 30% of taxes, penalties, and interest collected through an enforcement action.
- Requires the Comptroller to share original whistleblower information with the Attorney General or relevant state agency when the matter involves their enforcement authority.
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- Requires the Attorney General or state agencies to promptly provide final assessment information to the Comptroller after bringing a successful enforcement action.
- Grants sole discretion for determining whistleblower award eligibility under other articles to the Attorney General or the respective state agency.
- Applies retroactively to whistleblower information provided in a sworn affidavit to the Comptroller on or after October 1, 2021.
- Allows whistleblowers previously denied awards under prior law to appeal within 45 days after the effective date of the Act.
- Prohibits employers, contractors, and agents from retaliating against employees who report possible tax violations or assist in investigations.
- Allows whistleblower determinations to be challenged through the Office of Administrative Hearings within 45 days of the determination.
- Maintains an aggregate cap of 30% on total awards when two or more whistleblowers contribute to the same enforcement action.
- Sets an effective date of October 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a whistleblower receives a monetary award?
Can previous whistleblowers benefit from this expanded law?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
8 actions- Mar 25, 2026HouseHearing 4/02 at 1:00 p.m.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred Ways and Means
- Mar 20, 2026SenateFloorThird Reading Passed (38-0)
- Mar 20, 2026SenateFloorSecond Reading Passed with Amendments
- Mar 20, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 533024/1 Adopted
- Mar 20, 2026SenateCommitteeFavorable with Amendments Report by Budget and Taxation
Show 2 earlier actions
- Feb 11, 2026SenateHearing 3/04 at 1:00 p.m.
- Feb 6, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Budget and Taxation
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion Beyond Income Tax
Shifts Maryland's whistleblower program from a narrow focus on income and business taxes to a comprehensive mechanism covering all state-collected taxes.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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