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Md. Code, State Government § 20-101

This is the official text of Md. Code, State Government § 20-101, part of Maryland’s Code, State Government — covers the structure and operation of Maryland state government.

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§20–101.

Official statutory text

(a) In Subtitles 1 through 11 of this title the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Commission” means the Commission on Civil Rights.

(c) “Complainant” means a person that files a complaint alleging a discriminatory act under this title.

(d) “Discriminatory act” means an act prohibited under:

(1) Subtitle 3 of this title (Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation);

(2) Subtitle 4 of this title (Discrimination by Persons Licensed or Regulated by Maryland Department of Labor);

(3) Subtitle 5 of this title (Discrimination in Leasing of Commercial Property);

(4) Subtitle 6 of this title (Discrimination in Employment);

(5) Subtitle 7 of this title (Discrimination in Housing); or

(6) Subtitle 8 of this title (Aiding, Abetting, or Attempting Discriminatory Act; Obstructing Compliance).

(e) “Gender identity” means the gender–related identity, appearance, expression, or behavior of a person, regardless of the person’s assigned sex at birth, which may be demonstrated by:

(1) consistent and uniform assertion of the person’s gender identity; or

(2) any other evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held as part of the person’s core identity.

(f) “Military status” means the status of being:

(1) a member of the uniformed services;

(2) a member of a reserve component of the uniformed services; or

(3) a dependent, as defined in 50 U.S.C. § 3911(4).

(g) “Protective hairstyle” includes braids, twists, and locks.

(h) “Race” includes traits associated with race, including hair texture, afro hairstyles, and protective hairstyles.

(i) (1) “Respondent” means a person accused in a complaint of a discriminatory act.

(2) “Respondent” includes a person identified during an investigation of a complaint and joined as an additional or substitute respondent.

(j) “Sexual orientation” means the identification of an individual as to male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.