BRED Leads Cooperative Statute All The Way

We did it! The Maryland Cooperative Statute has passed!!! It has been signed by the Governor and will go into effect on October 1, 2026!

Our project steward, Anna Evans-Goldstein, took initiative and cultivated the Maryland Limited Worker Cooperative Association Act. This meant a lot of drafts, meetings, conversations, connections, trips to Annapolis, and time. We are so proud of the work Anna has done on this, and are happy to be a part of getting this bill passed.

A huge thank you goes out to the many cooperative members and supporters who contacted their elected representatives to push for this landmark legislation!

From Anna:

Thank you so much to all of you who wrote letters, made calls, and showed up to testify. This bill would not have passed without the overwhelming support of the cooperative community in Maryland. We truly showed what it is to be a community that supports each other - cooperatives supporting cooperatives - a shining example of the sixth cooperative principle.

A special thank you to our champions in the Maryland State Legislature, Legislature includes: Senator Mary Washington , Delegates Lili Qi, and Delegate Lorig Charkoudian. Please take a moment to reach out to them by email or by phone to express our heartfelt thank you for championing this bill. And thank you to our partners who helped with bill drafting and support: the University of Baltimore Community Development Law Clinic and the Public Justice Center.