In this subtitle, “place of public accommodation” means: an inn, hotel, motel, or other establishment that provides lodging to transient guests; a restaurant, cafeteria, lunchroom, lunch counter, soda fountain, or other facility principally engaged in selling food or alcoholic beverages for consumption on or off the premises, including a facility located on the premises of a retail establishment or gasoline station; a motion picture house, theater, concert hall, sports arena, stadium, or other place of exhibition or entertainment; a retail establishment that: is operated by a public or private entity; and offers goods, services, entertainment, recreation, or transportation; or an establishment: that is physically located within the premises of any other establishment covered by this subtitle; or within the premises of which any other establishment covered by this subtitle is physically located; and that holds itself out as serving patrons of the covered establishment.

This subtitle does not prohibit the proprietor or employees of any establishment from denying service to any person for failure to conform to the usual and regular requirements, standards, and regulations of the establishment, provided that the denial is not based on discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

This subtitle does not apply: to a private club or other establishment that is not open to the public, except to the extent that the facilities of the private club or other establishment are made available to the customers or patrons of an establishment within the scope of this subtitle; with respect to sex discrimination, to a facility that is: uniquely private and personal in nature; and designed to accommodate only a particular sex; and to an establishment providing lodging to transient guests located within a building that: contains not more than five rooms for rent or hire; and is occupied by the proprietor of the establishment as the proprietor’s residence. In this subsection the following words have the meanings indicated. “Equivalent private space” means a space that is functionally equivalent to the space made available to users of a private facility. “Private facility” means a facility: that is designed to accommodate only a particular sex; that is designed to be used simultaneously by more than one user of the same sex; and in which it is customary to disrobe in view of other users of the facility. Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, this subtitle applies, with respect to gender identity, to all facilities in a place of public accommodation. This subtitle does not apply, with respect to gender identity, to a private facility, if the place of public accommodation in which the private facility is located makes available, for the use of persons whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth, an equivalent private space.

An owner or operator of a place of public accommodation or an agent or employee of the owner or operator may not refuse, withhold from, or deny to any person any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of the place of public accommodation because of the person’s race, sex, age, color, creed, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

In this section, “reasonable accommodation” means to make a place of public accommodation suitable for access, use, and patronage by an individual with a disability without: danger to the individual’s health or safety; and undue hardship or expense to the person making the accommodation. This subtitle does not require structural changes, modifications, or additions to buildings or vehicles, except as required by this section or as otherwise required by law. Any building constructed, modified, or altered in compliance with, or in accordance with a waiver from, the Maryland Accessibility Code under § 12–202 of the Public Safety Article is not subject to this subtitle. If a structural change or modification or the provision of special equipment is necessary to accommodate an individual with a disability, the accommodation shall be a reasonable accommodation. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a private motor coach transportation carrier may not be required to expend more than $2,500 per operating vehicle to make a reasonable accommodation to comply with this title. At least 10% of the total operating fleet of any private motor coach transportation carrier doing business in the State shall comply with this title.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Closed captioning” means a transcript or dialog of the audio portion of a television program that is displayed on a television receiver screen when the user activates the feature. “Closed–captioning television receiver” means a receiver of television programming that has the ability to display closed captioning, including a television, digital set top box, and any other technology capable of displaying closed captioning. “Closed movie captioning” means the written display of the dialog and certain nonspeech information of a motion picture that is generally delivered to individual patrons on a captioning device in a motion picture house. “Open movie captioning” means a transcript or dialog of the audio portion of a motion picture that is displayed on a motion picture screen that cannot be turned off by a viewer. “Public area” means a part of a place of public accommodation that is open to the general public. “Regular hours” means the hours of any day in which a place of public accommodation is open to members of the general public. On request, a place of public accommodation may not fail to keep closed captioning activated on any closed–captioning television receiver that is in use during regular hours in any public area. This subsection does not require a place of public accommodation to make closed captioning available in a public area of the place of public accommodation if: no television receiver of any kind is available in the public area; or the only public television receiver available in the public area is not a closed–captioning television receiver. A place of public accommodation that is a motion picture house shall provide access to fully operational and well–maintained closed movie captioning technology for the general public for each screening of a motion picture that is produced and available with closed movie captioning as required by Title III of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. This paragraph does not apply to motion pictures screened fewer than five times from Friday through Thursday in a 7–day period in the motion picture house. This paragraph applies only to the first 3 weeks after a motion picture premieres in the motion picture house. If a motion picture is produced and available to motion picture houses with open movie captioning, a place of public accommodation that controls, operates, owns, or leases a motion picture house with eight or more screens in the State shall provide open movie captioning for at least two screenings for each motion picture it screens each week. Beginning 3 weeks after a motion picture premieres, a place of accommodation that controls, operates, owns, or leases a motion picture house with eight or more screens in the State may provide open movie captioning with reasonable notice.