Benjamin F. Kramer (born March 5, 1957) is an American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing District 19 since 2019.

[1] He was one of three children born to father Sidney Kramer, who would later serve as a state senator and Montgomery County Executive, and mother Betty Mae.

[1] In 2009, Kramer unsuccessfully ran in the Montgomery County Council District 4 special election, in which he was defeated by Nancy Navarro.

[10] He ran unopposed in both the primary and defeated Green Party nominee David Jeang general election,[11][12] and was sworn in on January 9, 2019.

[28] In 2021, Kramer introduced a bill that would require the Maryland Public Service Commission to consider climate change while reviewing applications for new generating facilities.

[33] During the 2014 legislative session, he unsuccessfully sought to place financial penalties on the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for supporting the American Studies Association,[34] despite UMBC saying that it would end its affiliation with the ASA.

[33] The legislature instead opted to pass a resolution condemning the BDS movement, making Maryland the first state to do so,[35] which Kramer said was "not the victory we should have had".

[40] In November 2023, Kramer led a letter signed by eight other state senators that threatened to defund immigrants rights group CASA de Maryland because it had called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war and condemned the "utilization of US tax dollars to promote the ongoing violence".

[45] As a member of the task force, Kramer criticized Franchot for not including any advocates for public health or public safety in his task force to craft the Reform on Tap proposals,[46] which the committee voted 17–4 to reject later that year[47] and recommended removing the Comptroller of Maryland's ability to regulate the alcohol industry.

[51] In February 2019, Franchot accused Kramer of being "corrupt" and having a conflict of interest by introducing the bill, noting that his family's real estate business rents space to a county-owned retail alcohol outlet.

[57][58] During the 2016 legislative session and following the death of Noah Leotta, a Montgomery County police officer who was killed by a drunk driver while on DUI patrol, Kramer introduced a bill to expand the use of breathalyzers,[59] which passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan.

[60] During the 2018 legislative session, Kramer introduced a bill that would prohibit retail pet stores from selling puppies and kittens, which passed and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan.

[66][67] During the 2021 legislative session, he introduced a bill that would allow voters to opt into a list that allows them to receive mail-in ballots for every future election,[21] which passed and became law.