Legislative Hotline
2006 SESSION OF THE
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Volume 14, Number 1����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� January 18, 2006
Here are some of the hot issues as the 2006
Legislative Session develops:
GOVERNOR EHRLICH’S SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
VETO OVERRIDES
BILLS
INTRODUCED
STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
Governor Ehrlich’s Science and Technology
Budget Highlights
On
the opening day of the 2006 Maryland General Assembly, Governor Ehrlich held a
press conference at the
Of
particular interest to Johns Hopkins was the Governor’s statement that
his proposed capital budget will include an additional $2.5 million each year
for the
The
Governor’s stem cell research funding proposal includes $13.5 million for
the Center for Regenerative Research at the
Highlights
of the Governor’s science and technology agenda also include $28.1 million
in Cigarette Restitution Funds for cancer research, but it is unclear whether
this is limited to research or also includes other programs funded through this
source. More detail will be available by the middle of next week, when the
operating budget is introduced.�
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The Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Ehrlich’s
veto of a bill requiring Wal-Mart to pay more for employee health care.� The bill, called the Fair Share Health Care
Fund Act, will take effect in 30 days and requires companies with more than
10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on employee
health care or pay the difference to a state medical assistance fund. Four
companies in
The
members of the General Assembly also overrode the veto of House Bill 391, which
will provide a $1-an-hour increase to the minimum wage. Senate Bill 478,
Election Law - Early Voting was overridden as well.� The early voting bill allows voting at
limited locations in the week before election day, not to be confused with the
“Early Primary bill,” which did not pass last year and would have
moved the primary to an earlier date.
Another vetoed bill that
has been overridden is Senate Bill 287, the Voters Rights Protection Act of
2005, which provides procedures for counting provisional ballots by local
boards of election and for establishing a challenged voter’s identity. The
bill prohibits various conduct in connection with
voting at polling sites and provides for civil and criminal penalties.
The
opening day speeches of this legislative session struck a generally collegial
tone, but with the elections coming up and the veto overrides looming, the rest
of the day was marked by partisan tones and frenetic lobbying.�
Both
House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. “Mike”
Miller Jr. were reelected to lead their chambers -- Miller for the 20th year.
Speaker
Busch also discussed his five-point agenda.�
He called for property tax relief for low-income senior citizens; better
monitoring of sex offenders; controls on agricultural runoff to clean up the
Finally, the Speaker said that the House of
Delegates would not cut funding for higher education, specifically noting the
importance of the Sellinger Aid program to the higher education system in
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BILLS INTRODUCED
Budget - Capital
SB0065� Creation of a State Debt - Anne Arundel Medical Center
This bond bill authorizes a $250,000 grant to Anne
Arundel Medical Center for the planning, design, construction, repair, renovation
and capital equipping of the Pathways Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center
located on the campus.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila Higdon
Health Care Facilities
hb0078� Hospitals - Comparable Evaluation System - Health
Care-Associated Infection Information
The bill directs the Maryland Health Care Commission
in its comparable evaluation system to adhere, to the extent possible, to the
current recommendations of the CDC regarding to the public reporting of health
care-associated infections.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Health Care Practitioners
sb0032� State of Emergency - Health Care Practitioners -
Credentialing Programs for Emergency Preparedness
The bill adds the inclusion of "emergency
preparedness credentialing programs for health care practitioners"
licensed in Maryland and in other states among the training programs to the
authorization of the Governor in the event of a State emergency.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Health Insurance
hb0097� Joint Legislative Task Force on Universal Access to
Quality and Affordable Health Care - Extension and Modifications
The bill would change the membership of the Joint
Legislative Task Force on Universal Access to Quality and Affordable Health
Care to allow for additional, nonvoting members. The bill also extends the life
of the committee until June 30, 2007.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Medicaid
HB0089� Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Legal Immigrants
- Pregnant Women and Children
The bill would mandate, starting in fiscal year
2008,� that the Governor include in his
budget bill for the Medicaid program at least $7 million to provide for all
legal immigrant children under 18 years of age and pregnant women who meet� program eligibility standards.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Minority Health Disparities
hb0058� Maryland Health Care Commission - Racial Variations -
Health Care Disparities Policy Report Card
The bill requires the
Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) to include a component that reports on
racial variations within the HMO report.�
The bill also directs the MHCC to develop a system to evaluate state policies
for reducing health disparities and by July 2007, to annually publish a
"Health Care Disparities Report Card" that will include the
following:
- analysis of racial disparities
in insurance coverage,
- diversity ratio of the racial
composition of the physician population compared to the composition of the
state's population, and
- racial disparities in morbidity
and mortality rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes,
HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, asthma and other diseases as appropriate.
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The MHCC is
also required to evaluate the feasibility of obtaining information from urban
and rural populations and include geographic disparities in the report card.
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The bill
requires the MHCC to work in consultation with the Office of Minority Health
& Health Disparities in DHMH, the Center for Health Disparities at the
University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland East
Shore, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities and Solutions, and
Morgan State.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Research/Human Subject
HB0001� Maryland Stem Cell Research Act of 2006
This bill establishes
a Maryland Stem Cell Research Act.� The
bill provides $25 million per year to be disbursed as grants and loans for stem
cell research.� It also establishes a
stem cell research fund, provides for a Maryland Scientific Peer Review
Committee, and a Stem Cell Research Commission.
The
Scientific Peer Review Committee would be comprised of ten members of the
scientific community, two of whom would be selected by the Secretary of Health
and Mental Hygiene (DHMH); two by the Secretary of Economic Development; two by
The Johns Hopkins University; two by the University System of Maryland; and two
by the Maryland Bioscience Alliance. The committee may invite outside experts
and consultants to attend meetings. Members of the committee would be required
to disclose any financial interest in any entity applying for funds.
The Stem
Cell Research Commission would be housed in the Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene and would be comprised of the Secretary of DHMH, the Assistant Attorney
General for DHMH, the Secretary of Economic Development, the Comptroller, the
State Treasurer, and the following members appointed by the Governor:� two members with expertise in biomedical
ethics; one with expertise in biomedical ethics as it relates to religion; one
member who works as a scientist and engages in stem cell research for the
University System of Maryland; one member who works as a scientist and engages
in stem cell research for The Johns Hopkins University; one member from the
bioscience alliance; and two consumer members.
The bill
defines human cloning as the replication of a human being through the
production of a precise genetic copy of human DNA or any other human molecule,
cell, or tissue, in order to create a new human being. The bill makes it a
felony to conduct or attempt to conduct human cloning as defined in the bill.
The bill also prohibits the purchase or sale of human embryos for any
“valuable consideration” for the sole purpose of medical research,
which is punishable as a misdemeanor.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2006
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
Please contact Government Relations if you have concerns or would like
additional information. Your input assists us greatly in evaluating and
formulating the position of Johns Hopkins on all legislation.
Legislative Session Office
410-269-0057
fax
Heather Barthel������������������� [email protected]
Mickey Geisler��������������������� [email protected]
Sheila Higdon��������������������� [email protected]
Tom Lewis���������������������������� [email protected]
Bret Schreiber��������������������� [email protected]
Cathy Ximenez������������������� [email protected]
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