Legislative Hotline
2007 SESSION OF THE
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Volume 14, Number 6����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� February 22, 2007
STATE
CONSUMER
PROTECTION LEGISLATION
SUPPORT
FOR HEALTH CARE ACCESS AND LIFE SCIENCES INITIATIVES
UPDATE
ON PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY HOSPITAL LEGISLATION
FEDERAL
MENTAL
HEALTH PARITY ACT OF 2007
BILLS
INTRODUCED
STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
�
STATE
On February 13, Dr. Brody
traveled to
On February 14, Dr. Brody
and Johns Hopkins Trustee Emeritus Norm Augustine met in
Consumer Protection Legislation
Last week the House Economic
Matters Committee debated several proposals aimed at protecting consumers
against identify theft.� One such bill
has gained widespread support in the business community.� Identical to legislation that passed the
Senate last year, this bill requires businesses to take precautions when
destroying personal information and to investigate and promptly notify
individuals when their information has been lost or stolen.
Support for Health Care Access and Life
Sciences Initiatives
The General Assembly held
hearings last week on two proposals in Governor O’Malley’s
legislative agenda that are of particular interest to Johns Hopkins.� One bill would create a Maryland Life
Sciences Advisory Board to develop a comprehensive plan to encourage life
sciences companies, and federal and university-based institutions to invest in
Update on
Two bills were debated in
the House Health and Government Operations Committee on February 15 in regard
to the dire financial situation at
On February 16, Fred Puddester,
Chief Budget Officer of
FEDERAL
Mental Health Parity Act of 2007
On February 14, the Senate Health, Education, Labor
& Pensions Committee approved 18-3 mental health parity legislation (S.
558) introduced by Senators Pete Dominici (R-NM),
Edward Kennedy (D-MA), and Michael Enzi (R-WY).�
The bill would require group health plans that offer mental health
benefits and cover more than 50 employees to give the same benefits for mental
health treatment as they do for physical illness.� The bill does not mandate that a group health
plan offer mental health coverage.� It
next moves to the full Senate for consideration.
BILLS INTRODUCED
Budget - Capital
SB0794 �Creation of a State Debt - Western Maryland Health System
This bill authorizes a state grant of no more
than $1 million to Western Maryland Health System, Inc. for the planning,
design, renovation, expansion, repair, construction, and capital equipping of
the replacement obstetrical unit in
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Economic Development
SB0614 �Physicians
- Delegation of Duties - Nonphysician Surgical Assistants
This bill requires the State Department of
Assessments and Taxation and the Department of Business and Economic
Development to submit a Unified Property Tax Exemption and Credit Report and an
Economic Development and Tax Incentive Report, respectively, each year to the
Maryland General Assembly. The report is to list all tax credits, tax increment
financing, loans and grants from state agencies for every company that receives
one of the listed benefits in the prior year.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0689 �
This bill establishes the Maryland Nonprofit
Development Center Program within the Department of Business and Economic
Development.� The program would be
charged with fostering, supporting, and assisting the economic growth and
revitalization of nonprofit entities in
The bill
also establishes an eponymous fund to support the Program’s
activities.� The fund would in part be
supported by increasing the annual fee collected from charitable organizations
as follows (with all the additional fee revenue being directed to the fund):
- Nonprofits collecting $25,000 -
$50,001 in donations from the public will see their fees increase from $50
to $70,
- Nonprofits collecting $50,001 -
$75,001 in donations from the public will see their fees increase from $75
to $105,
- Nonprofits collecting $75,001 -
$100,001 in donations from the public will see their fees increase from
$100 to $140, and
- Nonprofits collecting at least
$100,001 in donations from the public will see their fees increase from
$200 to $280.
The bill
requires one established private nonprofit that meets certain criteria to
receive grants to implement the program.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0778 �Job Skills Advancement Training Program
This bill establishes a Job Skills Advancement
Training Program to be administered by the Maryland Department of Labor,
Licensing & Regulation for awarding grants to local workforce investment
boards for employer-based, in-house job skills advancement training programs
and job skills advancement training programs developed in collaboration with
institutions of postsecondary education or other training providers.
The
Department is to develop eligibility criteria for individual and employer
participation in the Program and for awarding grants to local boards through an
application process.� At least 25% of the
total funds provided under the Program are to be used for the training of
low-income workers.
A local
workforce investment board that receives a grant under the Program must develop
an assessment process to identify eligible individuals, develop and implement
an outreach program, assist individuals who have completed training in
obtaining employment with increased wages and benefits, and collect data for
annual reporting by the Department to the Governor and General Assembly.
In addition
to the job skills advancement training and wraparound services provided
directly to eligible individuals, a local board that receives a Program grant
must work in cooperation with local employers to identify and develop approved
employer-based training programs funded with a minimum contribution of at least
50% in matching funds by the employer.�
These programs may range from short-term training in specific skills to
postsecondary education classes over a longer period of time and must include
agreed-on processes to follow up with employers and evaluate the success of the
training.
It is the
intent of the General Assembly that beginning in fiscal year 2009, at least
$200,000 be included each year in the State budget for the Job Skills Advancement
Training Program.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Matt
Greenwood
Environmental Health
HB0786 �Stormwater
Management Act of 2007
This bill requires all those with zoning
authority to update their zoning ordinances to allow for the implementation of
environmental site design techniques in stormwater management practices.� Environmental site design techniques are defined
as design techniques which are intended to maintain the predevelopment
hydrologic and water quality regime of the building site.
The bill
requires the Department of the Environment (DOE) to adopt regulations
specifying a model ordinance and criteria that all stormwater management plans
will be designed to achieve.
The
regulations are also required to specify that environmental site design
techniques are the primary method for managing stormwater, with standard best
management practices now only to be used as a back up, and that the burden of
proof is on a developer to show that the use of environmental site design
techniques is not practical.� The bill
also requires the regulations to establish a comprehensive process for
approving grading, sediment control, and stormwater management plans, and
requires a review of DOE’s Stormwater Management Fee System.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Matt
Greenwood
Financial Aid
SB0604 �Higher Education - Senatorial Scholarships
This bill repeals a requirement to take an
examination as part of the application process for a senatorial
scholarship.� This bill also changes the
maximum amount of an award from $2,000 to whatever is the amount set for
tuition and fees at the
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
General Health Care
HB0797 �Study of
Health Care Services for Children with Life-Threatening Medical Conditions
This bill requires the State Advisory Council on
Quality Care at the End of Life and the Maryland Health Care Commission to
jointly study the current services and potential care delivery alternatives for
the care of children with life-threatening medical conditions.� The study is to examine the availability of
palliative care services under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program and
privately funded insurance for children diagnosed with a life-threatening
medical condition. �The study will also
analyze the impact in states that have adopted the Children’s Hospice
International Program for All-Inclusive Care for Children and their Families or
other palliative care demonstration projects, including whether such programs
may result in the reallocation of resources for more effective care within the
parameters of overall budget neutrality.�
Results of the study are due to be presented to the Governor and the
General Assembly by December 1, 2007.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
HB0979 �Regional Health Data Exchange
This bill alters the uses of the Community
Health Resources Commission Fund to provide funding for a regional health data
exchange among primary and specialty care providers, hospitals, and other
providers of services to community health resource members.� The funding for this purpose is to be limited
to $1.7 million annually.�
The bill
also directs the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) to provide funding
through hospital rates of $10 million each year, for 3 years beginning in FY
2008, to establish a regional health data exchange that provides connections
among hospitals and health care practitioners.�
Funding eligibility requirements are included in the bill.� Additionally, the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene (DHMH) is directed to encourage health care practitioners and
hospitals to validate available elements of previous medical care available
through a regional health data exchange and to encourage hospitals to provide
emergency department and inpatient discharge summary data to the regional
health data exchange by December 31, 2008.�
Finally, the bill requires the Maryland Health Care Commission, the HSCRC,
and the
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0594 �Maryland
Biomedical Product Development Fund
This bill establishes the Maryland Biomedical
Product Development Fund to be used for grants to support for-profit entities
located in Maryland in the research and development of biomedical treatments or
devices to address smoking related disease. Monies for the fund are to be
raised from an increase in the tobacco tax of 15 cents (from the current $1).
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0620 �Health
Services Cost Review Commission - Repeal of Commission and Study of Alternative
Financing of Uncompensated and Undercompensated Care
This bill abolishes the Health Services Cost
Review Commission (HSCRC) and repeals its duties related to setting hospital
rates in the state.� The Maryland Health
Care Commission (MHCC), in consultation with the Maryland Insurance
Administration, must conduct a study on consumer-based methods of providing
health insurance to the uninsured and consumer-based methods of funding
uncompensated and undercompensated care.�
MHCC must report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly
by October 1, 2009.
Effective
Date:� Various
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0774 �Task Force
on the HPV Vaccine
This bill establishes a Task Force on the HPV
vaccine to examine federal and State programs on the HPV vaccine and recommend
a plan to implement a vaccine program in Maryland including:
- the appropriate age
requirements for a female to receive the HPV vaccine,
- the use of a mandatory HPV
vaccine for female children,
- the availability and
affordability of the HPV vaccine, and
- a public education campaign for
the HPV vaccine.
The Task
Force is to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the
General Assembly by December 1, 2008.�
Membership of the Task Force will include a member of the House of
Delegates, a Senator, and one representative from each of the following:
- Maryland Department of
Education,
- physician member from Med Chi,
appointed by Med Chi,
- physician member of the
Maryland Chapter of the
- member of a pharmaceutical
company that manufacturers the HPV vaccine,
- two consumer members, appointed
by the Governor, and
- one representative of the
health insurance industry, appointed by the Governor.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Health Care Facilities
HB1137 �Hospitals - Safe Patient Lifting
This bill requires hospitals to establish a safe
lifting committee by December 1, 2007, with equal membership from management
and employees.� By July 1, 2008, the
Committee is to develop a safe patient lifting policy for the hospital.� The goal of the policy is to reduce employee
injuries associated with patient lifting.�
The Committee should consider, based on the patient population of the
hospital, the appropriateness and effectiveness of:
- developing or enhancing patient
handling hazard assessment processes,
- enhanced use of mechanical
lifting devices,
- developing specialized lifting
teams,
- training programs for safe
patient lifting required for all patient care personnel,
- incorporating physical space
and construction design for mechanical lifting devices in any
architectural plans for hospital construction or renovation, and
- developing an evaluation
process to determine the effectivess of the policy.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0837 �Hospitals
and Nursing Facilities - Health Care-Associated Infections Prevention and
Control Program
This bill requires each hospital and nursing
facility to establish a health care-associated infections prevention and
control program based on guidelines prepared by the Society for Health Care
Epidemiology of America that require:
- identification of colonized or
infected patients through active surveillance cultures,
- isolation of identified
patients in an appropriate manner, and
- strict adherence to hand
washing and hygiene guidelines.
The
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), in consultation with the
Maryland Hospital Associaiton, the Health Facilities Association of Maryland,
Mid-Atlantic Lifespan, and other interested stakeholders will develop a system
requiring hospitals and nursing facilities to report annually on the incidence
of MRSA and VRE to DHMH, which must submit an annual report to the Governor and
General Assembly.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Health Care
Practitioners
HB0682 �Health
Care Decisions Act - Emergency Medical Services "Do Not Resuscitate
Orders" - Health Care Providers
This bill authorizes a health care provider who
sees an emergency medical services "do not resuscitate order" in a
valid form, to provide, withhold or withdraw treatment before a patient's
cardiac or respiratory arrest.� Also, in
accordance with the emergency medical services "do not resuscitate
order", the health care provider is to withhold treatment after a
patient's cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
SB0378 �State Board of Nursing - Advanced Nurse Practitioners - Membership
and Qualifications
This bill requires the State Board of Nursing
(BON) to include 1 advanced practice nurse among the 7 registered nurse members
of the BON.� The Governor will appoint
the advanced practice nurse, with advice from the Secretary of Health, from a
list of qualified individuals jointly developed by the following:
- Nurse Practitioners Association
of
- Psychiatric Advance Practice
Nurses of
The other
registered nurse members will also be appointed by the Governor, with advice
from the Secretary, from a list of qualified individuals submitted by the
Maryland Nurses Association.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0557 �Health Insurance - Credentialing Intermediaries - Exemptions
This bill exempts credentialing intermediaries,
including hospitals and academic medical centers, from stipulations in statute
relating to the timeframes and forms with which a carrier must comply when
credentialing health care providers.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Health Insurance
SB0538 �Health
Insurance - Clean Claims
This bill requires insurers, nonprofit health
service plans, and health maintenance organizations to mail or transmit its
response to a claim for reimbursement directly to the person that filed the
claim.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0542 �Health
Insurance - Visits After Diagnostic or Surgical Procedure Using Anesthesia -
Coverage
This bill requires certain insurers, nonprofit
health service plans, and HMOs to provide coverage for at least one
follow–up visit, and any additional follow–up visits that are
medically necessary, to health care providers after diagnostic or surgical
procedures involving the administration of anesthesia.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0547 �Maryland
Medical Assistance Program and Maryland Children's Health Program - Eligibility
This bill expands Medicaid coverage to parents
who have a dependent child living with them and whose annual household income
is up to 200% of federal poverty level.�
The bill requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to
provide guaranteed eligibility for Medicaid enrollees under the age of 19 for
up to six months, unless the enrollee obtains health insurance.� The bill authorizes DHMH to provide
guaranteed eligibility for up to 12 months.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0601 �Health Insurance - Health Care Providers - Reimbursement by
Carriers
This bill prohibits insurance carriers and HMOs
from requiring a health care provider that delivers health care services
through a group practice or other health care entity to accept the
reimbursement fee schedule applicable under that for services that contract the
provider delivers to patients in a different group or individual practice.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0617 �Consumer
Health Open Insurance Coverage Act of 2007
This bill would make a comprehensive change to
Maryland’s health care system by requiring all health insurance to be
provided through a “Maryland Health Insurance Exchange."� The Exchange is to be established in the
Maryland Health Care Commission which would oversee its administration.
Effective
Date:� Various
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0619 �Health Insurance - Low-Income Health Insurance Premium Support Fund
This bill establishes a Low-Income Health
Insurance Premium Support Fund.� The Fund
is to provide an insurance subsidy for individuals with incomes below 300% of
the federal poverty level.� Support for
the Fund is to come from taking 85% of the current amount provided to hospitals
from hospital rates for providing uncompensated care.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0648 �Health Insurance - Managed Care Organizations - Service Count Ratio
This bill requires the Secretary of Health and
Mental Hygiene to adopt regulations to establish a mechanism to include an
above average service count ratio for evaluation and management services as a
condition under which a capitation payment adjustment will be waived for
managed care organizations with a loss ratio between 80% and 85%.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
SB0677 �Pharmacy Benefits Managers Regulation Act
This bill provides a regulatory structure for
State regulation of pharmacy benefit managers.�
It requires substantial disclosures of rebates and fee structures by
pharmacy benefit managers.� Managed Care
Organizations and insurance carriers are not considered pharmacy benefit
managers under the bill.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Higher Education
SB0525 �Higher Education - Dual Enrollment Grant Program
This bill requires the Maryland Higher Education
Commission to establish and administer a Dual Enrollment Grant Program for
students who are dually enrolled in a secondary school in the state and an
institution of higher education in the state.�
To be eligible for a grant a student must be a resident of the
state.� The Commission is required to
administer funds for the Program and distribute funds to an institution of
higher education on behalf of a dual enrollment grant recipient.� The Governor must include an amount in the
state budget for this Program that is at least 10% of the amount in the grant
program for part-time students.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Long Term Care/Nursing Homes
HB0837 �Nursing
Homes - Health Care Quality Disclosure Form - Requirements
This bill requires nursing homes to develop and
make available a health care quality disclosure form to all residents of the
nursing home and the family members, legal guardians, and other interested
parties of a resident of the nursing home.�
The purpose of the form is to provide a public, standardized, and
verifiable means by which a family member or other interested party of a
resident of a nursing home may send a written communication including
questions, concerns about care, and other items of concern to the nursing
home.�
The bill
stipulates who must sign the form, how it must be stored, and to whom it must
be readily available for review.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
HB0972 �Nursing Facilities - Electronic Monitoring
Thia bill requires nursing facilities with 50
beds or more to install and use electronic monitoring devices to monitor the
safety of residents, especially residents most at risk of falling and
sustaining injuries.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Medicaid
HB0594 �Maryland
Medical Assistance Program - Long-Term Care Services for Cognitive and
Functional Impairments
This bill stipulates that an individual is to be
determined medically eligible to receive home- and community-based long-term
care services under the Maryland Medical Assistance Program if the individual requires
health-related services because of severe cognitive impairment, mental illness,
or other conditions.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Medical Liability
HB0495 �Action or
Claim for Medical Injury - Attesting Experts - Reports
This legislation repeals the provision requiring
that a report of each party's attesting expert for certain certificates be filed
in an action or claim for a medical injury.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
HB0779 �Medical
Malpractice - Medical Liability Division Task Force
This bill establishes the Medical Liability Division
Task Force to study the feasibility of establishing a medical liability
division in appropriate circuit courts in Maryland.� The Task Force would issue a final report of
its findings and recommendations by December 31, 2007.�
The Medical
Liability Division Task Force would be chaired by the President of the Maryland
State Bar Association and composed of the following:
- President of the Maryland State
Bar Association, or designee,
- 5 members of the appropriate
sections of the Maryland State Bar Association appointed by the President
of the Bar Association,
- President of Med Chi, or
designee,
- President of the Maryland
Hospital Association, or designee,
- 3 members of the Maryland
Judiciary, appointed by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, all of
whom have experience in medical liability cases,
- 2 members of the Senate,
- 2 members of the House of
Delegates, and
- 2 members, appointed by the
Governor, who must have practical or research experience in medical
liability issues.
The report
is to include the following:
1) input
from both the medical community and legal community in the state;
2) a review
of the experience of other states in proposing and creating specialty courts
and administrative processes for resolving medical liability disputes; and
3) consideration
of all operational aspects of establishing a medical liability court including:
- benefits and costs to the state
and judicial system including efficiencies lost or gained,
- criteria for determining the
type and monetary thresholds of matters to be assigned and the procedures
for assignment to a medical liability division,
- the level of expertise and
training required of judges presiding in a medical liability division, and
the potential for use of independent expert witnesses,
- a case management plan for the
prompt and efficient scheduling and disposition of claims, which would
identify those matters appropriate for assignment to a specific judge who
will be responsible for the entire case,
- the feasibility of establishing
an expedited appeals process for matters assigned to a medical liability
division,
- the use of alternative dispute
resolution in medical liability claims,
- the feasibility of establishing
an electronic filing system for pleadings and papers,
- ways in which a medical
liability division might be designed to help facilitate efforts to improve
patient safety, and
- �the potential for creating a medical
liability division pilot project.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
SB0642 �Courts -
Health Care Malpractice - Certificate of a Qualified Expert
This bill eliminates the requirement that an
attorney for a party or the party pro se in a health care malpractice claim or
action file a report of a qualified expert in addition to a certificate of a
qualified expert.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
Minority Health Disparities
HB0788 �Health Insurance - Collection of Racial and Ethnic Data -
Nondiscrimination
This bill permits a health insurer to inquire
about an individual's race and ethnicity for the evaluation of quality of care
outcomes and performace measurements.� It
also prohibits health insurers from using race or ethnicity data to reject,
deny, limit, cancel, refuse to renew, increase the rates of, affect the terms
or conditions of, or otherwise affect a health insurance policy or contract.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Prescription Drugs
SB0596 �Discount
Medical Plan Organizations and Discount Drug Plan Organizations - Registration
and Regulation
This bill provides for the regulation by the
Maryland Insurance Commissioner of discount medical plan organizations and
discount drug plan organizations.� The
bill requires entities offering discounts on pharmaceuticals or particular
medical services from specified providers to register with the Insurance
Commissioner.� The Commissioner may deny
a registration or refuse to renew, suspend, or revoke a registration under
certain circumstances.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Public Health
HB0535 �Catastrophic
Health Emergencies - Quarantine Orders - Citations
This bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and
Mental Hygiene to issue a citation to any competent adult individual who
refuses vaccination, medical examination, treatment, or testing after the
individual has been ordered to isolation or quarantine during a catastrophic
health emergency.� The citation would be
for a fine of $500, subject to the individual’s right to stand trial.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Matt
Greenwood
SB0629 �Health -
Prohibition Against Smoking in Vehicle Containing Minor Passenger
This bill makes it illegal to smoke a tobacco
product in a vehicle with a passenger under the age of 6 years, and establishes
a $25 civil penalty for a violation.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole Xander
Research/Human Subject
HB0871 �Human Hybridization Prohibition Act of 2007
This bill prohibits an individual from
fertilizing an oocyte from a human with the sperm of a nonhuman, or an oocyte
from a nonhuman with the sperm of a human, to produce an embryo that has a
predominantly or partially human genetic constitution.� It also prohibits creating an embryo that has
a predominantly or partially human genetic constitution by introducing the
nuclear material of one or more human somatic cells into a fertilized or
unfertilized oocyte, the nucleus of which has been or will be removed or
rendered inert.� It also prohibits an
individual from soliciting, knowingly creating, or acquiring an organism,
tissue, or cell fertilized by or created by one of the means outlined
above.�
Violation
of the provisions of this bill result in the commission of a felony subject to
imprisonment of up to 10 years and/or a fine of $200,000.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0787 �Stem Cell Research Commission - Subject to the State Open
Meetings Law
This bill requires the Stem Cell Research
Commission to be subject to the State Open Meetings Law.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Taxes/Tax Policy
SB0616 �Land Preservation and School Construction Assistance Act of 2007
This bill imposes recordation and transfer taxes
on the transfer of controlling interest in a corporation, partnership,
association, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, other
unincorporated form of doing business, or a trust that owns interests in real
property in Maryland that constitute at least 80% of the value of its assets
and has an aggregate value of at least $500,000.� Revenues received under this bill by the
counties and Baltimore City are to be used to pay for the costs of public
school construction and renovation, including payment of debt service on bonds
issued to pay for public school construction and renovation:
|
Allegany |
$���� 194,483 |
|
Anne
Arundel |
$�
5,423,188 |
|
|
$�
5,503,842 |
|
|
$10,010,535 |
|
Calvert |
$���� 206,249 |
|
Caroline |
$���� 103,244 |
|
Carroll |
$���� 572,629 |
|
Cecil |
$���� 275,983 |
|
Charles |
$���� 635,051 |
|
|
$���� 237,941 |
|
|
$�
1,259,692 |
|
Garrett |
$���� 185,564 |
|
Harford |
$�
1,578,950 |
|
Howard |
$�
3,419,937 |
|
|
$���� 122,344 |
|
|
$14,739,815 |
|
|
$�
8,950,826 |
|
Queen
Anne’s |
$���� 203,578 |
|
St.
Mary’s |
$���� 660,986 |
|
|
$������ 33,310 |
|
Talbot |
$���� 400,653 |
|
|
$���� 626,786 |
|
Wicomico |
$���� 316,216 |
|
|
$��� �758,200 |
Effective
Date:� January 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Tom Lewis
Workers Comp
SB0550 �Workers'
Compensation - Appeals - Evidence
This bill authorizes an appellee responding to
an appeal of a ruling of the Workers’ Compensation Commission to
introduce certain writings or records of a health care provider or health care
facility without supporting testimony.�
These records may be used as evidence of the existence of a health
condition, a health care provider’s opinion, the heath care provided, or
the necessity of this care.
This
evidence must have been introduced in the proceeding prior to the appeal, be
otherwise
admissible, and notice and copies of the evidence must be filed with the clerk
of the court within a specified time period.�
The appellant is then able to file objections to the introduction of
this evidence for good cause. This bill may not be construed to limit the rights
of parties to introduce new evidence or witnesses at trial.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
SB0600 �Workers' Compensation Commission - Authorization for Release of
Medical Information - Work-Related Injury or Occupational Disease
This bill requires health care providers to
disclose a medical record on receipt of an authorization for the release of
relevant medical information that is filed with the Workers' Compensation
Commission.� When filing with the
Commission, an authorization for the simultaneous release of all relevant
medical information must be filed in addition to a claim application form.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2007
For more
information, please contact:� Nicole
Xander
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
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fax 410-269-1574
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Mickey Geisler��������� �����
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[email protected]
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