Legislative Hotline
2008 SESSION OF THE
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Volume 15, Number 5����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� February 13, 2008
Here are
some of the hot issues as the 2008 Legislative Session develops:
MARYLAND INDEPENDENT HIGHER EDUCATION DAY
BILLS
INTRODUCED
STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION
�
February
7th was Maryland Independent Higher Education Day. Six students from
Johns Hopkins' Schools of Public Health and Nursing visited
Business and
Economic Development
Higher Education and
Financial Aid
BILLS INTRODUCED
Budget - Capital
HB0759� Creation of a State Debt - Franklin Square Hospital
Center
This bill authorizes a state grant of $1,130,000 to
Franklin Square Hospital for a new emergency department.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0543� Creation of a State Debt - Union Hospital of Cecil
County
This bill authorizes a state grant of $110,000 to
Union Hospital of Cecil County for an outpatient infusion center and
development of an outpatient pain program.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
sb0747� Creation of a State Debt - St. Joseph Medical Center
This bill authorizes a state grant of $450,000 to St.
Joseph Medical Center to renovate the existing Cardiac Catheterization Prep and
Recovery area.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
SB0513� Cigarette Restitution Fund - Tobacco Prevention -
Funding
The bill alters the amount the Governor is required to
include in the annual budget, beginning in FY2012 and each fiscal year
thereafter, for activities aimed at reducing tobacco use in Maryland as recommended
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It requires that any revenue
realized from the strategic contributions resulting from the state's legal
contributions to the master settlement agreement and tobacco tax revenue
collected from other tobacco products distributed to the Fund be appropriated
for activities aimed at reducing tobacco use.�
It also requires that all funds received from the State from any
judgment against or settlement with tobacco products manufacturers be credited
to the Cigarette Restitution Fund.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
Business and Economic Development
HB0704� Higher Education Investment Fund - Expenditures - Base
Realignment and Closure Process
This bill would allow funds in the Higher Education
Investment Fund (HEIF) to be used for initiatives to address higher education
needs related to BRAC.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
HB0723� Business and Economic Development - Biotechnology
Investment Incentive Act
This bill alters the existing Biotechnology Investment
Incentives Act by expanding the definition of a "qualified Maryland
biotechnology company" to include a company that has been in business for
up to 12 years if the Department determines that the company requires
additional time to complete its regulatory approval.� The bill also clarifies that a
"qualified investor" does not include pension plans or retirement
accounts.� The bill also stipulates that
to be eligible for the tax credit, the company must be in good standing with
the governing jurisdiction, authorized to do business in Maryland, current on
all state or county taxes, and may not have defaulted on any contracts with the
state or any county.� The qualified investor
also may not own more than 25% of the qualified biotechnology company to which
the investment is made.� The investor may
not be a founder, principal, or officer, or the spouse, parent, or child of the
founder, principal, or officer of the company to which the investment is
made.� The bill also caps the total
percentage of the tax credit that any one investor may receive in a year at 15%
of the total appropriation in the Fund.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
HB0724� Joint Information Technology and Biotechnology
Committee - Membership and Duties
This bill would rename the Joint Technology Oversight
Committee as the Joint� Information
Technology and Biotechnology Committee.�
It would also expand the Committee's scope to include work to broaden
support, knowledge, and awareness for information technology and
biotechnology.� The Committee would issue
an annual report to the legislature each December.� The Committee would consist of 6 members from
the Senate and 6 members from the House of Delegates as appointed by the
presiding officers.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
SB0680� Maryland Small Business Innovation Research Matching
Funds Program
This bill would create the Maryland Small Business
Innovation Research Matching Fund Program which woud be adminstered by
TedCo.� These grants would be matching
grants, distributed to bridge the funding gap between the Phase I and Phase II
payment from the Federal Small Business Innovation Research Program
(SBIR).� The matching grant is capped at
$50,000, and 75% will be issued when the SBIR Phase I is received, and 25% will
be issued when the SBIR Phase II aplication is submitted.� Only one matching grant may be received for
each separate SBIR proposal.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
sb0735� Coordinating Emerging Nanobiotechnology Research
(CENTR) in Maryland Program
This bill would create the Coordinating Emerging
NanobioTechnology Research (CENTR) in Maryland Program.� The CENTR Maryland Program is a $5 million
nonlapsing competive grant program which will award grants to researchers and
businesses making advances in nanobiotechnology.� The program will begin in FY 2010, and will
be administered by TedCo.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0185� Parental Choice Scholarship Program
This bill establishes the Parental Choice Scholarship
Program in the Department of Education. �The program allows for eligible students to
apply for program scholarships to attend a public elementary or secondary
school outside their resident school district or a non-public elementary or
secondary school in the state. The program specifies the requirements for the
selection process, compliance with the program, and use of scholarship money.
The Department will determine the amount of scholarships based income
eligibility.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora Sanchez
HB0546� Local Boards of Education - Harassment and
Intimidation in Schools
This bill requires local boards of education to
establish a policy prohibiting harassment or intimidation in schools.� Local school boards are required to establish
a process to adopt the policy.� This bill
also creates the School Bullying Ombudsman in the State Department of Education
and the Prevention of Harassment and Intimidation in Public Schools Advisory
Council.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
HB0613� Education - Maryland Education Fund - Establishment
and Funding
This bill establishes the Maryland Education Fund to
help finance public school education.�
The Maryland Education Fund will receive revenue from the remaining balance
on gift certificates that have been presumed abandoned after a certain period
of time. The issuer of the gift certificate is required to remit the remaining
balance to the Comptroller for deposit into the Maryland Education Fund.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
SB0436� Education - Age of Compulsory Attendance - Exemptions
This bill will increase the age at which a child may
withdraw from mandatory school attendance from 16 years to 18 years of age with
few exceptions.� Individuals that have
legal custody or care and control of a child who is over 5 years of age but
less than 18 years of age will be required ensure that the child attends
school.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
Sb0447� Education - High School Diploma - GED Options Program
This bill requires the State Board of Education to
develop a GED Options Program beginning on August 1, 2009.� The Options program will provide students who
are at risk for dropping out with an alternative course for obtaining a high
school diploma.� Students in the program
must be between the ages of 16-18 years of age.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0616� Public Schools - Children With Anaphylactic Allergies
- Reduction of Risk
This bill would
require the principal of a public school that has a child attending the school
who has been identified as having an anaphylactic allergy to develop strategies
to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms
and common areas; disseminate information on life-threatening allergies;
designate a peanut and tree nut free table in the cafeteria; and require
periodic State-certified training regarding life-threatening allergies for
employees and other individuals in direct contact with students.
This bill
also requires a school principal to develop an individual health plan for
children identified as having an anaphylactic allergy including: procedures for
notifying employees of information regarding the type of allergy and
appropriate treatment, as well as establish a readily accessible emergency
response plan for the child.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Ines Vigil
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0532� Oversight Committee on Quality of Care in Nursing
Homes and Assisted Living Facilities - Duties
This bill adds the consideration of the quality of
life in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and senior independent
living facilities to the duties of the Oversight Committee on Quality of Care
in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0726� Health Care Facilities - Individuals with Mental
Disorders - Patient Rights
This bill establishes
the following rights for individuals in a health care facility, including an
acute care hospital with a separately identified psychiatric service:
- safe
environment
- timely
medical evaluation to ensure appropriate medical care and treatment
-
comprehensive assessment that includes identification of co-occurring
disorders, other disabilities, and medical history of trauma
-
participate in and receive individual treatment and discharge plans
- an
advocate, chosen by the individual, to participate in the treatment and
discharge plans
-
self-directed plan of activities
- choose
from, and participate in, therapeutic programs and activities that promote
recovery
- be free
from medication that may be used as a substitute for therapeutic programs
- refuse
psychiatric medication without being subject to punitive measures, if the
individual is competent to make treatment decisions
- have
treatment preferences outlined in an advance directive for mental health
services
- religious
freedom and practice
-
participate in any available publicly supported or privately financed
educational or business correspondence program, recreational or social
activities, and community activities planned by the facility unless a court
order prohibits participation or documented evidence that the individual's
condition prevents their participation
- access to
a toilet at any time
- regular
physical exercise and fresh air, dependent on the weather and the individual's
medical condition
- adaptive
devices if an individual is in a facility for at least 90 days
The bill
also creates a private cause of action and permits a complainant who is granted
injunctive relief to be awarded reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
HB0733� Health Care Facility Visitation and Medical Decisions
- Domestic Partners
This bill requires
health care facilities to allow domestic partners and the children of the
person's domestic partner to visit them while in the facility.� Exceptions include:
- when no
visitors are permitted
- when the
facility reasonably determines that the presence of a particular visitor would
endanger the health and safety of the patient or member of the facility staff
- when the
patient tells the facility staff that they do not want a particular visitor
The bill also
provides that in the case of a medical emergency, two adults shall be treated
as a domestic partner if one of the adults, in good faith, tells emegency or
hospital personnel that the adults are in a mutually interdependent
relationship for the purposes of allowing one adult to accompany the ill or
injured adult being transported to a hospital in an emergency vehicle and
visitation with the ill or injured adult admitted to a hospital on an emergency
basis on the same basis as a member of the ill or injured adult's immediate
family.
The bill
also adds a domestic partner as a "next of kin" and provides that
domestic partners may give consent for a postmortem examination, have priority
rights to arrange for the final disposition of the body of the decedent, may
share a room if both partners are residents of the same facility and it is not
medically contraindicated, and stipulates that each resident of a facility who
has a domestic partner shall have privacy during a visit by the other domestic
partner.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0355� Health Care Facilities - Disclosures - Use of
Life-Sustaining Procedures
This bill requires
health care facilities to disclose the practices established that:
- elicit
and document the preferences of a patient that may affect the provision,
withholding, or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures during the patient's
admission
- cause
medical orders, including discharge and transfer orders, to be consistent with
the patient's preferences with regard to the provision, withholding, or
withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures
-
periodically assess outcomes to evaluate whether the procedures are consistent
with the known preferences of the patient
The
disclosure shall be made on the request of an individual, and on the facility's
website if they routinely maintain one.
Effective
Date:� Various
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0687� Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program -
Physicians Practicing in Shortage Areas
This bill expands the State's loan assistance
repayment program to physicians practicing in shortage areas.� The physician must satisfy the eligibility
requirements including employment in the state, receipt of income that is less
than the maximum eligible amount as established by the state's Office of
Student Financial Assistance, and must agree to practice for 10 years in an
area determined by the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to have a
shortage of physicians in the specialty in which the physician is trained.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
SB0580� Radiation Oncology/ Therapy Technologists, Medical
Radiation Technologists, Radiologist Assistants, and Nuclear Medicine
Technologists - Licensure
This bill requires the Board of Physicians to develop
regulations for licensure of radiologist assistants and the licensure instead
of certification of radiation oncology/therapy technologists, medical radiation
technologists and nuclear medicine technologists. Licensed radiologist
assistant is defined as an individual who is licensed to practice radiology
assistance under the supervision of a licensed physician who specializes in
radiology and is certified by either the American Board of Radiology, the
American Osteopathic Board of Radiology, the British Royal College of Radiology
or the Canacian College of Physicians and Surgeons.� The practice of radiologist assistants is to
practice medical radiation technology and to perform fluoroscopy and selected
radiology procedures, patient assessment, and patient management.�� A radiologist assistant many not interpret
images, make diagnoses or prescribe medications or therapies.� To qualify for licensure, a radiologist
assistant must be issued a general license to perform medical radiation
technology; complete an advanced academic program with either a baccalaureate
degree, post-baccalaurete certificate, or a graduate degree which incorporates
a radiologist-directed clinical preceptorship; be certified in advance cardiac
life support; and be certified as a radiologist assistant by the American
Registry of Radiologic Technologists.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
Sb0631� Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Umbilical
Cord Blood Banking - Educational Publication
This bill amends
current law, requiring a hospital to allow a pregnant patient to arrange for
the donation of umbilical cord blood (UCB) to a private cord blood bank
(current law requires a patient to arrange for donation to a public cord blood
bank).� In addition, the bill requires
the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DHMH), in consultation with
obstetricians, the Maryland Hospital Association, and others, to develop an
educational publication that contains standardized, objective information about
UCB that is sufficient to allow a pregnant patient to make an informed decision
about whether to participate in a public or private UCB program.� The publication should include:
- an
explanation of the differences between public and private UCB banking programs
- options
available to a patient regarding stem cells that are contained in the UCB after
delivery of her newborn including donating, storing or discarding the stem
cells
- medical
procedures utilized in the collection of UCB, and any associated risks
- current
and potential future medical uses and benefits of stem cells contained in UCB
to the mother, her newborn child, and biologically related family members
- medical
or family history criteria that can impact on a patient's consideration of UCB
banking
- options
for ownership and future use, and the average cost
DHMH is
also required to update the educational publication as appropriate, distribute
it free of charge, and post it on the DHMH website.� Obstetricians are required to distribute the
publication to their pregnant patients by the third trimester of pregnancy,
unless such distribution conficts with the bona fide religious practices and
beliefs of the provider.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
sb0709� Health Occupations - Optometrists - Therapeutic
Contact Lenses
This bill authorizes a therapeutically certified
optometrist to prescribe and dispense a therapeutic contact lens.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
sb0744� Task Force on Health Care Access and Reimbursement -
Additional Duties
This bill directs the Task Force on Health Care Access
& Reimbursement to develop an additional recommendation as to whether there
is a need to provide incentives for physicians and other health care providers
to be available to provide care on evenings and on weekends.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Sheila
Higdon
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
Higher Education and Financial Aid
HB0689� Access to Public Records - Permissible Denials -
Public Institutions of Higher Education
This bill would allow a public institution of higher
education to deny access to any record of a past or current student, if that
record includes the student's address, phone number, email address or directory
information.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
SB0623� Tuition Cap and College Opportunity Act of 2008
This bill requires MHEC to develop funding guidelines
for the University System of Maryland and Morgan State University.� The bill mandates that the state provide
General Fund appropriations to meet certain percentages of the funding
guidelines.� For the University System of
Maryland: 86% in 2010, 90% in 2011, 93% in 2012, 97% in 2013 and 100% in every
year thereafter.� For Morgan State
University: 96% in 2010, 97% in 2011, 98% in 2012, 99% in 2013 and 100% in
every year thereafter.� The bill also
requires that if these funding mandates are met, that no USM school may
increase tuition by more than 4% each year.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
SB0657� College Textbook Competition and Affordability Act of
2008
This bill would require all public institutions of
higher education to develop and implement a process to make faculty members
aware of textbook version content changes, a sampling of textbook prices, and
the fiscal impact of bundling on students.�
The bill would also require faculty members to allow students to use a
prior edition of a textbook if less than 30% of the educational content has changed.� The bill would also require public higher
education institutions to notify students of the textbooks assigned for each
course 8 weeks in advance and include the ISBN, title, author, publisher,
edition and publication date.� It would
also prohibit the revenues generated by the campus book store from exceeding
the expenditures needed to support the book store.
Effective
Date:� July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0556� Public Safety - Emergency Medical Services Board -
Membership
This bill changes the membership of the Emergency
Medical Services Board from 11 to 13 members and increases the number of
members from the general public from two to three.� The bill also adds an additional slot for a
state police helicopter pilot.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
HB0773� Office of Health Care Quality - Provider Hotline
This bill establishes a provider hotline in the Office
of Health Care Quality.� The purpose of
the hotline is to assist providers in obtaining licensure or
certification.� The hotline will also
provide an opportunity to submit complaints and or feedback on surveyors
employed by the office.� The Office is
required to develop a system to track the calls and submit an annual report to
the Governor and legislature on the number and type of calls received through
the hotline.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
sb0686� Task Force to Study the Procurement of Health and
Social Services by State Agencies
This bill establishes
a Task Force to Study the Procurement of Health and Social Services by state
agencies.� Membership includes two
members of the House of Delegates and two Senators; the State Treasurer or
designee and the Secretaries or designees of the Departments of Budget and
Management, General Services, Health and Mental Hygiene, Human Resources, and
Juvenile Services; the State Superintendent of Schools or designee; and, the
Special Secretary of the Governor's Office of Minority Affairs or designee.� In addition, two faculty members of
universities or colleges are to be jointly appointed by the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House; one of the members should have special
expertise in government administration and one member should have special
expertise in business management.� Three
representatives from organizations currently contracting with the State to
provide health or social services shall be appointed by the Governor.�
Effective Date:�
July 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
[Go To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
HB0772� Pharmacists - Substitution of Generic Drugs or Device
Products - Consent of Consumers or Authorized Prescribers
This bill requires pharmacists to obtain the written
consent of consumers or authorized prescribers before substituting generically
equivalent drugs or device products for brand name drugs or device products.
Effective
Date:� October 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Delora
Sanchez
[Go To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
SB0644� Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority Study Task
Force
This bill establishes a Baltimore Regional
Transportation Authority Study Task Force to consider specified
transportation-related issues, and to study and make recommendations regarding
the creation of an independent transportation authority for a specified
region.� The Task Force would have 21
members, representing MDOT, MTA, SHA, Baltimore City, and Baltimore, Harford,
Anne Arundel, Carroll, and Howard Counties. The bill requires the Task Force to
report to the Governor and the General Assembly by October 1, 2009.
Effective
Date:� June 1, 2008
For more
information, please contact:� Mat Palmer
[Go
To Bills Introduced]���� [Go to Top]
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 410-269-1574
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�� Mickey Geisler |
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�� Matt Greenwood |
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�� Sheila Higdon |
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�� Corianne Iacovelli |
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�� Tom Lewis |
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�� Mat Palmer |
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�� Delora Sanchez |
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�� Ines Vigil |
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� 2008 The
Johns
Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs.