2017 SESSION OF THE
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| 2017 SESSION OF THE |
| Volume 23, Number 5 | February 16, 2017 |
Here are some of the hot issues as the 2017 Legislative Session develops:
Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH)
Johns Hopkins Testifies in Support of Cigarette Restitution Funding for Academic Health Centers
BILLS INTRODUCED
Behavioral Health HB650/SB691 Criminal Procedure - Incompetency and Criminal Responsibility - Court-Ordered Medication Authorizing a court to order administration of specified medication to a defendant for a period of no longer than 30 days after a finding of incompetency or not criminally responsible under specified circumstances; providing that specified medication may be administered to a specified individual before the decision of a specified panel for a period of no longer than 30 days under specified circumstances; requiring a specified panel to issue a specified decision within 30 days under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB687/SB539 Criminal Law - Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Death Prohibiting a person from distributing an opioid or opioid analogue, the use of which causes the death of another, with a specified exception; establishing penalties for a violation of the Act; providing that it is not a defense under the Act that the defendant did not distribute the opioid or opioid analogue directly to the decedent; providing that it is a defense under the Act that the defendant was an active user of an opioid or opioid analogue at the time of the distribution causing the death of the decedent; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: Upon Enactment HB775/SB600 Public Health - Maternal Mental Health Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in consultation with stakeholders, to identify specified information about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; requiring the Department to make available specified information on the Department's Web site and to provide specified information to specified health care facilities and health care providers; requiring the Department, in collaboration with specified health professional associations, to develop specified training programs; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB785 Recovery Residences - Condition of Acceptance of State Funds - Prohibition Prohibiting the State from requiring as a condition of acceptance of State funds that a recovery residence admit applicants for residence in the recovery residence who are receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB791/SB868 Overdose Response Program - Prescribing and Dispensing of Naloxone - Noncertificate Holders Notwithstanding specified provisions of law, authorizing a specified physician or a specified advanced practice nurse to prescribe and dispense naloxone to individuals who have not completed specified training; authorizing, notwithstanding specified provisions of law, a specified physician or a specified advanced practice nurse to prescribe and dispense naloxone to individuals who have not completed specified training by issuing a standing order under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB856/SB693 Co-Prescribing Naloxone Saves Lives Act of 2017 Requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to establish specified guidelines for the co-prescribing of opioid overdose reversal drugs that are applicable to all licensed health care providers in the State who are authorized to prescribe monitored prescription drugs; requiring the guidelines to address the co-prescribing of opioid overdose reversal drugs for specified patients; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB857 Maryland Mental Health Law - Small Private Group Home - Definition Altering the definition of "small private group home" by increasing from 8 to 9 the maximum number of individuals who may be admitted by a small private group home for the purposes of specified provisions of law governing residences in which individuals who have been or are being treated for a mental disorder may be provided care or treatment in a homelike environment; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB869/SB553 Recovery Residence Residential Rights Protection Act Requiring, beginning November 1, 2017, a behavioral health program or specified health professional, when referring an individual to receive services at a recovery residence, to provide the individual with a specified list; requiring specified recovery residence certification requirements to include a requirement that a recovery residence make arrangements for the receipt of specified services for specified residents; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB983 Health Insurance - Telemedicine - Counseling for Substance Use Disorders Requiring the health care services delivered through telemedicine under health insurance to include counseling for substance use disorders; and applying the Act to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after October 1, 2017. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB984/SB475 Developmental Disabilities Administration - Crisis Resolution and Crisis Prevention Services - Funding and Reporting Requiring a specified report on the Waiting List Equity Fund to include information regarding individuals in the crisis resolution category of the waiting list for developmental disabilities services; establishing mandated appropriations for developmental disabilities community services; declaring the intent of the General Assembly that an individual, after receiving services provided with specified funds, continue to receive uninterrupted developmental disabilities services in accordance with the individual's needs; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB988 Licensed Pharmacists - Risks of Opioid Addiction - Notifications Requiring a licensed pharmacist, if an opioid is dispensed by a licensed pharmacist or an individual engaging in a professional experience program and acting under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist, to notify the individual to whom the opioid is dispensed of the risks of opioid addiction; and providing that the notice may be made orally or in writing. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1093/SB433 Substance Use Treatment - Inpatient and Intensive Outpatient Programs - Consent by Minor Authorizing parents or specified guardians to apply, on behalf of a minor, for admission of the minor to a certified intensive outpatient alcohol and drug abuse program; requiring specified programs to make a specified note on a specified application in order for an individual to be retained for specified treatment; providing that specified programs have the right to discharge an individual admitted for specified treatment under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1379 Courts - Criminal and Civil Immunity - Prescribing, Dispensing, and Administering Opioid Antagonists Providing that a health care provider, under specified circumstances, is not criminally or civilly liable for prescribing, dispensing, or administering an opioid antagonist to treat or prevent a drug overdose or any adverse effect arising from the use of a specified opioid antagonist; providing that an individual who is not a health care provider is not criminally or civilly liable for specified effects arising from the individual administering an opioid antagonist under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB475/HB984 Developmental Disabilities Administration - Crisis Resolution and Crisis Prevention Services - Funding and Reporting Requiring a specified report on the Waiting List Equity Fund to include information regarding individuals in the crisis resolution category of the waiting list for developmental disabilities services; establishing mandated appropriations for developmental disabilities community services; declaring the intent of the General Assembly that an individual, after receiving services provided with specified funds, continue to receive uninterrupted developmental disabilities services in accordance with the individual's needs; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 SB476/HB580 Behavioral Health Community Providers - Keep the Door Open Act Requiring, except under specified circumstances, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to adjust the rate of reimbursement for community providers each fiscal year by the rate adjustment included in the State budget for that fiscal year; requiring, on or before December 1, 2019, and on December 1 annually thereafter, the Department to submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly on the impact of the reimbursement rate adjustment on community providers and other specified outcomes; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB539/HB687 Criminal Law - Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Death Prohibiting a person from distributing an opioid or opioid analogue, the use of which causes the death of another, with a specified exception; establishing penalties for a violation of the Act; providing that it is not a defense under the Act that the defendant did not distribute the opioid or opioid analogue directly to the decedent; providing that it is a defense under the Act that the defendant was an active user of an opioid or opioid analogue at the time of the distribution causing the death of the decedent; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: Upon Enactment SB553/HB869 Recovery Residence Residential Rights Protection Act Requiring, beginning November 1, 2017, a behavioral health program or specified health professional, when referring an individual to receive services at a recovery residence, to provide the individual with a specified list; requiring specified recovery residence certification requirements to include a requirement that a recovery residence make arrangements for the receipt of specified services for specified residents; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB584/HB1468 Medical Records - Disclosure of Directory Information and Medical Records - Mental Health Services Altering the circumstances under which a health care provider may disclose a medical record developed primarily in connection with mental health services to family members of a patient or other individuals without the authorization of a person in interest; and altering the definition of "directory information" as it relates to confidentiality of medical records to include health care information developed primarily in connection with mental health services. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB600/HB775 Public Health - Maternal Mental Health Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in consultation with stakeholders, to identify specified information about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders; requiring the Department to make available specified information on the Department's Web site and to provide specified information to specified health care facilities and health care providers; requiring the Department in collaboration with specified health professional associations to develop specified training programs; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB691/HB650 Criminal Procedure - Incompetency and Criminal Responsibility - Court-Ordered Medication Authorizing a court to order administration of specified medication to a defendant for a period of no longer than 30 days after a finding of incompetency or not criminally responsible under specified circumstances; providing that specified medication may be administered to a specified individual before the decision of a specified panel for a period of no longer than 30 days under specified circumstances; requiring a specified panel to issue a specified decision within 30 days under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB693/HB856 Co-Prescribing Naloxone Saves Lives Act of 2017 Requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to establish specified guidelines for the co-prescribing of opioid overdose reversal drugs that are applicable to all licensed health care providers in the State who are authorized to prescribe monitored prescription drugs; requiring the guidelines to address the co-prescribing of opioid overdose reversal drugs for specified patients; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB868/HB791 Overdose Response Program - Prescribing and Dispensing of Naloxone - Noncertificate Holders Notwithstanding specified provisions of law, authorizing a specified physician or a specified advanced practice nurse to prescribe and dispense naloxone to individuals who have not completed specified training; authorizing, notwithstanding specified provisions of law, a specified physician or a specified advanced practice nurse to prescribe and dispense naloxone to individuals who have not completed specified training by issuing a standing order under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/16 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB1007/SB364 One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credits - Business Incubators, Enterprise Zones, and Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise Zones Altering specified eligibility criteria for specified credits under the One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credit to include specified persons who establish or expand in specified areas a business facility that, for business incubators, creates a specified aggregate number of qualified positions at the facility under specified circumstances; authorizing specified business incubators to claim a refund of specified project tax credits or start-up tax credits; applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1051/SB1021 Enterprise Zone and Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise Zone Programs - Small Business Entities Allowing a credit against the State income tax for specified small business entities located in an enterprise zone or a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) zone; allowing a small business entity to claim the credit as a credit for the payment to the Comptroller of specified taxes; altering the definition of "qualified property" for purposes of a specified property tax credit on a specified assessment of specified real property located in a RISE zone so as to include specified personal property; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017, July 1, 2017 HB1052/SB873 Economic Development - Job Creation Tax Credit - Alteration Altering the definitions of "qualified position" and "State priority funding area" for purposes of the job creation tax credit program; requiring the Department of Commerce to certify the amount of the tax credit for which a qualified business entity is eligible; prohibiting the Department from certifying tax credits in a taxable year in excess of a specified amount; applying the Act to job creation tax credits certified after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1345 National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund Establishing the National Capital Strategic Economic Development Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund to provide grants to assist in predevelopment activities, for revitalization projects in the State; requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer the Fund; requiring the State Treasurer to hold the Fund and the Comptroller to account for the Fund; specifying the contents of the Fund; specifying eligibility criteria for awarding grants from the Fund; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] SB647 Consumer Protection - Disclosure of Social Security Number - Prohibition Prohibiting a person from requiring a consumer to disclose the consumer's Social Security number to the person as a condition for the purchase or lease of consumer goods or the purchase of consumer services; prohibiting a person from including a specified field or text box for a Social Security number on a specified contract or form; providing that the Act does not prohibit a person from requesting or requiring a consumer to disclose the consumer's Social Security number to apply for or obtain an extension of consumer credit; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB808/SB660 Hospitals - Patient's Bill of Rights Providing it is the intent of the General Assembly to promote the health, safety, and well-being of patients and to foster communication between patients and health care providers; requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide patients with a specified patient's bill of rights; requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide translators or an interpreter for specified patients; requiring each administrator of a hospital to conspicuously post copies of the patient's bill of rights in specified areas; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB921/SB623 Hospitals - Community Benefit Report - Disclosure of Tax Exemptions Requiring a hospital to include an itemization of all tax exemptions the hospital receives in the hospital's community benefit report. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB932/SB379 Hospitals - Changes in Status - Hospital Employee Retraining and Economic Impact Statements Requiring a hospital that voluntarily converts to a freestanding medical facility or is acquired by another hospital or health system to pay a fee directly to the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation if workers are displaced; prohibiting the fee from exceeding a 0.01 percent of the total revenue approved by the Health Services Cost Review Commission for a specified fiscal year; limiting the number of times the fee may be assessed; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB961/SB935 Public Health - Delegation of Health Care Decisions - Temporary Health Care Agent for Minors Authorizing the parent or legal guardian of a minor to delegate to a temporary health care agent the authority to consent and make decisions regarding medically necessary health care treatment of the minor; requiring a specified delegation to be made on a specified medical authorization treatment form; prohibiting a parent or legal guardian from delegating to a temporary health care agent the power to make specified decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment of the minor; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1175/SB834 Human Relations - Discrimination by a Place of Public Accommodation - Enforcement and Remedies Authorizing specified persons to elect to have the claims asserted in a specified complaint alleging discrimination by a place of public accommodation determined in a civil action brought by the Commission on Civil Rights under specified circumstances; requiring a civil action brought by the Commission to be filed within a specified time period after an election; expanding the remedies available for discrimination by a place of public accommodation; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1460/SB732 Hospitals - Acquisitions of Physician Offices, Group Practices, and Outpatient Health Care Entities - Notice Requiring a hospital to provide specified patients of a specified office, practice, or entity specified notice of a specified acquisition at least 30 days before the acquisition; requiring a specified notice to be in a specified form; establishing that a violation of the Act is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum fine of $500; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB623/HB921 Hospitals - Community Benefit Report - Disclosure of Tax Exemptions Requiring a hospital to include an itemization of the value of all tax exemptions the hospital receives in the hospital's community benefit report. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB660/HB808 Hospitals - Patient's Bill of Rights Providing it is the intent of the General Assembly to promote the health, safety, and well-being of patients and to foster communication between patients and health care providers; requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide patients with a specified patient's bill of rights; requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide translators or an interpreter for specified patients; requiring each administrator of a hospital to conspicuously post copies of the patient's bill of rights in specified areas; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB666/HB233 Disclosure of Medical Records - Guardian Ad Litem - Victims of Crime or Delinquent Acts Requiring a health care provider to disclose a medical record without specified authorization to a guardian ad litem appointed by a court to protect specified interests of a minor or a disabled or elderly individual who is a specified victim, for a specified purpose and for use in specified court proceedings; authorizing a specified guardian ad litem to redisclose a specified record under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB745 Disclosure of Medical Records - Compulsory Process - Timeline Requiring a health care provider to disclose a specified medical record in accordance with compulsory process no later than 30 days after receiving specified documentation. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB750/HB1516 Public Health - Health Record and Payment Clearing House - Pilot Program Requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission, on or before December 31, 2017, to research and evaluate public and private health record and payment clearing houses, develop standards, determine specified information, and report its recommendations and fund requests to the General Assembly; requiring the Commission to establish for use in a pilot program a health record and payment clearing house on or before January 1, 2019; specifying the capabilities of the proposed health records and payment clearing house; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB912 State Board of Examiners of Psychologists - Criminal History Records Checks - Renewals and Reinstatements Requiring the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists to begin, by March 2019, a process of requiring criminal history records checks on selected renewal applicants as determined by regulations adopted by the Board and specified former licensees and registrants who file for reinstatement; requiring an additional criminal history records check to be performed every 6 years after a renewal applicant was required to submit to a criminal history records check; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1022 Health Occupations - Violations of the Maryland Dentistry Act - Penalties Establishing penalties for a person who aids or abets a person who practices or attempts to practice dentistry without a license; altering specified penalties for specified acts related to the unauthorized practice of dentistry or dental hygiene; altering specified penalties for violating specified provisions of law related to dental laboratory work or advertising a dental appliance; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB1031/SB815 State Board of Pharmacy - Registered Pharmacy Technicians - Exemption for Pharmacy Students Providing that a specified provision of law requiring an individual to be registered and approved by the State Board of Pharmacy as a pharmacy technician before performing delegated pharmacy acts does not apply to a specified pharmacy student currently completing the first year of a professional pharmacy education program and performs, under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist, delegated pharmacy acts in accordance with specified regulations; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1047/SB906 Child Support - Suspension of Employment-Related License for Arrears - Hardship Exception and Reinstatement Requiring that notice of a proposed action to suspend a license necessary for an individual to engage in a particular business, occupation, or profession for failure to pay child support contain information on specified grounds for requesting an investigation; authorizing the Child Support Enforcement Administration to choose temporarily not to request a suspension of a license necessary to engage in a particular business, occupation, or profession under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1054/SB989 State Board of Physicians - Physician Licensure - Prohibition on Requiring Specialty Certification Prohibiting the State Board of Physicians from requiring, as a qualification to obtain a license or as a condition to renew a license, certification by a specified accrediting organization that specializes in a specific area of medicine or maintenance of certification by a specified accrediting organization that includes specified reexamination as a requirement for maintaining certification. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1113/SB988 Health Occupations - Maryland Community Health Worker Act Establishing the State Board of Community Health Workers; specifying the purpose and composition of the Board; specifying the terms of a Board member; requiring the Governor to appoint a new member, within a specified time period, if a vacancy on the Board occurs; authorizing the Governor to remove a member of the Board under specified circumstances; requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to serve as the chair of the Board; requiring the Board to elect specified officers from among its members; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1124 Health Occupations - Physician Assistants - Preparing and Dispensing Prescriptions Authorizing a physician assistant, under specified circumstances, to personally prepare and dispense a drug that the physician assistant may prescribe under a delegation agreement; providing that the Maryland Pharmacy Act does not apply to a physician assistant under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1183/SB986 State Board of Social Work Examiners - Revisions Renaming the graduate social worker license issued by the State Board of Social Work Examiners to be the master social worker license; limiting the number of terms a specified licensed social worker member of the Board may serve; requiring a specified licensed bachelor social worker or licensed master social worker to submit specified information to the Board to obtain approval by the Board to engage in independent practice; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1214/SB1013 Health Occupations - Dental Therapists - Licensure Requiring the State Board of Dental Examiners to adopt regulations for the licensure of dental therapists and the practice of dental therapy; requiring the Board to adopt regulations establishing criteria for taking specified action relating to a collaboration agreement; requiring the Board to adopt a code of ethics for the practice of dental therapy; requiring the Board to set specified fees and to pay all fees collected to the Comptroller; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1265/SB549 State Board of Physicians and Allied Health Advisory Committees - Sunset Extension and Program Evaluation Continuing the State Board of Physicians and the related allied health advisory committees in accordance with the provisions of the Maryland Program Evaluation Act (Sunset Law) by extending to July 1, 2023, the termination provisions relating to statutory and regulatory authority of the State Board of Physicians and the committees; altering the content of a specified statistical report regarding complaints of sexual misconduct; altering the definition of "allied health professional" to include naturopathic doctors; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB1292 State Board of Dental Examiners - Ownership, Management, or Operation of a Dental Practice Requiring a dental practice to be owned, managed, or operated by a licensed dentist; authorizing, under specified circumstances, an heir of a licensed dentist who was the owner of a dental practice to serve as an owner of the dental practice for up to 1 year; authorizing the State Board of Dental Examiners to extend the 1-year time period under specified circumstances; authorizing the Board to take specified action against specified applicants and licensees for accepting or tendering rebates or split fees; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2017, July 1, 2018, July 1, 2021 HB1321 Child Protection - Reporting Requirements - Threat of Harm Requiring a specified individual acting in a professional capacity to notify the local department of social services or the appropriate law enforcement agency if the individual has reason to believe that a verbal threat of a substantial risk of imminent harm to a child has been made; prohibiting a person from preventing or interfering with the making of a report under the Act; providing specified immunity to a person who participates in specified activities relating to a report made under the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/9 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1379 Courts - Criminal and Civil Immunity - Prescribing, Dispensing, and Administering Opioid Antagonists Providing that a health care provider, under specified circumstances, is not criminally or civilly liable for prescribing, dispensing, or administering an opioid antagonist to treat or prevent a drug overdose or any adverse effect arising from the use of a specified opioid antagonist; providing that an individual who is not a health care provider is not criminally or civilly liable for specified effects arising from the individual administering an opioid antagonist under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB503 Health Occupations Boards - Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Information Campaigns - Reporting Requiring each health occupations board established under the Health Occupations Article to report an update on the status of specified information campaigns and other outreach efforts designed to educate specified individuals regarding racial and ethnic health disparities to specified committees of the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2018. Hearing Date: Wed 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB818 Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Act - Voluntary Protection Program Establishing a Voluntary Protection Program in the Division of Labor and Industry to encourage participating employers to have exemplary worker safety and health programs; requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to recognize specified employers under the Program; requiring an employer who wishes to participate in the Program to submit a specified application; authorizing the Commissioner to perform specified evaluations; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/16 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB848 Health Occupations - Physician Assistants - Dispensing Authority Authorizing a physician assistant to personally prepare and dispense any drug that the physician assistant may prescribe to the extent permitted by law in the course of treating a patient at specified facilities, clinics, health centers, and hospitals; requiring a physician assistant who personally dispenses a drug to comply with specified requirements; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/9 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB730 Health Insurance - Coverage for Diabetes Test Strips - Prohibition on Deductible, Copayment, and Coinsurance Prohibiting specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations from imposing a deductible, copayment, or coinsurance requirement on diabetes test strips; applying the Act to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after October 1, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB736 Workgroup to Recommend Possible Reforms to Maryland's Health Care System Requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, under specified circumstances, to convene a workgroup to recommend possible reforms to the State's health care system; requiring that the workgroup include specified individuals; requiring the workgroup, under specified circumstances, to study and assess specified matters and make specified recommendations; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB740/SB919 President Jimmy Carter Cancer Treatment Access Act Prohibiting a specified insurer, nonprofit health service plan, or health maintenance organization from imposing a step therapy or fail-first protocol on an insured or an enrollee for a specified prescription drug used in the treatment of a specified cancer under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB774/SB380 Insurance - Surplus Lines - Short-Term Medical Insurance - Procurement From Nonadmitted Insurer Altering the scope of provisions of law governing surplus lines insurance as the provisions relate to short-term medical insurance; altering the conditions under which short-term medical insurance may be procured from a nonadmitted insurer; and applying the Act to all policies and contracts of surplus lines insurance for short-term medical insurance issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after October 1, 2017. Hearing Date: Fri 2/10 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB876/SB918 Health Insurance - Coverage of Fertility Preservation Procedures for Iatrogenic Infertility Requiring specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide specified benefits under specified insurance policies or contracts to provide coverage for specified fertility preservation procedures; and applying the Act to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after January 1, 2018. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2018 HB887 Health Insurance - Preauthorization for Drug Products to Treat Substance Use Disorders - Prohibition Prohibiting specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations from applying a preauthorization requirement for methadone, buprenorphine, or injectable naltrexone; and applying the Act to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after January 1, 2018. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2018 HB909/SB571 Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act Establishing the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission; providing the purpose of the Commission is to conduct an assessment of the impact of potential federal changes to specified health care programs and to provide recommendations for State and local action to protect access of residents of the State to affordable health coverage; requiring the Commission to report its findings to the Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB910 Maryland Health Benefit Exchange - Application for State Innovation Waiver Requiring, on or before September 1, 2017, the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange to apply for a specified waiver to allow specified individuals to enroll in qualified health plans offered through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. Hearing Date: Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB1044/SB992 Oncologists - Dispensing and Insurance Coverage of Orally Administered Cancer Chemotherapy Exempting a specified physician from the prohibition on dispensing specified prescriptions when the physician has a substantial financial interest in a pharmacy under specified circumstances; authorizing a licensed physician to personally prepare and dispense a prescription written by a specified physician in the same group practice; exempting specified associations that include an oncologist from the prohibition on associating as a partner, a co-owner, or an employee of a specified pharmacy; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1127/SB968 Health Insurance - Coverage Requirements for Behavioral Health Disorders - Modifications Altering specified coverage requirements applicable to specified health benefit plans for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and emotional, drug use, and alcohol use disorders; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB1147/SB898 Health Insurance - Prescription Drugs - Dispensing Synchronization Requiring specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to allow and apply a prorated daily copayment or coinsurance amount for a partial supply of a prescription drug dispensed by an in-network pharmacy under specified circumstances; prohibiting a specified insurer, nonprofit health service plan, and health maintenance organization from denying payment of benefits to an in-network pharmacy for a covered prescription drug solely on a specified basis; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB571/HB909 Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act Establishing the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission; providing the purpose of the Commission is to conduct an assessment of the impact of potential federal changes to specified health care programs and to provide recommendations for State and local action to protect access of residents of the State to affordable health coverage; requiring the Commission to report its findings to the Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB918/HB876 Health Insurance - Coverage of Fertility Preservation Procedures for Iatrogenic Infertility Requiring specified insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide specified benefits under specified insurance policies or contracts to provide coverage for specified fertility preservation procedures; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2018 SB919/HB740 President Jimmy Carter Cancer Treatment Access Act Prohibiting a specified insurer, nonprofit health service plan, or health maintenance organization from imposing a step therapy or fail-first protocol on an insured or an enrollee for a specified prescription drug used in the treatment of a specified cancer under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB764/SB676 Requirements for Filial Support - Repeal Repealing the prohibition on the neglect or refusal, by an adult child who has or is able to earn sufficient means, to provide a destitute parent with food, shelter, care, and clothing; altering the definition of "responsible relative", as it relates to responsibility for the cost of specified services provided in a facility or program operated or funded by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to exclude from the definition the children of a recipient of specified services; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1149/SB951 Maryland Securities Act - Vulnerable Adults Altering the Maryland Securities Act to regulate specified federal exempt broker-dealers; establishing the Securities Act Registration Fund to provide funds to administer and enforce the Maryland Securities Act; altering the types of actions that are unlawful under the Maryland Securities Act; requiring specified individuals that believe that a vulnerable adult or individual at least 65 years old is being subjected to financial exploitation to notify the Commissioner and a specified local department; etc. Hearing Date: Fri 3/10 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1167/SB841 Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act of 2017 Prohibiting, except under specified circumstances, the performance of or the attempt to perform a dismemberment abortion that kills an unborn child on a pregnant woman; authorizing a specified individual to seek a hearing before the State Board of Physicians on a specified issue; providing that specified findings of the Board from a specified hearing are admissible on that issue at a specified trial; providing for the delay of a specified trial for a specified purpose for a specified number of days; etc. Hearing Date: Fri 3/10 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1197/SB797 Child Abuse and Neglect - Reporting - Definitions Altering the definitions of "educator or human service worker" and "health practitioner" in provisions of law relating to the reporting of child abuse and neglect; and defining the terms "mandated reporter" and "youth-serving organization" in provisions of law relating to the reporting of child abuse and neglect. Hearing Date: Thu 3/9 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1204/SB932 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Atrazine Study Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in cooperation with the Department of the Environment and the Department of Agriculture, to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of atrazine in the State; specifying the parameters of the study; and requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report the findings and recommendations to the Governor and specified committees of the General Assembly on or before October 1, 2018, and to make the report available to the public on its Web site. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 HB1358/SB542 Maryland Lead Poisoning Recovery Act Establishing that the Act applies only to an action brought by a unit of State or local government or by an owner of a residential building against a specified manufacturer of lead pigment for specified damages allegedly caused by the presence of lead-based paint in a residential building; providing that the Act does not apply to specified actions for specified damages arising from personal injury or death or to specified actions against a person other than a manufacturer; etc. Hearing Date: Fri 2/24 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB562/HB498 Health Care Decisions Act - Advance Directives and Surrogate Decision Making - Disqualified Individuals Prohibiting specified individuals from serving as a health care agent under specified circumstances; prohibiting specified individuals from making decisions about health care for specified individuals who have been certified to be incapable of making an informed decision under the Health Care Decisions Act; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB781/HB1375 Criminal Procedure - Testing - HIV and Hepatitis C Including hepatitis C as a disease for which a person charged with causing prohibited exposure may be tested under specified circumstances; authorizing a judge to issue a search warrant to obtain a buccal sample from a person to be tested for the presence of HIV when it is made to appear there is probable cause to believe that the person has caused prohibited exposure to a victim; requiring a law enforcement officer to deliver a buccal sample to a local health official or health care provider for immediate testing; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB1135 Public Institutions of Higher Education - Instructors - Expressions of Opinion Requiring a specified instructor of a course related to civics, history, government, social studies, or political science to teach the course in a fair and balanced manner that does not reflect the instructor's personal philosophical agenda, bias, or political opinion; requiring each public institution of higher education to establish an Office of the Ombudsman; providing for the responsibilities and duties of the Office; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1250 Higher Education - Student Employees - Collective Bargaining Removing student employees at the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, and Baltimore City Community College from the list of employees who are ineligible to engage in collective bargaining. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 3:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1289 Higher Education - Student Financial Assistance - Notification Requiring the Office of Student Financial Assistance in the Maryland Higher Education Commission, in consultation with each county board of education, to mail specified informational materials relating to federal student aid and qualifications for State-funded scholarships and grants to each 12th grade student enrolled in a public school in the State on or before November 1 each year; requiring the informational materials to be mailed to a specified address; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB953/SB696 Task Force on Long-Term Care Education and Planning Establishing the Task Force on Long-Term Care Education and Planning; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Task Force; prohibiting a member of the Task Force from receiving specified compensation, but authorizing the reimbursement of specified expenses; requiring the Task Force to study and make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly on or before December 1, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB696/HB953 Task Force on Long-Term Care Education and Planning Establishing the Task Force on Long-Term Care Education and Planning; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Task Force; prohibiting a member of the Task Force from receiving specified compensation, but authorizing the reimbursement of specified expenses; requiring the Task Force to study and make recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly on or before December 1, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 SB903 Health and Aging Programs - Establishment and Funding Requirements Establishing the Administrative Care Coordination Unit Program and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Program in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; providing for the purposes of the Programs; requiring the Department to develop and use specified formulas to allocate funding under the Programs; establishing a mandated minimum appropriation to increase funding for specified programs over specified established funding levels; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB1185/SB928 Criminal Law - Cannabis - Legalization Repealing specified civil and criminal prohibitions against the use and possession of marijuana; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified persons for using, obtaining, purchasing, transporting, or possessing cannabis under specified circumstances; establishing exemptions from prosecution for specified retailers, cannabis product manufacturers, cannabis cultivation facilities, craft cannabis cultivators, and safety compliance facilities under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1236/SB891 Constitutional Amendment - Cannabis - Right to Use, Possess, and Cultivate Amending the Maryland Constitution to establish that, subject to specified exceptions, an individual in the State who is at least 21 years old has the right under State law to use cannabis, possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis, and cultivate up to 6 cannabis plants; providing that the right enumerated in the amendment may not be infringed except that the transfer of cannabis by purchase or sale shall be regulated as necessary to ensure health and safety and taxed for specified purposes; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: HB1259/SB1038 Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission - Medical Cannabis Grower Licenses Increasing the number of medical cannabis grower licenses that may be authorized by the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission from 15 to 17; and requiring the Commission to grant specified approval to specified applicants. Hearing Date: Fri 3/3 1:00 PM Effective Date: Upon Enactment SB800 Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission - Medical Cannabis Grower Licenses - Review of Applications Increasing the number of medical cannabis growers that may be licensed by the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission; requiring the Commission to review specified applications and award Stage One pre-approval to at least one applicant located in southern Maryland, which includes Charles County, Calvert County, and St. Mary's County; and requiring an applicant awarded Stage One pre-approval to meet the standards for licensure as a medical cannabis grower as set by the Commission. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: Upon Enactment [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB847 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Benefits for Individuals Who Are Incarcerated or Institutionalized Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide 6 months of presumptive eligibility for Maryland Medical Assistance Program benefits for individuals on release from incarceration or from an institution for the treatment of mental disease; requiring the Department, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, to establish a process to train and certify certain staff as presumptive eligibility determiners; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB756/HB1216 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Medication Adherence Technology Pilot Program Establishing a specified pilot program to expand the use of medication adherence technology to increase prescription drug adherence of specified Maryland Medical Assistance Program recipients; requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to administer the pilot program; requiring the Department to select and provide a medication adherence technology system to specified Maryland Medical Assistance Program recipients; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB777/SB783 Patient Early Intervention Programs Providing that a statement made by a party during a discussion held in accordance with a specified patient safety early intervention program is inadmissible in specified legal proceedings; authorizing a hospital or a related institution to establish a specified patient safety early intervention program; establishing specified requirements for a patient safety early intervention program; applying the Act prospectively; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1347/SB877 Maryland No-Fault Birth Injury Fund Establishing a system for adjudication of a claim involving a birth-related neurological injury; providing equitable compensation, on a no-fault basis, for a limited class of catastrophic injuries that result in unusually high costs for custodial care and rehabilitation; establishing the Maryland No-Fault Birth Injury Fund to provide compensation and benefits to eligible claimants; providing for specified premiums and insurance surcharges to be used to finance and administer the Fund; applying the Act prospectively; etc. Hearing Date: Fri 3/10 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1459/SB682 Civil Actions - Noneconomic Damages Increasing the maximum amount of noneconomic damages that may be recovered in specified wrongful death actions or survival actions arising on or after October 1, 2017; providing that a jury may be informed of specified limitations on noneconomic damages in specified civil actions. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB836 Civil Actions - Punitive Damage Awards Providing that punitive damages may be awarded in a civil action only if the plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with wantonness, fraud, or malice; requiring a trier of fact to consider a defendant's liability for punitive damages concurrently with other specified issues; requiring a trier of fact to determine the amount of punitive damages to be awarded based on specified factors under specified circumstances; applying the Act prospectively; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB1037 Health Care Malpractice Qualified Expert - Limitation on Testimony in Personal Injury Claims - Repeal Repealing the requirement that a health care provider who attests in a certificate of a qualified expert or who testifies in relation to a proceeding before an arbitration panel or a court concerning compliance with or departure from standards of care devote no more than 20% of the provider's professional activities to activities that directly involve testimony in personal injury claims. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB455/SB790 Criminal Law - Animal Cruelty - Applicability Clarifying that a person who has charge or custody of an animal and who unnecessarily fails to provide the animal with proper air, proper space, proper shelter, or proper protection from the weather is guilty of violating a specified prohibition against abuse or neglect of an animal; and clarifying that a person who intentionally mutilates, intentionally tortures, intentionally cruelly beats, or intentionally cruelly kills an animal is guilty of violating a specified prohibition against aggravated cruelty to animals. Hearing Date: Thu 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB941/SB631 Criminal Law - Animal Abuse Emergency Compensation Fund - Establishment Requiring specified fines to be remitted to the Animal Abuse Emergency Compensation Fund; establishing the Animal Abuse Emergency Compensation Fund; providing for the uses, purposes, sources of funding, investment of money, and auditing of the Fund; requiring the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention (GOCCP) to administer the Fund; providing that the Fund is a continuing, nonlapsing fund not subject to specified provisions of law; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1175/SB834 Human Relations - Discrimination by a Place of Public Accommodation - Enforcement and Remedies Authorizing specified persons to elect to have the claims asserted in a specified complaint alleging discrimination by a place of public accommodation determined in a civil action brought by the Commission on Civil Rights under specified circumstances; requiring a civil action brought by the Commission to be filed within a specified time period after an election; expanding the remedies available for discrimination by a place of public accommodation; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB925 Criminal Law - U-47700 ("Pink") - Prohibition Listing a specified synthetic opioid on Schedule I to designate it a controlled dangerous substance that may not be legally used, possessed, or distributed. Hearing Date: Tue 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB988 Licensed Pharmacists - Risks of Opioid Addiction - Notifications Requiring a licensed pharmacist, if an opioid is dispensed by a licensed pharmacist or an individual engaging in a professional experience program and acting under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist, to notify the individual to whom the opioid is dispensed of the risks of opioid addiction; and providing that the notice may be made orally or in writing. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1103/SB1055 Health Insurance and Pharmacy Benefits Managers - Reimbursement for and Provision of Pharmacy Services Authorizing a pharmacist or a pharmacy to decline to dispense a prescription drug or provide a pharmacy service to a member if the amount reimbursed by an insurer, nonprofit health service plan, or health maintenance organization is less than the acquisition cost; prohibiting a pharmacy benefits manager from reimbursing a pharmacy or pharmacist for a product or a pharmacy service in an amount less than a specified amount; and applying the Act. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1121/SB1054 Health Insurance - Freedom of Choice of Pharmacy Act Prohibiting specified carriers from prohibiting an enrollee from selecting, or limiting the ability of an enrollee to select, a specified pharmacy for the receipt of specified services; prohibiting specified carriers, under specified circumstances, from denying a pharmacy a specified right or imposing on an enrollee specified payments, fees, reimbursement amounts, limitations, or conditions for specified services; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: January 1, 2018 HB1162 Pharmacy Benefits - Processing and Adjudication of Claims - Restrictions on Fees Prohibiting pharmacy benefits managers or specified purchasers from directly or indirectly charging a contracted pharmacy, or holding a contracted pharmacy responsible for, specified fees; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1262 Pharmacists - Administration of the Influenza Vaccination - Age Requirement Altering the age of an individual to whom a pharmacist may administer an influenza vaccination from at least 9 years old to at least 5 years old. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1273/SB997 Pharmacists - Substitution and Dispensing of Biological Products Authorizing a pharmacist to substitute an interchangeable biological product for a prescribed product under specified circumstances; requiring a pharmacist or the pharmacist's designee, except under specified circumstances, to inform specified consumers of the availability of an interchangeable biological product and the approximate cost difference as compared to a specified drug; requiring the State Board of Pharmacy to maintain on its Web site a link to specified lists of biological products; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB644/SB180 Independent Living Tax Credit Act Allowing an individual or a corporation a credit against the State income tax equal to 50% of the renovation or construction costs incurred during the taxable year to provide specified accessibility and visitability features to or within a home; providing that the credit may not exceed $5,000; requiring applicants to file a specified application before a specified date and to file an amended return; applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/22 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1033 Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Discharged Student Loan Debt Allowing a subtraction modification under the Maryland income tax for specified income of specified individuals resulting from the discharge of student loan debt; providing that the amount of the subtraction modification may not exceed $50,000 for an individual or $100,000 for a married couple filing jointly; requiring an individual to submit specified documentation to qualify for the subtraction modification; prohibiting an individual from claiming the subtraction modification under specified circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1176 Income Tax - Research and Development Credit - Start-Up Businesses Altering the calculation of a specified credit against the State income tax for Maryland qualified research and development expenses incurred by an individual or a corporation so as to allow the individual or corporation, subject to specified limitations, a credit in an amount equal to 5% of the Maryland qualified research and development expenses paid to a specified start-up business or paid or incurred by the individual or corporation during the taxable year, if the individual or corporation is a specified start-up business; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 HB1337 Sales and Use Tax - Tax-Free Periods - University and College Textbooks Designating, beginning in calendar year 2017, the last 7 days of August through the first 7 days of September each year to be a tax-free period during which an exemption from the sales and use tax is provided for the sale of specified textbooks purchased by specified individuals; designating, beginning in calendar year 2018, an additional sales and use tax-free period during the last 14 days of January each year for return-to-school textbook shopping. Hearing Date: Fri 3/3 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2017 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB912 State Board of Examiners of Psychologists - Criminal History Records Checks - Renewals and Reinstatements Requiring the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists to begin, by March 2019, a process of requiring criminal history records checks on selected renewal applicants as determined by regulations adopted by the Board and specified former licensees and registrants who file for reinstatement; requiring an additional criminal history records check to be performed every 6 years after a renewal applicant was required to submit to a criminal history records check; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1143 Maryland Pay Stub Transparency Act of 2017 Altering the information that employers are required to give employees within 30 days after the first date of employment and for each pay period; requiring employers to provide employees with an explanation of how wages were calculated; and authorizing employees to collect $100 in liquidated damages for each pay period that the employer failed to meet specified requirements, not to exceed $2,500. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1175/SB834 Human Relations - Discrimination by a Place of Public Accommodation - Enforcement and Remedies Authorizing specified persons to elect to have the claims asserted in a specified complaint alleging discrimination by a place of public accommodation determined in a civil action brought by the Commission on Civil Rights under specified circumstances; requiring a civil action brought by the Commission to be filed within a specified time period after an election; expanding the remedies available for discrimination by a place of public accommodation; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1305 Labor and Employment - Payment of Wages - Minimum Wage Requiring to be paid for the 6-month period beginning July 1, 2017, a minimum wage of $9.25 per hour, for the 18-month period beginning January 1, 2018, a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, and beginning July 1, 2019, a minimum wage of $12.50 per hour. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1366 Labor and Employment - Number of Employees Granted H-1B or L-1 Visa - Disclosure Requiring each employer, on or before December 1 each year, to report to the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation and the Maryland Higher Education Commission and make available to the public the number of the employer's employees who have been granted an H-1B or L-1 visa by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Hearing Date: Mon 3/6 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 HB1416/SB962 Labor and Employment - Payment of Minimum Wage Required (Fight for Fifteen) Specifying the State minimum wage rate in effect for specified time periods based on employer size; increasing, except under specified circumstances, the State minimum wage rate based on annual growth in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area; requiring the Board of Revenue Estimates during a specified time period to conduct a specified analysis; authorizing, under specified circumstances, the Governor to temporarily suspend a minimum wage rate increase; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB490 Labor and Employment - Labor Organizations - Right to Work Act Prohibiting an employer from requiring, as a condition of employment or continued employment, an employee or a prospective employee to join or remain a member of a labor organization, pay charges to a labor organization, or pay a specified amount to a third party under specified circumstances; prohibiting labor organizations and employers from taking specified action against an employee or a prospective employee, or specified other persons, for specified purposes; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/22 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 SB818 Maryland Occupational Safety and Health Act - Voluntary Protection Program Establishing a Voluntary Protection Program in the Division of Labor and Industry to encourage participating employers to have exemplary worker safety and health programs; requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to recognize specified employers under the Program; requiring an employer who wishes to participate in the Program to submit a specified application; authorizing the Commissioner to perform specified evaluations; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/16 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2017 Legislative Session Office Legislative Hotline is a service of Johns Hopkins Government Affairs. © 2016 The Johns Hopkins Institutions. 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