The budget is balanced, in large part, by reducing the Rainy Day Fund to the minimum 5% of revenues, by reducing certain mandates (including many of those noted above), and by reducing the reinvestment into the state employees’ pension system by $50 million. The Department of Legislative Services will be presenting their comprehensive Fiscal Briefing on Monday afternoon which will provide more information and analysis.


Assessing the Impact of Health Care Reform in Maryland
Earlier this month, the Department of Legislative Services issued (URL below) this analysis of the impacts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on health insurance coverage, access to care, and costs in Maryland. This information is useful in understanding the magnitude of the issues the state will face by a repeal of the ACA or other significant federal policy changes.

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/Pubs/LegisLegal/2017-Impact-Health-Care-Reform.pdf


2017 Session

This week’s new bills of interest to the Johns Hopkins community:

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BILLS INTRODUCED

Behavioral Health

SB35 Juvenile Law - Informal Adjustment - Mental Health Program

Establishing that a juvenile informal adjustment process may exceed 90 days if a juvenile intake officer determines that additional time is necessary for a child to complete a substance abuse treatment or mental health program that is part of the informal adjustment process.

Hearing Date: Wed 1/18 1:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Budget - Capital

HB151/SB171 Creation of a State Debt - Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loan of 2017, and the Maryland Consolidated Capital Bond Loans of 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016

Authorizing the creation of a State Debt in the amount of $1,013,267,000, the proceeds to be used for specified necessary building, construction, demolition, planning, renovation, conversion, replacement, and capital equipment purchases of the State, for acquiring specified real estate in connection therewith, and for grants to specified subdivisions and other organizations for specified development and improvement purposes, subject to specified requirements; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017, June 1, 2018, June 1, 2019
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Budget - Operating

HB150/SB170 Budget Bill (Fiscal Year 2018)

Making the proposed appropriations contained in the State Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, in accordance with Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date:
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB152/SB172 Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2017

Authorizing or altering the distribution of specified revenue; altering or repealing specified required appropriations; authorizing the use of specified funds for specified purposes; altering the Special Fund from which a specified racing purse and a related bonus award program is funded; providing a specified amount of aid to specified institutions; altering a specified rate increase for community service providers; limiting increases in specified mandated spending; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB303 Commonsense Spending Act of 2017

Providing that, beginning in fiscal year 2019, any appropriation that is mandated by law is required to have its mandated level of spending increased by the lesser of the amount of the existing formula or 1% less than the amount of General Fund revenue growth in a specified report submitted by the Board of Revenue Estimates; providing that the General Assembly may not enact specified legislation that creates a specified mandated level of funding except under specified circumstances; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

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Economic & Community Development

HB161 Department of Commerce - Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund - Renaming and Restructuring

Renaming the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Fund to be the Advantage Maryland Fund Authority and the Advantage Maryland Fund; repealing from the scope of the Authority and the Fund grants to local economic development funds; repealing from the scope of the Authority and the Fund loans to child care facilities to improve child care services; altering the scope of financial assistance provided under the Fund; establishing a specified reporting requirement; etc.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/8 1:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

SB226 Biotechnology Investment Tax Credit - Qualified Maryland Biotechnology Company - Definition

Altering the definition of "qualified Maryland biotechnology company" to extend a specified period of time from a specified date that an active business may claim the biotechnology tax credit; and applying the Act to initial tax credit certificates issued after June 30, 2017.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

SB317 More Jobs for Marylanders Act of 2017

Establishing the More Jobs for Marylanders Program within the Department of Commerce; requiring the Department to administer the Program; providing that specified business entities certified to participate in the Program are exempt from specified fees and the sales tax imposed on specified purchases; allowing, under specified circumstances, specified business entities a credit against the State income and property taxes; exempting specified business entities from specified expensing and deprecation subtraction modifications; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

SB318 Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit - Eligibility and Sunset Extension

Altering the eligibility criteria under the cybersecurity investment incentive tax credit to provide the credit to a specified qualified investor in a specified qualified Maryland cybersecurity company rather than providing the credit to the company; and extending the termination date of the credit from June 30, 2019, to June 30, 2023.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

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General Education

SB319 Pathways in Technology Early College High (P-TECH) School Act of 2017

Establishing the Pathways in Technology Early College High (P-TECH) School Program; requiring the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Maryland Higher Education Commission, to administer and develop the Program; requiring P-TECH students to be included in the full-time equivalent enrollment calculation for primary and secondary education and requiring the funding calculation for credit hours at a community college to include P-TECH students; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

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Health Care Administration & Facilities

HB60 Commission on the Disposition of the Crownsville Hospital Center Property

Establishing the Commission on the Disposition of the Crownsville Hospital Center Property as an independent unit in the Executive Branch; placing the Commission under the Department of General Services for administrative and budgetary purposes; authorizing the Commission to sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of specified property and enter into contracts and execute specified instruments to carry out its purpose; terminating the Act on June 30, 2019; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB188 Public Health - Advance Directives - Witness Requirements, Advance Directives Services, and Fund

Altering the circumstances under which a witness's subscription is not required for an electronic advance directive if the declarant's identity has been established in accordance with specified regulations; requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission to adopt regulations specifying the manner in which a declarant's identity may be established without a witness's subscription; establishing the Advance Directive Program Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Health Insurance/Health Care Access

HB123 Health Insurance - Required Conformity With Federal Law

Making specified provisions of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act relating to preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management applicable to individual health insurance coverage and health insurance coverage offered in specified small group and large group markets; altering specified provisions of law relating to special enrollment periods in the small employer health insurance market; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Health, General/Public/Environmental

HB127 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Board of Review - Repeal

Repealing provisions of law relating to the Board of Review of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; repealing provisions of law that require the Board of Review to make specified recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, advise the Secretary on specified matters, hear and determine specified appeals, and report at specified intervals to the Secretary; repealing provisions of law that authorize a person to file an appeal with the Board of Review; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017, January 1, 2018
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB128 State Disabilities Plan and Interagency Disabilities Board - Revisions

Altering the date, from October 1 to December 1 of each year, by which the Secretary of Disabilities must submit an annual analysis of the State's progress in implementing the State Disabilities Plan and related performance objectives to the Governor and the General Assembly; altering the membership of the Interagency Disabilities Board; and altering the required elements of the State Disabilities Plan.

Hearing Date: Tue 1/31 2:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB184 Public Health - Treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder - Notice of Guidelines

Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to develop, in consultation with the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a notice written in layman's language that explains the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents and to post the notice on the Department's Web site; requiring specified health care practitioners to display the notice in a specified office; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB206 Public Health - Child Care Products Containing Flame-Retardant Chemicals - Prohibition

Prohibiting a person from importing, selling, or offering for sale specified child care products or furniture containing specified flame-retardant chemicals; authorizing the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to suspend implementation of specified provisions of the Act if the Secretary makes a specified determination; requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to adopt specified regulations on or before January 1, 2018; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

HB274 Veterans - Availability and Accessibility of Health Care Services and Transportation - Study

Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs, to conduct a study on the availability and accessibility of health care services to meet the health care needs of veterans in the State and the availability and accessibility of transportation to the health care services; requiring the study to include specified items, identify specified gaps, and identify specified options; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB216 Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council - Renaming and Altering Membership and Duties

Renaming the Maryland Caregivers Support Coordinating Council to be the Maryland Commission on Caregiving; altering the membership of the Commission to include specified members of the General Assembly; requiring the Governor to consider groups representing specified individuals when appointing members to the Commission; and requiring the Commission to provide ongoing analysis of best practices in family caregiver support programs and to monitor implementation of the Commission's recommendations.

Hearing Date: Thu 2/2 1:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB240 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Abuser Registry Workgroup Recommendations - Report

Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to report on the status of the implementation of specified recommendations of the Abuser Registry Workgroup; and requiring the Department to submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before September 1, 2017.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:00 PM

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Higher Education/Financial Aid

HB83 Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Discharged Student Loan Debt

Altering a subtraction modification under the Maryland income tax for specified income of specified individuals resulting from the discharge of student loan indebtedness by repealing a requirement that the discharge must be due to total and permanent disability or death; applying the Act to all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016; etc.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:30 PM

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB94 Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Program - Requirements for Matching Funds

Authorizing a nonprofit institution of higher education to deposit specified available institutional funds into the research endowment of the institution under specified circumstances to satisfy a specified 90-day deposit requirement to receive matching funds under the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Program.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:30 PM

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB159 Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones

Prohibiting the carrying or possession of specified firearms on the property of public institutions of higher education; providing for specified exceptions to the prohibition; and requiring a public institution of higher education to post signs in prominent locations on the property of the public institution of higher education, including at entrances to and exits from the property, designed to provide notice of the prohibition of the possession of firearms.

Hearing Date: Tue 1/31 1:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB262 Student Debt Disclosure Act of 2017

Requiring institutions of higher education that receive State funds to provide specified information to students regarding their education loans on or before October 15 each year; prohibiting an institution of higher education from incurring a specified liability; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB266 Public Senior Higher Education Institutions - Financial Aid - Reduction Restrictions

Regulating how public senior higher education institutions may adjust funds awarded by the institution when the total amount of financial aid awarded to a student exceeds the student's demonstrated financial need; authorizing financial aid awarded by a public senior higher education institution to be reduced only under specified circumstances and up to a specified amount; prohibiting financial aid awarded by a public senior higher education institution from being reduced under specified circumstances; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB272 Higher Education - Public Institutions of Higher Education - Sanctuary Campus Status

Establishing sanctuary campus status for public institutions of higher education in the State with respect to specified federal immigration policies and requirements; prohibiting an institution from releasing specified information concerning the immigration status of its students and employees; requiring federal immigration officials to provide notice to an institution before entering the campus of the institution, as specified; requiring each institution to offer financial aid, assistance, and services to specified students; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

SB327 Public Senior Higher Education Institutions - Financial Aid - Reduction Restrictions

Regulating how public senior higher education institutions may adjust funds awarded by the institution when the total amount of financial aid awarded to a student exceeds the student's demonstrated financial need; authorizing financial aid awarded by a public senior higher education institution to be reduced only under specified circumstances and up to a specified amount; prohibiting financial aid awarded by a public senior higher education institution from being reduced under specified circumstances; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

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Long Term Care

HB132 Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program - Regulations

Requiring the Secretary of Aging to consult with the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman when adopting specified regulations that relate to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, including specified annual reviews, resident councils and family councils in long-term care facilities, training and designating ombudsmen, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality of specified information and documents.

Hearing Date: Tue 1/31 2:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB47 Reporting Abuse to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and the Office of Health Care Quality

Clarifying that suspected abuse of a resident of a related institution is required to be reported to the Office of Health Care Quality and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; requiring an ombudsman to comply with a specified federal law when reporting suspected abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation of an alleged vulnerable adult; authorizing the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program to notify the Office of Health Care Quality or a law enforcement agency of an alleged abuse only under specified circumstances; etc.

Hearing Date: Thu 1/19 1:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB176 Long-Term Care Insurance - Moratorium on Renewal Premium Rate Increases

Prohibiting a carrier from increasing a renewal premium rate for a specified long-term care insurance policy or contract in the years 2017 through 2019.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:00 PM

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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Medical Liability/Tort Reform

SB193 Physicians - Professional Liability Insurance Coverage - Notification and Posting Requirements

Requiring physicians licensed to practice medicine in the State to notify patients in writing and on each visit of specified information relating to professional liability insurance coverage; requiring the notification to be signed by the patient and retained by the physicians as part of the patient records; requiring the physician to post specified information in a specified location in their place of practice; requiring the State Board of Physicians to develop specified language for the notification; etc.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Rianna Matthews-Brown

SB195 Physicians - Licensure - Liability Coverage (Janet's Law)

Requiring licensed physicians to maintain specified minimum amounts of professional liability insurance or attest to specified coverage as a condition of licensure and comply with specified regulations; requiring a licensed physician to notify the State Board of Physicians of the cancellation of the insurance or coverage within a specified time period; requiring a physician to provide the Board with specified verification or documentation on a specified application and at any other time on request of the Board; etc.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/1 2:00 PM

Effective Date: October 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Rianna Matthews-Brown

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Tax Policy

HB196 Income Tax - Subtraction Modification - Interest Paid on Student Loans

Allowing a subtraction modification under the State income tax for the amount of interest paid by a qualified taxpayer on qualified student loans; requiring the Comptroller to adopt specified regulations; and applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/8 1:00 PM

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

HB240/SB200 Income Tax Credit - Qualified Research and Development Expenses - Credit Amounts

Increasing the maximum total amount of research and development tax credits that the Department of Commerce may approve in specified calendar years; and applying the Act to all research and development tax credits certified after December 15, 2016.

Hearing Date: Wed 2/8 1:00 PM

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

SB173 Commission on Access to Tax-Preferred Health and Childcare Savings Accounts for All Marylanders

Establishing the Commission on Access to Tax-Preferred Health and Childcare Savings Accounts for All Marylanders; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Commission; authorizing the reimbursement of specified expenses; requiring the Commission to study and make recommendations regarding specified matters; requiring the Commission to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2018; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: June 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

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:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Nicole McCann

SB320 Student Debt Relief Act of 2017

Allowing a subtraction modification under the State income tax for the amount of interest paid by a qualified taxpayer on qualified student loans; requiring the Comptroller to adopt specified regulations; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Mary Clapsaddle

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Tech Transfer

SB313 Economic Development - Maryland Energy Innovation Institute

Establishing a Maryland Energy Innovation Institute for specified purposes; providing that the Institute is a part of the A. James Clark School of Engineering; establishing the purposes of the Institute; establishing an Advisory Board for the Institute; providing for the membership, terms, powers, and officers of the Institute Board; establishing the Maryland Energy Innovation Fund to be used by the Institute and the Maryland Clean Energy Center for specified purposes; altering the purposes of the Center; etc.

Hearing Date:

Effective Date: July 1, 2017
For more information, please contact: Chelsea Beaupre,Mary Clapsaddle

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