2018 SESSION OF THE
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
| | | |
| 2018 SESSION OF THE |
| Volume 24, Number 4 | February 7, 2018 |
Here are some of the hot issues as the 2018 Legislative Session develops:
BILLS INTRODUCED
Behavioral Health HB742/SB552 State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists - Sunset Extension and Program Evaluation Continuing the State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists in accordance with the provisions of the Maryland Program Evaluation Act (Sunset Law) by extending to July 1, 2019, the termination provisions relating to statutory and regulatory authority of the Board; altering the composition of the Board; repealing certain provisions of law establishing and governing the Behavior Analyst Advisory Committee; establishing the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Subcommittee; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: Upon Enactment HB771 Public Health - Opioid Overdoses - Prohibition and Rehabilitation Order Prohibiting an individual from overdosing on an opioid and requiring and receiving an opioid overdose reversal drug from a certain first responder as a consequence of the overdose; requiring a first responder who successfully administers an opioid overdose reversal drug to a certain individual to provide the individual with a referral to receive certain treatment and to issue the individual a certain rehabilitation order; establishing a certain penalty for a violation of certain provisions of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB772/SB765 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Clinical Services Provided by Certified Peer Recovery Specialists Authorizing the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to provide, as of January 1, 2020, and subject to certain limitations, clinical services provided by certified peer recovery specialists to individuals with substance use disorders or mental health disorders; and requiring the Secretary of Health, under certain circumstances, to develop certain regulations with input from certain entities. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB902/SB1028 Health Occupations - Conversion Therapy for Minors - Prohibition (Youth Mental Health Protection Act) Prohibiting certain mental health or child care practitioners from engaging in conversion therapy with individuals who are minors; providing that a certain mental health or child care practitioner who engages in conversion therapy with a minor shall be considered to have engaged in unprofessional conduct subject to disciplinary action; defining "conversion therapy" as a practice or treatment by a mental health or child care practitioner that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB924 Emergency Medical Care - Administration of Opioid Antidotes - Immunity Applying certain immunity from civil liability for certain acts or omissions to certain persons who administer to individuals who appear to be experiencing an opioid overdose a certain dose or certain doses of a certain opioid antidote. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB1092/SB703 Behavioral Health Crisis Response Grant Program ? Establishment Establishing the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Grant Program to provide funds to local jurisdictions to establish and expand community behavioral health crisis response systems; authorizing certain uses of funds distributed under the Program; requiring the Department, by December 1 each year, beginning in 2020, to report to the Governor and the General Assembly certain data regarding the Program; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB527 Health - Standards for Involuntary Admissions and Petitions for Emergency Evaluation - Modification Altering a certain exception to allow for the involuntary admission of certain individuals who have a mental disorder, have experienced an overdose, have a history of persistent substance abuse, or present a danger to the life safety of the individual or others to certain facilities or a Veterans' Administration hospital; altering certain circumstances to allow a petition for an emergency evaluation to be made for certain individuals; altering the circumstances for petitions for the emergency evaluation of certain individuals; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB702 Health Insurance - Behavioral Health Assessments, Services, and Treatment for Patients Provided Opioids - Coverage Requiring certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide certain benefits to provide certain coverage for a certain behavioral health assessment and certain services provided by certain comprehensive pain management programs for opioid weaning or substance use disorder treatment programs; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 SB864 Health ? Emergency Evaluees and Involuntarily Admitted or Committed Individuals ? Procedures Requiring a health care provider to disclose directory information about a patient to the Mental Health Division in the Office of the Public Defender if the patient is involuntarily admitted or admitted to the facility as a certain committed person; requiring a health care provider to disclose a medical record for a certain patient or recipient of certain services without the authorization of a person in interest to legal counsel for the patient or recipient in connection with or for use in certain proceedings; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB921 Task Force on the Premature Discharge of Patients With Substance Use Disorders Establishing the Task Force on the Premature Discharge of Patients With Substance Use Disorders to study certain practices and procedures at certain Facilities and to make recommendations on necessary changes to improve patient treatment, training for staff, and reporting on early patient discharge; requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2019; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 SB922 Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program Facilities - ASAM Criteria Assessments Requiring a certified alcohol and drug abuse program facility to provide a patient with a copy of certain records on the patient's request; requiring the members of a patient's ASAM criteria assessment team to meet with the patient for a certain purpose; requiring a certain facility to send certain application records to a certain treatment provider within 72 hours after completing the assessment under certain circumstances; requiring a certain treatment provider provide certain referrals to certain treatment providers; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB936 Developmental Disabilities Administration ? Community?Based Residential Programs ? Definition of Alternative Living Unit Altering the definition of "alternative living unit" under provisions of law relating to community-based residential programs under the Developmental Disabilities Administration and the operation of alternative living units. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB939 Community-Based Services Waivers and State Disabilities Plan - Alterations (Maryland Disabilities Act) Requiring that a certain home- and community-based services waiver include a requirement that at least half the waiver participants live in community-based housing immediately before receiving waiver services; requiring that a certain waiver required by the Maryland Department of Health implement a certain waiting list; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to provide individuals on the waiting list with certain information; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB947 Mental Health Law - Involuntary Admissions - Requirements and Procedures Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to provide for admission of a certain emergency evaluee to a certain State facility or other certain facility within 6 hours after notification; and prohibiting a certain hearing officer from ordering the release of an individual who meets the requirements for involuntary admission under a certain provision of law on certain grounds. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB975 Task Force to Study Drug Addiction as a Chronic Disease Establishing the Task Force to Study Drug Addiction as a Chronic Disease; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Task Force; requiring the Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding certain matters; requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before April 1, 2020; terminating the Act on September 30, 2020; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] SB820 State Budget Proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution authorizing the General Assembly to increase or add Executive Department items in the budget bill, subject to a certain limitation; providing for the veto by the Governor of only those items relating to the Executive Department that have been increased or added by the General Assembly; providing for the reversion to original appropriations of certain vetoed items in the budget bill; authorizing the General Assembly to override budget bill item vetoes; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB606 Public Health - Tobacco Control Funding Requiring $21,000,000 in funding for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter for activities aimed at reducing tobacco use in Maryland. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB805 Task Force on Police Staffing Levels in Baltimore City Establishing the Task Force on Police Staffing Levels in Baltimore City; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Task Force; prohibiting a member of the Task Force from receiving certain compensation, but authorizing the reimbursement of certain expenses; requiring the Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding certain matters, and to report its findings and recommendations to the majority and minority leaders of both Houses of the General Assembly on or before December 31, 2018; and terminating the Act. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] SB966 RISE Zones - Expansion and Income Tax Credit Repealing a limitation on the number of Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise zones that may be approved in a county or municipal corporation; providing that a business entity in a RISE zone is eligible for a certain tax credit; authorizing certain business entities to apply for a certain tax credit certificate; requiring the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, to approve certain applications for certain tax credit certificates in a certain manner; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB364/SB310 CyberMaryland Act of 2018 Allowing a subtraction modification under the State income tax for certain capital gain income realized on the disposition of an investment in a certain cybersecurity company; authorizing certain buyers of certain technology to claim a credit against the State income tax equal to 50% of certain costs incurred to purchase certain technology; requiring the Secretary of Commerce to approve certain applications for the credits; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB616/SB20 Income Tax - Film Production Activity Tax Credit - Small or Independent Film Entities Authorizing a Maryland small or independent film entity to qualify as a film production entity under certain circumstances; altering a certain audit requirement to apply only to an entity with total direct costs that exceed $500,000; altering the amount of certain tax credit certificates that the Secretary of Commerce may issue under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 HB750 Economic Development Income Tax Credits - Multiple Claims - Prohibition Prohibiting a person from claiming multiple income tax credits under certain tax credit programs for certain economic development projects for the same project or new employee position; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB788/SB676 Baltimore City - Community Benefits Districts Repealing the limitation on the number of community benefits district management authorities that the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore may establish. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB817/SB632 Maryland Smart Growth Investment Fund Requiring the Governor to include in the annual budget bill for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 an appropriation of $3,750,000 for the Maryland Smart Growth Investment Fund; providing that the Governor is not required to include the appropriation in the fiscal year 2020 annual budget bill if on March 1, 2019, the Fund balance is less than $25,000,000 and in the fiscal year 2021 annual budget bill if on July 1, 2019, the Fund balance is less than $25,000,000; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 HB989/SB877 Promoting ext-Raordinary Innovation in Maryland's Economy (PRIME Act) Establishing the Promoting ext-Raordinary Innovation in Maryland's Economy Program within the Department of Commerce to provide certain Fortune 100 companies tax credits and benefits for up to 10 years; requiring the Department to administer the Program; establishing the application and eligibility requirements for a business entity to qualify for tax credits and benefits under the Program; authorizing a credit against the State income tax for certain income of business entities certified under the Program; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: June 1, 2018 SB810 Job Reinvestment Act of 2018 Allowing a credit against the State income tax for certain small business entities located in an enterprise zone or a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) zone; allowing a small business to qualify for the credit if the business hired and retained at least one new employee for at least 6 months; allowing a small business to apply the credit for each employee who is hired that results in a net increase in the number of employees hired and retained by the business; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018, July 1, 2018 SB955 Income Tax - Angel Investor Tax Credit Program Allowing a credit against the State income tax for a certain percentage of an investment made in a qualified innovation business, not to exceed $50,000, or $100,000 for a qualified investor that is a married couple filing jointly or a pass-through entity; requiring a qualified investor to meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for the credit; requiring the Department of Commerce to administer the credit; applying the Act to certain taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB989 One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credits - Simplification and Alteration Altering the definition of "qualified distressed county" by altering certain income levels in the definition and renaming it to be "Tier I county"; repealing a certain start-up tax credit under the One Maryland Economic Development Tax Credit Program; expanding the eligibility requirements for a certain project tax credit by altering, under certain circumstances, the number of qualified positions that must be created by a qualified business entity; altering the calculation of the project tax credit; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB936 Institutions of Higher Education ? Financial Aid Reductions ? Notice Requiring public senior and private nonprofit higher education institutions, within 30 days of a student's acceptance and before reducing a student's institutional gift aid, to provide certain students with notice of whether additional gift aid may result in a reduction of institutional gift aid and how much additional gift aid the student may accept before the institutional gift aid will be reduced; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB593 Income Tax - Student Loan Tax Credit Expanding the student loan tax credit that allows certain individuals with certain student loan debt amounts to claim a credit against the State income tax to include graduate student loan debt. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB781/SB842 Higher Education - Educational Excellence Award Eligibility - High School Diploma by Examination Specifying that a requirement under the Delegate Howard P. Rawlings Program of Educational Excellence Awards to obtain a high school diploma shall be satisfied if an individual has obtained a high school diploma by examination. Hearing Date: Thu 2/22 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB860 Income Tax Credit - Individuals Working in STEM Fields - Student Loan Payments Authorizing a credit against the State income tax for the amount certain individuals pay toward certain student loans during the taxable year; providing for the carryforward of the credit; authorizing certain individuals, on or before December 1 each year, to apply to the Department of Commerce for the credit; requiring the application to contain certain information; requiring the Department and the Maryland Higher Education Commission jointly to review the applications and award the tax credits; applying the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB470 Higher Education - Senatorial and Delegate Scholarships - Reimbursement of Certificate and License Programs Authorizing certain recipients of a senatorial scholarship to use the scholarship to reimburse certain expenses for certificate or license programs at community colleges; exempting certain applicants from the requirement that certain senatorial scholarship recipients take a certain examination and be enrolled in certain institutions; and authorizing certain students to use a delegate scholarship to reimburse certain expenses for certificate or license programs at community colleges. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 2:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB546 Higher Education - Tuition Rates - Exemptions Altering the circumstances under which certain individuals are exempt from paying the out-of-state tuition rate at public institutions of higher education; altering the circumstances under which certain individuals are eligible to pay the resident tuition rate at a public senior higher education institution or the in-county rate at a community college; requiring certain individuals to remain exempt from paying certain tuition rates until the individual is awarded a certain degree under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB1012 Commissioner of Financial Regulation - Student Education Loans - Ombudsman and Licensing of Servicers Requiring the Commissioner of Financial Regulation to designate an individual to serve as the Student Loan Ombudsman; establishing the duties and responsibilities of the Student Loan Ombudsman; requiring the Ombudsman, in consultation with the Commissioner, to establish a certain student loan borrower education course with certain requirements; prohibiting a person from engaging in student education loan servicing unless the person is licensed by the Commissioner or is exempt from licensing; establishing application requirements; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/22 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB364/SB310 CyberMaryland Act of 2018 Allowing a subtraction modification under the State income tax for certain capital gain income realized on the disposition of an investment in a certain cybersecurity company; authorizing certain buyers of certain technology to claim a credit against the State income tax equal to 50% of certain costs incurred to purchase certain technology; requiring the Secretary of Commerce to approve certain applications for the credits; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB456/SB376 Criminal Law - Crimes Involving Computers - Cyber Intrusion and Ransomware Adding certain offenses involving computers to the list of offenses on which a charge of murder in the first degree can be based; prohibiting the creation of or unauthorized introduction into a computer, computer system, or computer network software designed to inhibit access or use by an authorized user of a computer, computer system, or computer network for the purpose of extorting money, property, or anything of value from another; establishing a certain penalty; and applying the Act prospectively; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB566/SB195 Business Relief and Tax Fairness Act of 2018 Prohibiting the State Department of Assessments and Taxation from imposing a fee for the filing of certain documents by corporations or business entities with 10 or fewer employees; requiring certain corporations to compute Maryland taxable income using a certain combined reporting method; requiring, subject to certain regulations, certain groups of corporations to file a combined income tax return reflecting the aggregate income tax liability of all the members of the group; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB710/SB202 Consumer Protection - Credit Report Security Freezes - Notice and Fees Prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from charging a fee for the placement of a security freeze requested by a consumer or a certain consumer representative under certain circumstances; prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from charging a fee for the temporary lift or removal of a security freeze that has been placed on the consumer's credit report; and altering the contents of a certain notice that must be included with a certain summary of rights provided to a consumer. Hearing Date: Fri 2/16 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB544/SB369 Public and Nonpublic Schools - Classwork and Assessment Involving Live and Dead Animals - Student Choice Policy Authorizing a student in a public school or nonpublic school to choose not to participate in or observe, in whole or in part, classwork or an assessment that includes certain actions conducted on a certain animal; authorizing a student to choose not to participate in or observe the classwork or assessment at a certain time; requiring a certain student to complete the required classwork or assessment by a certain alternative educational method that meets certain requirements; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB693/SB612 State Education Aid - Tax Increment Financing Development Districts - Repeal of Sunset Provision Repealing the termination provision of a certain provision of law relating to the annual certification of the amount of assessable base for certain real property for the purposes of calculating certain State education aid. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB814/SB403 Workers' Compensation - Students in Unpaid Work-Based Learning Experiences Authorizing all county boards of education, rather than only certain county boards of education, to waive the requirement that a participating employer reimburse the county for the cost of the premium for workers' compensation coverage provided to students placed in unpaid work-based learning experiences or pay a certain fee. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB300/HB350 Achieving Computer Science Collaborations for Employing Students Statewide (ACCESS) Act of 2018 Requiring the State Board of Education to develop and adopt content standards for computer science education in kindergarten through grade 12 by November 30, 2018; requiring the State Board to consult with certain persons in developing certain standards; requiring the State Department of Education to develop a certain implementation plan; requiring high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools to offer certain computer science courses, education, or curricula beginning in the certain school years; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB479/HB940 High School Credit for College Courses Act of 2018 Requiring a county board of education to award certain elective credit to a high school student who successfully completes a certain college course or a course recognized for credit by an institution of postsecondary education in the State through a certain approved direct credit articulation agreement; requiring a certain institution of postsecondary education to make a certain certification; establishing certain procedures for the State Department of Education to make a certain determination; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 2:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB618 Career Youth and Public Sector Apprenticeship Act Requiring the State Board of Education to require a county board of education to award graduation credit to a high school student who completes work-based training or classroom instruction under a registered apprenticeship program; requiring the State Board to require a county board to count toward high school attendance the time certain apprentices spend during certain work-based training; requiring the Division of Workforce Development to make a certain annual report to the General Assembly by June 30; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] SB896 Public Health - Health Record and Payment Clearinghouse - Pilot Program Requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission, subject to certain limitations, to establish and implement a certain health record and payment clearinghouse pilot program on or before July 1, 2020; requiring the Commission, on or before July 1, 2019, to develop certain standards and determine certain information; authorizing the Commission to contract with an outside entity to establish and maintain the health record and payment clearinghouse; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB994 Disclosure of Tax Benefits - Nonprofit Hospitals Requiring each nonprofit hospital, each year, to submit to the Comptroller an itemized list of certain tax benefits; requiring the Comptroller to prepare a certain report and to post the report on the Comptroller's website; and requiring the Comptroller, in consultation with certain employee organizations, to adopt certain regulations. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] SB530/HB562 Hospitals - Patient's Bill of Rights Requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide patients with a certain patient's bill of rights; requiring each administrator of a hospital to provide certain patients with a translator, an interpreter, or another accommodation to provide certain assistance to patients; requiring each administrator of a hospital to conspicuously post copies of the patient's bill of rights on the hospital's website and in areas of the hospital accessible to patients; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB619 Health Maintenance Organizations - Certificate of Need Requirements - Modification Repealing a certain requirement that a health maintenance organization or a certain health care facility have a certificate of need before taking certain actions to establish a certain ambulatory surgical facility or center; altering the conditions under which a health maintenance organization or a certain health care facility is required to have a certificate of need before taking certain action to establish a health care project; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB923 Maryland All-Payer Model Agreement - Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule - Waiver Requiring, on or before September 1, 2018, the Maryland Department of Health to request approval from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation of a waiver of the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility 3-Day Rule and its applicability to Medicare beneficiaries in the State; requiring the request to be included in a request by the Department for updates to and an extension of the Maryland All-Payer Model Agreement submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation under certain provisions of federal law; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB981 Hospitals - Discharge of Patients - Emergency Medical Conditions and Extreme Temperatures (Rebecca's Law) Prohibiting a hospital from discharging into extreme outdoor temperatures a patient that an employee of the hospital has reason to believe is suffering from an emergency medical condition and lacks certain capacity to seek shelter, without assistance, from the extreme temperatures; providing that a person who violates certain provisions of the Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 90 days or both; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB569 Vital Statistics and Records - Definition of Licensed Health Care Practitioner - Physician Assistant Altering the definition of "licensed health care practitioner" for the purposes of certain provisions of law governing vital statistics and records to include a physician assistant licensed under Title 15 of the Health Occupations Article. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB591/SB549 Health Occupations - Physician Assistants - Dispensing of Drugs Under a Delegation Agreement Altering the required contents of a certain delegation agreement in order for a primary supervising physician to delegate to a certain physician assistant the dispensing of certain substances, drugs, and devices; prohibiting a primary supervising physician from delegating the dispensing of controlled dangerous substances identified as Schedule I; authorizing a physician assistant, under certain circumstances, to personally prepare and dispense a drug that the assistant is authorized to prescribe; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB596/SB234 Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Entering into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to strengthen access to health care by developing a comprehensive process to complement existing licensing and regulatory authority and provide a streamlined method to allow physicians to become licensed in multiple states; requiring a physician to meet certain eligibility requirements to receive certain licensure; requiring physicians to designate a certain state as the state of principal license for purposes of registration for certain expedited licensure; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB653/SB522 Health Care Providers - Opioid Prescriptions - Discussion of Information and Risks Requiring certain health care providers to discuss certain information and risks associated with the prescription of opioids that are controlled dangerous substances with the patient or, if the patient is a minor, the parent or guardian of the minor before issuing an initial prescription and before issuing a third prescription in the same course of treatment; requiring certain health care providers to obtain a certain written acknowledgment and include the acknowledgment in the patient's medical record; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB857 Health Occupations - Physicians - Specialty Certifications Authorizing an entity granting physician privileges to use the active specialty certification of a physician by a specialty certification board as criteria to determine physician privileges; prohibiting an entity granting physician privileges from requiring specialty certification by a particular specialty certification board as a prerequisite for the granting of physician privileges; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB863/SB698 State Board of Nursing - Advanced Practice Registered Nurses - Certification and Practice Providing that an advanced practice registered nurse's certification expires on the same date as a certain license; authorizing a nurse anesthetist to provide certain care, administer certain drugs, manage certain therapy, order and evaluate certain tests and studies, perform certain tests, and perform certain acts; requiring a nurse anesthetist to administer anesthesia in collaboration with certain health care practitioners; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB666 Health Insurance - Associations - Definitions Altering certain definitions of "association" and "bona fide association", as the definitions apply to certain provisions of law regarding health insurance, to include certain associations formed and maintained for the purpose of obtaining insurance. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB718/SB531 Insurance Law - Application to Direct Primary Care Agreements - Exclusion Defining a "direct primary care agreement" as a written contract in which a primary care provider agrees to provide certain primary care services to a patient for a certain fee and for a certain period of time and that has certain elements; excluding a direct primary care agreement from certain definitions for the purpose of certain provisions of insurance law; and providing that certain provisions of insurance law do not apply to a direct primary care agreement. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB726/SB690 Maryland Department of Health - Basic Health Program - Implementation Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to provide certain Basic Health Program coverage in the State; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to report to the Department of Legislative Services and the General Assembly on or before June 1, 2019, on whether the State can implement, beginning January 1, 2020, a Basic Health Program that accomplishes certain objectives and take other certain action related to the implementation of the Program; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB847 Health Insurance - Coverage for Lymphedema Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment Requiring insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide certain health insurance benefits under certain insurance policies or contracts to provide coverage for the medically necessary diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of lymphedema, including equipment, supplies, complex decongestive therapy, gradient compression garments, and self-management training and education; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: January 1, 2019 HB880/SB793 Health Insurance - Lyme Disease and Related Tick-Borne Illnesses - Long-Term Antibiotic Treatment Requiring certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for certain long-term antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease and related tick-borne illnesses under certain circumstances; prohibiting an entity subject to the Act from denying certain treatment under certain circumstances; providing the Act applies to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the State on or after January 1, 2019; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: January 1, 2019 HB908/SB271 Health Insurance - Coverage of Fertility Preservation Procedures for Iatrogenic Infertility Requiring certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide certain benefits under certain insurance policies or contracts to provide coverage for certain 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, 2019. Hearing Date: Effective Date: January 1, 2019 HB1078/SB792 Commercial Insurance - Insurance Producers - Commissions Providing that an insurer is not prohibited from paying certain commissions under commercial insurance policies to licensed insurance producers in a certain manner under certain circumstances; applying the Act to all policies of commercial insurance offered, sold, or issued in the State on or after October 1, 2018; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/22 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB656/HB86 Health Insurance - Coverage for Elevated or Impaired Blood Glucose Levels and Prediabetes Treatment Authorizing certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide reimbursement for certain services for the treatment of prediabetes; requiring certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for certain equipment, supplies, training, and services for the treatment of elevated or impaired blood glucose levels induced by pregnancy or prediabetes; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 SB686 Health Insurance - Coverage for Over-the-Counter Contraceptive Drugs and Devices Requiring certain entities to provide certain coverage for certain contraceptive devices that are available over the counter; prohibiting certain entities from applying certain copayments or coinsurance for certain contraceptive devices dispensed without a prescription; providing for the application of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2020 SB858 Health Insurance ? Access to Local Health Departments Requiring a carrier that is an insurer, a nonprofit health service plan, or a health maintenance organization to ensure in certain standards that certain enrollees have access to local health departments and certain services provided through local health departments; requiring that a certain access plan filed by a carrier include a description of the carrier's efforts to include local health departments in the carrier's network; and applying the Act. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 SB946 Health Insurance - Freedom of Choice of Laboratory Act Prohibiting certain carriers from prohibiting an enrollee from selecting, or limiting the ability of an enrollee to select, a certain laboratory for the receipt of certain services under certain circumstances; prohibiting certain carriers, under certain circumstances, from denying a laboratory a certain right or imposing on an enrollee certain payments, fees, and conditions for certain services; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 SB1011 Protect Maryland Health Care Act of 2018 Establishing the Maryland Insurance Stabilization Fund and the Health Insurance Down Payment Escrow Fund; specifying the purposes of the funds; requiring, beginning on a certain date, an individual to maintain certain coverage for certain individuals; requiring that an individual pay a certain payment under certain circumstances; requiring the Exchange to take certain steps to facilitate the enrollment of certain individuals into certain coverage under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB663 Higher Education ? Academic Forgiveness Policy ? Established Requiring institutions of higher education to develop and implement an academic forgiveness policy on or before August 1, 2018, that applies to applicants who earned unsatisfactory or failing grades at a prior institution of higher education under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 HB713/SB1027 Higher Education - Transfer Student Education Records - Requirements Requiring an institution of higher education, before deciding whether to accept and enroll a student who applies to transfer to the institution, to request and obtain records of any disciplinary actions taken against the student from certain institutions of higher education; requiring the institution of higher education to impose certain individualized conditions on the admission and enrollment of a certain student who has violated a certain sexual assault policy; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB904 Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones Altering a certain exception relating to law enforcement officers to the prohibition on carrying certain weapons on public school property; prohibiting the carrying or possession of certain firearms on the property of public institutions of higher education; requiring a public institution of higher education to post certain signs in prominent locations on the property; requiring the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland to incorporate into its bylaws, policies, and procedures the current weapons practice; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB913/SB607 Higher Education - Sexual Assault Policy - Disciplinary Proceedings Policy Requiring the governing body of each institution of higher education, on or before August 1, 2019, to adopt and submit to the Maryland Higher Education Commission a revised written policy on sexual assault that includes a disciplinary proceedings policy for alleged violation of the sexual assault policy; requiring the disciplinary proceedings policy to include a description of the rights for certain students and to include certain provisions; requiring counsel to be provided to certain students under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB951/SB317 Higher Education Degree and Job Certification Without Debt Act of 2018 Requiring the Governor to include certain amounts in the State budget to the Higher Education Commission for near completer grants for certain recipients; establishing the Maryland Community College Promise Program to provide the opportunity for community college students to earn an associate degree or a certificate debt-free; imposing a certain State income tax on the Maryland taxable income, attributable to investment management services, of an individual or a corporation or the distributive share of a pass-through entity; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB982/SB631 Higher Education Outreach and College Access Program - Alterations and Repeal of Sunset Repealing the termination date of certain provisions of law relating to the Maryland Higher Education Outreach and College Access Pilot Program; altering the name of the Program; and altering the provisions related to a certain report on the Program. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB1111/SB969 Public Health - Access to Emergency Contraception - Student Health Centers and Vending Machines Requiring a public institution of higher education to require a student health center to provide during the regular hours of operation of the student health center on-site access to certain emergency contraception and contraceptive counseling or referrals for contraceptive counseling to other qualified health care providers; requiring a public institution of higher education to ensure the availability of certain emergency contraception at all times, such as through vending machines or other similar devices; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB607/HB913 Higher Education - Sexual Assault Policy - Disciplinary Proceedings Policy Requiring the governing body of each institution of higher education, on or before August 1, 2019, to adopt and submit to the Maryland Higher Education Commission a revised written policy on sexual assault that includes a disciplinary proceedings policy for alleged violation of the sexual assault policy; requiring the disciplinary proceedings policy to include a description of the rights for certain students and to include certain provisions; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB663 Sales and Use Tax - Tax-Free Periods - University and College Textbooks Designating, beginning in calendar year 2018, the last 7 days of August each year to be a tax-free period during which an exemption from the sales and use tax is provided for the sale of certain textbooks purchased by certain individuals; and designating, beginning in calendar year 2019, an additional sales and use tax-free period during the last 7 days of January each year for return-to-school textbook shopping. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB1021 Community Colleges - Baccalaureate Degrees - Prohibition Prohibiting community colleges from awarding baccalaureate degrees; requiring baccalaureate degrees to be awarded by public senior higher education institutions, private nonprofit institutions of higher education, or out-of-state senior higher education institutions or for-profit institutions of higher education under certain circumstances; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB363/SB305 More Jobs for Marylanders Act 2.0 Altering the definition of "qualified distressed county" by altering certain income levels in the definition and renaming it to be "Tier I county"; altering the scope of eligible projects for which a business entity may apply to enroll in the More Jobs for Marylanders Program; altering the types of businesses authorized to receive certain credits and benefits under the Program; authorizing a certain county to select certain activities for eligibility for the Program; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: June 1, 2018 HB512/SB377 Labor and Employment ? Pay Scales and Wage History Information Requiring an employer to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant for employment on request; prohibiting employers from relying on wage history information, except under certain circumstances, for certain purposes and seeking the wage history information by certain methods and from certain persons; specifying that an employer is not subject to a certain criminal penalty for a violation of certain provisions of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 HB540 Labor and Employment - Pre-Tax Transportation Fringe Benefit - Requirement (Maryland Pre-Tax Commuter Benefit Act) Requiring certain employers to provide certain employees an opportunity to use a certain pre-tax transportation fringe benefit; authorizing an employee to file a written complaint with the Commissioner of Labor and Industry under certain circumstances; authorizing the Commissioner to attempt to resolve a certain matter informally or request the Attorney General to bring a certain action on behalf of the employee; providing that an employer that violates the Act is subject to a certain civil penalty; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB541 Labor and Employment ? Criminal Record Screening Practices (Ban the Box) Prohibiting certain employers from requiring an applicant for employment to disclose certain information regarding the criminal record of the applicant, conducting a certain criminal history records check, or taking other certain action before a conditional offer of employment has been extended; authorizing the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to resolve certain complaints informally or to use mediation; authorizing the Commissioner to ask the Attorney General to bring a certain action on behalf of the applicant or employee; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 HB664/SB543 Labor and Employment - Payment of the Minimum Wage Required (Fight for Fifteen) Specifying the State minimum wage rate that is in effect for certain time periods; increasing, except under certain circumstances, the State minimum wage rate based on the annual growth in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area; specifying the tip credit amount that is in effect for certain time periods; prohibiting an employer, beginning July 1, 2026, from including the tip credit amount as part of the wage of certain employees; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB779 Maryland Healthy Working Families Act - Exemption - Facility With On-Site Health Clinic Exempting from certain provisions of law concerning earned sick and safe leave certain employees who regularly work at facilities at which the employers offer the employees access to on-site health clinics that have operating costs of at least $1,000,000 per year. Hearing Date: Tue 3/6 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB974 Labor and Employment - Exemptions From Overtime Pay - Administrative, Executive, or Professional Capacity Altering the conditions under which an individual who works in a certain administrative, executive, or professional capacity qualifies for an exemption from overtime pay; requiring that an individual be compensated on a salary basis at $900 or more per week exclusive of board, lodging, or other facilities, to qualify as an individual who is employed in an administrative, executive, or professional capacity; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HJ2/SJ0004 Increasing Maryland's Competitiveness Through Gender Diversity in Boardrooms Recognizing certain evidence showing a deficiency in the gender diversity of Maryland boardrooms and the comparative high performance of companies where women are more strongly represented in top management; encouraging equitable and diverse gender representation on the boards and in senior management of companies and organizations in the State of Maryland; and urging certain institutions and companies to have a minimum of 30% of women directors by December 31, 2021; etc. Hearing Date: Mon 2/19 3:00 PM Effective Date: SB135/HB98 Paid Leave Compromise Act of 2018 Requiring certain employers with at least a certain number of employees to provide employees with paid time off that is paid at the same wage rate as the employee normally earns and that may be used by the employee for any reason; authorizing an employer to apply to the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation for a certain waiver; requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to create and make available a certain poster and notice; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: Upon Enactment SB368 Labor and Employment - State Minimum Wage Rate - Increase Specifying the State minimum wage rate in effect for certain time periods based on employer size; increasing the State minimum wage rate based on the annual growth in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, or a certain successor index; requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, beginning at a certain time, to annually determine and announce the growth in the Consumer Price Index and the new State minimum wage rate; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB377/HB512 Labor and Employment - Pay Scales and Wage History Information Requiring an employer to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant for employment on request; prohibiting employers from relying on wage history information, except under certain circumstances, for certain purposes and seeking the wage history information by certain methods and from certain persons; specifying that an employer is not subject to a certain criminal penalty for a violation of certain provisions of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: January 1, 2019 SB575 Workers' Compensation - Self-Insured Employers - Suspected Fraud Reporting Requiring certain governmental self-insurance groups and employers who self-insure or participate in a self-insurance group in accordance with certain provisions of law governing workers' compensation to report suspected insurance fraud in writing to the Fraud Division of the Maryland Insurance Administration; and providing that certain information, documentation, or other evidence provided by certain self-insureds to certain persons is not subject to public inspection under certain circumstances. Hearing Date: Tue 2/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB1019 Labor and Employment - State Minimum Wage Rate - Increase Specifying the State minimum wage rate that is in effect for certain time periods for certain employers, including midsized and small employers; increasing, except under certain circumstances, the State minimum wage rate in effect for certain periods of time based on certain calculations; requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, beginning at a certain time, to annually determine and announce the growth in the Consumer Price Index, if any, and the new State minimum wage rate under a certain provision of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB851 Medicaid and the Maryland Children's Health Program - Home and Community-Based Providers - Funding Requiring that the Governor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, and for each fiscal year thereafter, include a 3.5% rate increase for certain home and community-based providers over the funding provided in the legislative appropriation for the immediately preceding fiscal year; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB994/SB774 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Family Planning Services Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a certain State plan amendment to the Family Planning Program; altering the length of the period for which the Maryland Medical Assistance Program and the Maryland Children's Health Program is required to provide coverage to enrollees for a single dispensing of a supply of prescription contraceptives from 6 to 12 months; requiring the Department to establish a certain workgroup; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB1064/SB937 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Home- and Community-Based Waiver Services - Prohibition on Denial Prohibiting the Maryland Department of Health from denying an individual access to a home- and community-based services waiver due to a lack of funding for waiver services if the individual is discharged from a certain health care facility directly to the individual's home and is eligible for certain funding within 45 days after the discharge. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB660 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Rare and Expensive Case Management Program - Waiver Amendment Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for an amendment to the Rare and Expensive Case Management Program under a certain waiver; and requiring the application to authorize enrollment in the Program for individuals who are between the ages of 21 and 64 who have a qualifying Rare and Expensive Case Management diagnosis. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB682 Medical Assistance Program and Health Insurance - Emergency Medical Services Providers - Coverage and Reimbursement of Services Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to reimburse emergency medical services providers for mobile integrated health services provided to Maryland Medical Assistance Program recipients; requiring insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations that provide health insurance benefits under certain insurance policies or contracts to provide coverage for mobile integrated health services provided by certain emergency medical services providers; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB835 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Collaborative Care Pilot Program Establishing the Collaborative Care Pilot Program in the Maryland Department of Health to establish and implement a Collaborative Care Model in primary care settings in which health care services are provided to Program recipients enrolled in HealthChoice; requiring the Department to administer the Pilot Program and to select up to three sites with certain characteristics to participate in the Pilot Program; requiring the Governor to include in the annual budget $550,000 for certain fiscal years for the Pilot Program; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB943 Maryland Medical Assistance Program and Health Insurance - Coverage - Hepatitis C Drugs Requiring the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to provide coverage for certain hepatitis C drugs; requiring certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for certain hepatitis C drugs; prohibiting certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans, and health maintenance organizations from denying an insured or enrollee coverage based on the insured or enrollee's level or severity of liver damage; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB1026 Maryland Department of Health - Employed Beneficiaries of Assistance Programs Requiring the Maryland Department of Health annually to identify the 50 employers that have the highest number of employees receiving certain medical assistance or benefits; requiring the Department, on or before February 1 each year, to report to the General Assembly certain information regarding each of the identified employers; requiring the reports to be made available to the public on the Department's website; authorizing the Department to establish interagency agreements to obtain certain information; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/28 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB799/SB625 Criminal Procedure - Medical Emergency - Immunity Altering a provision of law to specify that a person who is experiencing a medical emergency, rather than a person who reasonably believes that the person is experiencing a medical emergency, after ingesting or using alcohol or drugs is immune from criminal arrest, charge, or prosecution for a certain violation if the evidence for the arrest, charge, or prosecution was obtained solely as a result of the person seeking or receiving medical assistance; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB909/SB862 Maryland No-Fault Birth Injury Fund Establishing a system for adjudication of a claim involving a birth-related neurological injury; providing for certain benefits and compensation, of a claimant under the Act; establishing the Maryland No-Fault Birth Injury Fund to provide compensation and benefits to eligible claimants; providing for certain premiums and insurance surcharges to be used to finance and administer the Fund; applying the Act prospectively; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/21 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB465 Civil Actions - Motor Vehicle Accidents Involving Pedestrians or Nonmotorized Vehicles - Comparative Negligence Prohibiting recovery by a certain plaintiff from being barred in a certain civil action due to the plaintiff's negligence, except under certain circumstances; requiring any damages awarded under the Act to be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff; providing for the prospective application of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/6 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB816 Public-Private Partnership Agreements - Compensation Provisions and Noncompete Clauses - Alterations Prohibiting a public-private partnership agreement from including certain provisions regarding compensation for certain entities under certain circumstances; and prohibiting a public-private partnership agreement for certain projects from including a certain noncompete clause. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB412 Task Force on Baltimore City Department of Social Services Oversight Establishing the Task Force on Baltimore City Department of Social Services Oversight; providing for the composition, chair, and staffing of the Task Force; requiring the Task Force to study certain matters, collect certain data, and make certain recommendations; requiring the Task Force to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2019; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB577 Alcoholic Beverages - Prohibited Acts - Defense to Prosecution for Sale to Underage Individuals Modifying certain elements required to establish a defense to serving an alcoholic beverage to an underage individual; and providing that reliance by an establishment or a seller on a certain type of identification scan fulfills an element of a certain defense. Hearing Date: Fri 2/23 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB591/SB549 Health Occupations - Physician Assistants - Dispensing of Drugs Under a Delegation Agreement Altering the required contents of a certain delegation agreement in order for a primary supervising physician to delegate to a certain physician assistant the dispensing of certain substances, drugs, and devices; prohibiting a primary supervising physician from delegating the dispensing of controlled dangerous substances identified as Schedule I; authorizing a physician assistant, under certain circumstances, to personally prepare and dispense a drug that the assistant is authorized to prescribe; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB736/SB576 Pharmacy Benefits Managers - Pharmacies and Pharmacists - Information on and Sales of Prescription Drugs Prohibiting a pharmacy benefits manager from prohibiting a pharmacy or pharmacist from providing a beneficiary with certain information regarding the retail price of a prescription drug or the amount of the cost share for a prescription drug for which the beneficiary is responsible; prohibiting a pharmacy benefits manager from prohibiting a pharmacy or pharmacist from discussing with a beneficiary a certain retail price or certain cost share for a prescription drug; providing for the construction of the Act; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB549/HB591 Health Occupations - Physician Assistants - Dispensing of Drugs Under a Delegation Agreement Altering the required contents of a certain delegation agreement in order for a primary supervising physician to delegate to a certain physician assistant the dispensing of certain substances, drugs, and devices; prohibiting a primary supervising physician from delegating the dispensing of certain controlled dangerous substances identified as Schedule I; authorizing a physician assistant, under certain circumstances, to personally prepare and dispense a drug that the assistant is authorized to prescribe; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB1007 Prescription Drug Monitoring Program ? Opioid Data ? Disclosure Requiring the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to disclose prescription drug monitoring data, in accordance with certain regulations, on the approval of the Secretary of Health, to the Attorney General for the purpose of law enforcement; requiring, rather than authorizing, the Program to make a certain notification and provide certain education to a certain prescriber or dispenser; requiring that the notification be made and the education be provided within a certain period of time; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB534 Firearms - Right to Purchase, Own, Possess, and Carry - Medical Cannabis (Patients' Rights Act) Providing that a person may not be denied the right to purchase, own, possess, or carry a firearm solely on the basis that the person is a certain qualifying patient; defining the term "qualifying patient" to mean a person who is authorized under certain provisions of law to use medical cannabis; prohibiting a State agency from accessing a certain database to obtain certain information; prohibiting a State agency from inquiring about a person's status as a certain qualifying patient for a certain purpose; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB604 Baltimore City Lead Remediation and Recovery Act Establishing that the Act applies only to an action against a certain manufacturer of lead pigment for certain damages allegedly caused by the presence of lead-based paint in a residential building located in Baltimore City; providing that the Act does not apply to certain actions for certain damages arising from personal injury or death, to certain actions against a person other than a manufacturer, or to certain actions brought by a person other than the City of Baltimore, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, or a certain owner; etc. Hearing Date: Fri 3/2 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB639/SB731 Health - Alleged Rape, Sexual Offense, or Child Sexual Abuse - HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to compensate a physician or hospital that provides certain post-exposure prophylaxis treatment under certain circumstances for the prevention of HIV to a victim of alleged rape or sexual offense or a victim of alleged child sexual abuse without charge to the victim; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB660 Public Health - State-Provided Health Care Benefits for State Residents (HealthcareMaryland) Establishing the Office of Health Care Coverage in the Maryland Department of Health to establish and carry out the HealthcareMaryland Program to provide benefits to State residents who do not receive federal benefits through Medicare, TRICARE, plans that are subject to ERISA, or any other federal medical program; requiring the Office to contract with a certain number of managed care organizations; requiring certain employers to pay to the Secretary of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation a certain annual payroll tax; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018, July 1, 2020 HB668 Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month - Awareness, Training, and Resource Materials Requiring the State Department of Education, in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health, to provide awareness and training for directors of student services in local education agencies on pediatric stroke; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to provide to the State Department of Education certain information on pediatric stroke; requiring the Governor to proclaim annually the month of May to be Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/8 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB691 Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund - Donor Registry - Annual Funding Requiring the Secretary of Health to distribute at least $400,000 annually from the Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Fund to the nonprofit organization responsible for the maintenance and operation of a certain donor registry. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB716/SB266 Maryland Health Care Commission - Mortality Rates of African American Infants and Infants in Rural Areas - Study Requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission, in consultation with the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities and interested stakeholders, to conduct a study on the mortality rates of African American infants and infants in rural areas; requiring the Commission to examine certain factors; requiring the Commission to report its findings and recommendations, including draft legislation establishing a permanent council on infant mortality in the State, to certain committees of the General Assembly by June 30, 2019; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB780/SB744 Insurance - Contraceptive Coverage - Consumer Information Requiring a certain entity that provides certain coverage for certain contraceptive drugs and devices under certain health insurance policies or contracts to develop a contraceptive coverage information document for certain plans; requiring that the contraceptive coverage document include certain information; and requiring a certain entity to make the contraceptive coverage information document available to certain consumers on certain websites and as part of certain information filed with the Maryland Insurance Commissioner. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB810/SB728 Public Safety ? Battery Operated Smoke Alarms Prohibiting a person from selling a battery operated smoke alarm in the State or transporting a battery operated smoke alarm into the State for consumer use on or after October 1, 2018, unless the smoke alarm is a sealed, tamper resistant unit incorporating a silence/hush button and using one or more long-life batteries; and defining "long-life battery". Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB839 Public Health - State Advisory Council on PANDAS and PANS Establishing the State Advisory Council on PANDAS and PANS; defining "PANDAS" as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections and "PANS" as Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome; requiring the Advisory Council to develop and update as necessary recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment options, clinical awareness, and outreach related to PANDAS and PANS and submit a report to the Governor and General Assembly on or before December 1 each year; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB922 Maryland Department of Health - "Pill Mill" Tip Line Requiring the Maryland Department of Health, on or before December 1, 2018, to establish a certain tip line through which a person may report a certain individual who the reporting person suspects is prescribing medication or overprescribing medication in violation of certain provisions of law; requiring the Department to endeavor to ensure that a certain phone number translates alphanumerically to a memorable word or phrase; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB953/SB456 Tobacco Products - Minimum Age and Civil Fines Altering certain provisions of law to prohibit a certain person from distributing a certain tobacco product to an individual under the age of 21 years, rather than to a minor; prohibiting a person from distributing a certain tobacco product without first examining a government-issued photographic identification of a certain purchaser or recipient in order to determine the date of birth of the prospective purchaser or recipient; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB1111/SB969 Public Health - Access to Emergency Contraception - Student Health Centers and Vending Machines Requiring a public institution of higher education to require a student health center to provide during the regular hours of operation of the student health center on-site access to certain emergency contraception and contraceptive counseling or referrals for contraceptive counseling to other qualified health care providers; requiring a public institution of higher education to ensure the availability of certain emergency contraception at all times, such as through vending machines or other similar devices; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB574 Public Health - Sepsis Public Awareness Campaign Workgroup Requiring the Secretary of Health to establish a Sepsis Public Awareness Campaign Workgroup; providing for the membership of the Workgroup; requiring the Workgroup to develop a certain public awareness campaign, identify, review, and evaluate certain resources, and identify cost-effective methods for dissemination of certain information; and requiring the Workgroup to report to certain committees of the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2018. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018 SB635 Driver's Licenses and Identification Cards - Notation for Life-Threatening Allergy Requiring the Motor Vehicle Administration to ensure that the driver's license or identification card of an applicant who indicates on a certain application that the applicant has a life-threatening allergy includes a notation specifying that allergy; requiring an application for a driver's license or an identification card to allow an applicant to indicate that the applicant has a life-threatening allergy and specify the life-threatening allergy; and authorizing the Administration to adopt certain regulations. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB912 Maryland Prenatal and Infant Care Coordination Services Grant Program Fund (Thrive by Three Fund) Establishing the Maryland Prenatal and Infant Care Coordination Services Grant Program Fund to make grants to counties and municipalities to provide care coordination services and evidence-based supports or interventions to low-income pregnant and postpartum women and to children from birth to 3 years old; authorizing any county or municipality to apply for a grant; requiring that an application for a grant from the Fund include certain evidence and a certain plan; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 3/1 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 SB976 Local Health Services Funding - Modifications Modifying the calculation of local health services funding for fiscal year 2020 and each subsequent fiscal year. Hearing Date: Wed 3/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB1002 Public Health - Healthy Maryland Program - Establishment (Healthy Maryland Act of 2018) Establishing Healthy Maryland as a public corporation and a unit of State government to provide comprehensive universal health coverage for every Maryland resident; requiring Healthy Maryland to provide certain services, a certain system, certain choice and access to certain coordinators and certain providers, and certain financing for residents of the State on or before January 1, 2020; establishing the Healthy Maryland Board to organize, administer, and market Healthy Maryland and Healthy Maryland Services as a single-payer program; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB1024 Self-Referrals - Oncology Group Practices - Exemption Requiring the Maryland Health Care Commission to establish a process to exempt one oncology group practice in certain geographic regions from a certain prohibition against self-referral; requiring the Commission to adopt regulations on or before a December 1, 2018 that include a certain application process to begin accepting applications on or before a April 1, 2019; requiring an oncology group practice applying for the exemption to submit an application to the Commission on the form the Commission requires; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB544/SB369 Public and Nonpublic Schools - Classwork and Assessment Involving Live and Dead Animals - Student Choice Policy Authorizing a student in a public school or nonpublic school to choose not to participate in or observe, in whole or in part, classwork or an assessment that includes certain actions conducted on a certain animal; authorizing a student to choose not to participate in or observe the classwork or assessment at a certain time; requiring a certain student to complete the required classwork or assessment by a certain alternative educational method that meets certain requirements; etc. Hearing Date: Thu 2/15 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB655/SB392 Maryland Department of Health - Biosafety Level 3 Laboratories Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to develop and make available a certain form; requiring certain biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories to report, on or before September 30 each year, certain information to the Department; requiring the Department to report, on or before December 31 each year, certain information regarding the number and location of the laboratories to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and certain local officials, and the total number of the laboratories to the Governor and the General Assembly; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB732/SB675 Humane Adoption of Companion Animals Used in Research Act of 2018 Requiring certain research facilities using dogs or cats for scientific research purposes to take certain steps to provide for the adoption of a certain dog or cat that is no longer needed for research purposes; authorizing certain research facilities to enter into certain agreements with animal rescue organizations for certain purposes; requiring certain research facilities to submit certain information to the Secretary of Agriculture beginning December 1, 2019, and each year thereafter; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB892 Marijuana Laws ? Full Disclosure of Legal, Employment, and Health Risks ? Advertisement of Marijuana and Medical Cannabis Prohibiting a certifying provider, dispensary, processor, or grower from advertising marijuana or medical cannabis in any manner not allowed under federal law for advertisements of tobacco or tobacco products; requiring the Office of the Attorney General, at least 90 days before the implementation of any law that reduces penalties for or legalizes the use of marijuana, to establish a certain information system to notify the public of the risks related to the changes in the law; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 2/20 1:00 PM Effective Date: October 1, 2018 HB907 Medical Cannabis ? Limit on the Number of Licensed Growers ? Repeal Repealing the limit on the number of licenses that the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission may issue to medical cannabis growers; etc. Hearing Date: Effective Date: Upon Enactment [GO TO TOP] [GO TO BILL LIST] HB566/SB195 Business Relief and Tax Fairness Act of 2018 Prohibiting the State Department of Assessments and Taxation from imposing a fee for the filing of certain documents by corporations or business entities with 10 or fewer employees; requiring certain corporations to compute Maryland taxable income using a certain combined reporting method; requiring, subject to certain regulations, certain groups of corporations to file a combined income tax return reflecting the aggregate income tax liability of all the members of the group; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 2/14 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 HB818 Corporate Income Tax - Rate Reduction Reducing, from 8.25% to 6.0%, the State corporate income tax rate by reducing the rate by 0.25% each year for 9 years. Hearing Date: Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB564 Income Tax Credit - Security Clearance Costs - Procedure to Claim Credit Altering the method by which an individual or a corporation may claim a credit against the State income tax for certain costs incurred to obtain federal security clearances, to rent certain spaces, and to construct or renovate certain sensitive compartmented information facilities in the State. Hearing Date: Tue 2/27 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 SB810 Job Reinvestment Act of 2018 Allowing a credit against the State income tax for certain small business entities located in an enterprise zone or a Regional Institution Strategic Enterprise (RISE) zone; allowing a small business to qualify for the credit if the business hired and retained at least one new employee for at least 6 months; allowing a small business to apply the credit for each employee who is hired that results in a net increase in the number of employees hired and retained by the business; etc. Hearing Date: Wed 3/7 1:00 PM Effective Date: June 1, 2018, July 1, 2018 SB955 Income Tax - Angel Investor Tax Credit Program Allowing a credit against the State income tax for a certain percentage of an investment made in a qualified innovation business, not to exceed $50,000, or $100,000 for a qualified investor that is a married couple filing jointly or a pass-through entity; requiring a qualified investor to meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for the credit; requiring the Department of Commerce to administer the credit; applying the Act to certain taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017; etc. Hearing Date: Tue 3/13 1:00 PM Effective Date: July 1, 2018 Legislative Session Office Legislative Hotline is a service of Johns Hopkins Government Affairs. © 2016 The Johns Hopkins Institutions. 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Financial Aid
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General Business
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Health Care Administration & Finance
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Health Care Occupations
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Higher Education
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Labor & Employment
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Medicaid
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Medical Liability/Tort Reform
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Miscellaneous
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Pharmaceuticals
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Public Health
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Research
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Tax Policy
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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.
47 State Circle, Suite 203
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-269-0057
fax 410-269-1574
Chelsea Beaupre [email protected] Mary Clapsaddle [email protected] Mickey Geisler [email protected] Sheila Higdon [email protected] Rianna Matthews-Brown [email protected] Nicki McCann [email protected]
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