The segments below provide a brief overview of MACo’s work on health and human services policy during the 2024 General Assembly session.
Each county in Maryland has a local health department that plays a role in providing essential public health services to residents. They are also county agencies that provide citizen services for children, families, and persons with special needs. MACo advocates actively for policies that continue to confront the opioid crisis and to support county health and social service programs.
Maryland’s 446th legislative session convened amidst a substantial concern over the State’s fiscal situation, with weakened revenues and cost increases for many services at every level of government. Despite the fiscal limitations, a wide range of policy issues received a full debate, with many resolutions arising from the 90-day annual process. MACo’s legislative committee guided the association’s positions on hundreds of bills, yielding many productive compromises and gains spanning counties’ uniquely wide portfolio.
Follow these links for more coverage on our Conduit Street blog and Legislative Database.
Behavioral Health
MACo supported HB 576/SB 453- Mental Health – Assisted Outpatient Treatment Programs. This bill authorizes county governments to establish an assisted outpatient treatment program in each jurisdiction. These programs are available in 48 other states and are shown to divert individuals with severe and persistent mental illness away from local detention centers and into programs where they can receive the personalized attention and treatment they need. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Public Health and Local Health Departments
MACo supported HB 1475/SB 825- Health Facilities – Delegation of Inspection Authority – Related Institutions and Nursing Homes as it would have extended authority to local governments requesting to oversee and maintain standards for nursing homes, hospitals, and residential inpatient and outpatient treatment centers. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 509/SB 599- Developmental Disabilities – Community Providers – Federal Participation for Local Funds. This bill would have made county governments eligible for supplemental funds via federal participation for local appropriations to community providers fulfilling service needs to developmentally disabled residents. This bill did not pass the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 694/SB 482- Governor’s Office for Children – Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) Grant Program (ENOUGH Act of 2024). This bill re-establishes the Governor’s Office for Children as well as the grant fund to advance place-based strategies for combating child poverty across Maryland. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo supported HB 1180/SB 1056- Cigarettes, Other Tobacco Products, and Electronic Smoking Devices – Revisions (Tobacco Retail Modernization Act of 2024) with amendments. This bill bolsters funding to combat the the adverse health effects of tobacco and other related products in communities. Specific to counties, it increases the licensing fee to sell these products in order to provide funding to local health departments who are tasked with the inspection mandate to ensure compliance with standards for providing these products in a retail setting. This bill passed the 2024 session .
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
MACo opposed HB 1346- Competency Evaluations and Commitment Orders – Modification. This bill would have altered competency evaluation procedures and timelines for individuals in local detention centers who need intensive treatment for a severe mental illness. It could have forced these individuals to remain in local detention centers rather than in the appropriate state hospital facility where they can receive the treatment they need and deserve. This bill was withdrawn in the 2024 session.
MACo supported SB 222- State Board of Environmental Health Specialists – Quorum, Examination, and Apprenticeships. This bill was wisely developed in collaboration with the Board of Environmental Health Specialists and includes insights from the Conference of Environmental Health Directors. As such, it should help accelerate the integration of entry-level Environmental Health Specialists into local departments, clarify procedures for the Board of Environmental Health Specialists, and streamline the examination process for licensure. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
Opioids and Overdose Awareness
MACo opposed HB 980/SB 751- Public Health – Opioid Restitution Advisory Council and Fund – Revisions. This bill adds an additional layer of requirements around the use and reporting of funds from the state opioid settlements. County opposition to this bill centered on the redundant procedural requirements and its mandated allocation of a minimum share of funds from the State’s Opioid Restitution Fund to a certain set of providers. MACo’s efforts lead to an elimination of the redundant reporting requirements and arbitrary allocation of funding for specific providers. This bill passed the 2024 session.
Bill Information | MACo Coverage
