Update from Annapolis
Pace of 2009 Session Intensifies as General Assembly Considers More than 2,500 Bills
March 6, 2009

Dear Friends,

As we move through the second half of the 2009 Session, most of the 2,560 bills introduced so far will fall by the wayside--some never coming to a vote, and others being defeated in Committee or on the Floor. You may be interested in a sampling of the diverse issues to be decided in our final weeks.

First, there's HB41, the Hospitalization and Home Visits Following a Mastectomy bill, which is welcome news for mastectomy patients who now are rushed out of the hospital within 24 hours. HB 41 requires insurers, nonprofit health plans and HMOs to cover a 48-hour hospital stay following a mastectomy if the doctor deems it necessary. As you know, major surgery like this requires intense post-surgery care, and the doctor should be the one making a decision based on the woman's medical needs. HB41 passed the House unanimously and now goes to the Senate.

Second, many proposals have been introduced that would impact small businesses in a negative way. One of the most onerous is the Governor's HB819, and I am working to defeat it. HB819, expands the definition of "employee" to cover many more workers and imposes fines of up to $5,000 per "misclassified employee."

Meanwhile, I am actively working to pass HB649, the Independent Contractor-Definition bill, which would bring Maryland law in line with the federal IRS law whether a worker is an employee or not. Many Maryland businesses prefer this legislation because, currently, they are subject to one set of standards for the State of Maryland and a different set of standards for the federal government.

For other issues of interest, you may want to read the Legislative Wrap-Up, which is prepared every Friday by the Department of Legislative Services.