Delegate Karen S. Montgomery

Passed Bills

2010-04-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

This session three of my bills have passed, and my Sandy Spring Museum bond bill was added to the budget. The first of my bills to pass was HB 933 Hospitals - Financial Assistance and Debt Collection. Effective October 1, 2010 all chronic care hospitals must develop a financial assistance policy for free and reduced–cost care to patients. Hospitals are also required to create a financial assistance policy to provide reduced–cost medically necessary care to patients who have a financial hardship and to apply a reduction that is most favorable to a patient. Also, Hospitals may no longer foreclose on houses to pay hospital bills.

My other two bills, HB 868 State Board of Pharmacy - Wholesale Distributors - Accreditation and Reciprocity and HB 900 Developmental Disabilities Administration - Recipient Reevaluations both passed on the same day.

One bill that I really wish had passed is HB 1391 Education - Student-Athletes - Concussions. I worked very hard with Delegate Kirill Reznik and Tim Jones, from the Children's National Medical Center, to push this legislation through, but it never made it out of committee. We will most definitely try to pass the bill again next year, hopefully with better success.

HSCRC and GuideStar guide

2010-04-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

In 2009, my bill (HB 487 State Health Services Cost Review Commission - Health Care Facilities - Required Forms) passed that requires hospitals regulated by the Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) to submit to HSCRC the most recent Form 990 that the hospital has submitted to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Form 990 publicly displays the expenditures, revenues, and salaries of the hospital and its current officers, directors, trustees and key employees.

Unfortunately, most Hospitals receive extensions on the deadline for this form. No form 990s have yet been posted for tax year 2008 on the HSCRC website. When the forms are submitted to the HSCRC, the Commission will decide how the information will be made available. If the actual 990s are not posted on the site, the information will still be available by request via the website.

GuideStar is an organization which collects and publicizes information about nonprofit organizations. Many 990 forms can be viewed on GuideStar. To view the forms you must create a free account. Once you have an account, type the name of the hospital you are searching for into the blue search bar and look through the results for the entry with category: E22 (Hospital, general)) next to it. On the new page that appears search for the tab that says "Forms 990 & Docs". On this page there will be links next to the words "Form 990s received from the IRS", click the one with the year you wish to view and wait for the new page to load. Once you're looking at the 990 scroll down until you find Part V-A Current Officers, Directors, Trustees, and Key Employees. If this table says "See Additional Data Table", you will need to scroll down further until you locate the additional table.

Maryland Alliance for the Poor

2010-04-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

The Maryland Alliance for the Poor (MAP) is a coalition of service providers, faith groups, and other organizations working together to advocate for statewide public policy and programs that help Marylanders living in or near poverty.

In this economic time many Maryland citizens are having difficulty gaining employment. Job seekers and businesses will find the Maryland One-Stop Career Career Centers leaders in using state-of-the-art technologies to match people with jobs and jobs with people. Simply click the county of your choice to find out more information about our services that help meet your employment needs. Two One-Stop Career Centers can be found inside of Montgomery County. The locations are listed below.

Montgomery Works One-Stop Center
Wheaton Plaza South Office Building
11002 Veirs Mill Road
Wheaton, MD 20902
Telephone: (301) 929-4350
Fax: (301) 929-4383

Germantown One-Stop Center
12900 Middlebrook Road
Germantown, MD 20874
Telephone: (240) 777-2050
Fax: (240) 777-2070

Comcast Local Edition - Lyme Disease Discussion

2010-03-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Delegate Karen S. Montgomery Discusses Her Bills on Solar Drying and Health Care Debt

2010-03-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

Cat in the Hat

2010-03-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

May second was Dr. Seuss day, and I donated the book "Every Soul A Star" by Wendy Mass to Rosa Parks Middle School.

Here is a picture of me standing with the Cat in the Hat.

Hearings

2010-02-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday March 4th, HB 763 Real Property Restrictions - Clotheslines or Other Laundry Drying Devices was heard at 1:00PM in the House Environmental Matters Committee. Councilmember Marcus Afzali from the College Park City Council came in to testify on behalf of the bill.

On that same day at that same time HB 868 State Board of Pharmacy - Wholesale Distributors - Accreditation and Reciprocity was heard in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

Also that day HB 933 Hospitals - Financial Assistance and Debt Collection was heard at 1:00PM in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

Then Today, HB 900 Developmental Disabilities Administration - Recipient Reevaluations will be heard at 1:00PM in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

HB 979 Estates and Trusts - Relocation of Charitable Trust Administration Outside of State - Requirements, will be heard tomorrow Wednesday, March 10th at 1:00PM in the House Judicial Committee.

On Friday March 12th, HB 1180 Prescription Confidentiality Act will be heard at 1:00PM in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

Also, HB 396, Creation of a State Debt - Montgomery County - Sandy Spring Museum, will be heard this Saturday the 13th of March, 2010 at 1:00PM in the Appropriations committee.

The Maryland Health Security Act of 2010, HB 767, now has a hearing date. It will be heard Thursday March 18, 2010 at 1:00PM in the House Health and Government Operations Committee.

HB 1391 Education - Student-Athletes - Concussions will be heard on Wednesday March 24th, at 1:00PM in the House Ways & Means Committee.

February Session Progression

2010-02-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Despite the Snow's attempts to sabotage our important work, it is full steam ahead here at the Maryland General Assembly. Because of the snow the deadline for introducing bills was pushed back to Wednesday, February 17th. All of my bills were dropped before the deadline and below you will find information on all of them.

Real Property - Restrictions - Clotheslines or Other Laundry Drying Devices

My clothesline bill is well under way. It was dropped early this month and received the House Bill number (HB 763) a few days after the Senate version was heard in committee. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Environmental Matters Committee on March 4th at 1:00PM.

You can follow the progress of this bill through the lawmaking process by clicking the link below.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0763.htm

Maryland Health Security Act of 2010

HB 767, the Maryland Health Security Act of 2010 was dropped February 5th. This bill will establish the Maryland Health System, which will provide health care services to all residents of this State regardless of their employment situation.

There is no hearing date yet, but to follow the progress of this bill you can click the link below.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0767.htm

State Board of Pharmacy - Wholesale Distributors - Accreditation and Reciprocity

This is HB 868, and if passed, it will create more stringent requirements for any wholesale distributor who wishes to distribute prescription drugs in this state.

I dropped this bill on February 6th and there is no hearing date yet, but you can follow the link below to check on the progress of this bill.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0868.htm

Developmental Disabilities Administration - Individual Evaluations - Update on Request

This bill, HB 900, requires that a recipient of Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) services be reevaluated on request to determine his or her needs or funding levels if a change has occurred in the recipient’s physical or mental health status or the support services needed and if the change is not expected to be resolved or stabilized without support service modification.

I dropped this bill February 9th, and there is no hearing scheduled for it yet. To follow the progress of this bill online, click the link provided below.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0900.htm

Hospitals - Financial Assistance and Debt Collection

This bill, HB 933, will require chronic care hospitals to assist needy patients in paying for their hospital bills in several ways including; a financial assistance policy to provide reduced-cost medically necessary care to patients who are experiencing financial hardship; establishing requirements for continued eligibility for reduced-cost care due to a financial hardship, etc.

This bill was dropped February 9th, and has no hearing scheduled yet. You can follow its progress online by clicking the following link.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0933.htm

Estates and Trusts - Relocation of Charitable Trust Administration Outside of State - Requirements

HB 979 aims to prohibit a trustee of a charitable trust from changing the location in which the trust administration takes place from a location in this State to a location outside this State except in special circumstances. If a trustee wishes to move the trust outside of the State he must submit his intentions to the Attorney General for review.

This bill was dropped February 12th, and has a hearing scheduled for March 10th at 1:00PM by the Judicial Committee. To follow the progress of this bill online click the following link.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0979.htm

Prescription Confidentiality Act

HB 1180 focuses on prohibiting patient-identifiable or prescriber-identifiable information from being licensed, transferred, used, or sold for any commercial purpose by specified entities.

I dropped this bill yesterday. There is no hearing scheduled for it yet, but you can check on its progress through the link provided below.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb1180.htm

Education - Youth Sports - Concussion

HB 1391 requires the State Department of Education, in collaboration with specified organizations and individuals, to develop and implement a specified program to provide awareness and training to coaches, school personnel, student-athletes, and the parents or guardians of student- athletes on the nature and risks of a concussion, the criteria for return to play, and the risks of not reporting injury and continuing to play.

This bill was dropped yesterday. There is no hearing scheduled for it yet, but you can check on its progress through the link provided below.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb1391.htm

Youtube Address 1

2010-02-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

Developmental Disabilities Administration Letter

2010-01-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

This is a letter I sent to the members of the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) as well as many prominent groups focused on assisting individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

The mission of the DDA is to provide leadership to assure the full participation of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families in all aspects of community life. In addition, DDA's goal is to promote their empowerment to access quality supports and services necessary to foster personal growth, independence and productivity.

Please click on the letter to enlarge it for easier reading.

Creation of a State Debt - Montgomery County - Sandy Spring Museum

2010-01-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

I have introduced House Bill 396 which is aimed toward authorizing the creation of a State Debt not to exceed $140,000, the proceeds to be used as a grant to the Board of Trustees of the Sandy Spring Museum, Inc. for the planning, repair, and capital equipping of the Sandy Spring Museum, located in Sandy Spring; providing for disbursement of the loan proceeds, subject to a requirement that the grantee provide and expend a matching fund; establishing a deadline for the encumbrance or expenditure of the loan proceeds; etc.

You can follow the progress of this bill through the lawmaking process by clicking the link below.

http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0396.htm

Public Health - Lyme Disease - Record of Reported Cases

2010-01-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have introduced House Bill 2 which requires the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to collect and keep annual records of reported Lyme disease cases in the State.

You can follow the progress of this bill through the lawmaking process by clicking the link below.

http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb0002.htm

Solar Drying

2009-01-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

I am introducing a bill called "Real Property - Restrictions - Clotheslines or Other Laundry Drying Devices", which requires some condominiums to allow clotheslines or other solar drying devices to be used within restrictions that condominiums set up themselves. The condominiums determine their own rules, establish their own restrictions, and determine their own dates and times that allow solar drying.

*Note: An all electric dryer will use 3.3 kilowatt hours in a 45-minute cycle. The cost of electricity is $0.1501. The cost per load is 3.3 x 0.1501 which equals $.50 a load. On average, we have 416 loads a year, equaling $208 a year, which you could be saving.

Here is a link to my interview in regard to this bill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R2Ulve5k34&feature=PlayList&p=0C8621E6A46FE2EF&index=0#t=1m53s