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The 2008 Session of the Maryland General Assembly ended at midnight, April 7, 2008. Here is a quick recap of the major legislative issues impacting independent colleges and universities.
Diversity Initiatives
- House Bill 905 and Senate Bill 438 (both passed) require public institutions of higher education in Maryland to develop and implement plans for programs of cultural diversity and require the independent institutions that receive funds under the Sellinger Program to submit certain information to MICUA. MICUA must submit a report to the Maryland Higher Education Commission on the efforts of the independent colleges and universities to promote and enhance cultural diversity.
- House Bill 942 (passed) requires the colleges of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry to submit a one-time report to the legislative committees and the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities on courses that have been developed regarding cultural competency and health disparities.
Economic Development
- House Bill 704 (passed) allows the Maryland Higher Education Commission to distribute funds to institutions of higher education for BRAC initiatives.
- House Bill 1409 and Senate Bill 735 (both passed) will establish the Coordinating Emerging Nanobiotechnology Research in Maryland Program (CENTR) and Fund. The program and fund are to be administered by the Technology Development Corporation for the purpose of providing grants for nanobiotechnology research projects.
Environment and Energy
- Several environmental bills passed, including bills to authorize grants, loans, and tax credits (House Bill 377) for projects to promote energy conservation (House Bill 368) and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels (House Bill 374).
Health
- House Bill 603 (failed) would have obligated the Maryland Higher Education Commission to require that all institutions of higher education compel all full-time students to maintain health care coverage throughout the period of the student's enrollment.
Higher Education
- House Bill 133 (passed) extends the work of the Commission to Develop the Maryland Model for Funding Higher Education. The bill also adds the Lt. Governor to the Commission's membership.
- House Bill 1210 (passed) prohibits credit card issuers from offering gifts in exchange for the completion of a credit card application at a college or university (including at athletic events).
- House Bill 1287 (passed) establishes a student internship program to encourage students to explore opportunities in public service.
- Senate Bill 49 (failed) would have required the Maryland Higher Education Commission to determine whether an unnecessary duplication of programs exists, after receipt of a request for such determination from Morgan State University, Coppin State University, Bowie State University, or the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The bill also provided that decisions of the Commission concerning unnecessary duplication of academic programs would be subject to judicial review in the circuit court in accordance with the rules and provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill specifically applied to academic programs that were approved between July 1 and December 1, 2005, or after July 1, 2007. Finally, the bill would have required that Morgan State University or the University of Baltimore accept students enrolled in a program at Towson University that has been discontinued under an order of the Commission or a court.
- Senate Bill 141 (passed) expands the eligibility under the Maryland Graduate and Professional Scholarship Program to include students attending an institution of higher education offering a first professional degree in pharmacy.
- Senate Bill 203 (passed) transfers the function of adult literacy and correctional education from the Maryland State Department of Education to the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
- Senate Bill 464 (failed) would have revised the standards for determining academic program duplication by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
- House Bill 1067 and Senate Bill 657 (both failed) represented an attempt by the legislature to address the escalating costs of textbooks at institutions of higher education in Maryland. The legislation died in the final minutes of the legislative session. Requirements for the disclosure of specific information about textbooks, requirements about selling textbooks and supplemental materials in a manner provided by faculty, and reporting requirements for public institutions of higher education were among many provisions contained in the bills. Both the House and Senate bills required the State's four-year public institutions of higher education, the Maryland Association of Community Colleges, the Maryland Independent College and University Association, and the Maryland Higher Education Commission to conduct a feasibility study regarding the establishment of textbook rental programs and a statewide digital marketplace for textbooks.
Labor and Employment
- House Bill 40 (passed) requires employers to provide leave with pay for the illness of an employee's immediate family. The bill provides that an employee may only use leave with pay that has been earned.
State Procurement and Capital Construction Mandates
- Several bills were introduced that would have imposed mandates on contracts issued by our member institutions for capital construction and procurement, such as mandates to pay prevailing wages (House Bill 970), pay living wages (House Bill 106), implement apprenticeship programs (House Bill 1155), and meet State minority business enterprise requirements (House Bill 598 and House Bill 1304). All of these bills died.
Taxes and the Budget
- Senate Bill 46 (passed) repeals the impending sales tax on computer services. The bill includes a three-year 6.25% income tax bracket for individuals with incomes of over $1 million, as well as a five-year diversion of $50 million per year in transportation revenues. The bill also requires the Governor, through the Board of Public Works, to cut an additional $50 million from the fiscal 2009 operating budget.
- House Bill 358 (passed) requires the Department of Budget and Management to develop a searchable website that includes information on State financial assistance or expenditures in excess of $25,000, including all grants, loans, awards, and contracts.
- Senate Bill 791 (failed) would have allowed municipal corporations to impose a building excise tax on all classes of buildings.
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