April 2011
Dear Constituents and Friends,
It has been an honor for me to continue to serve as your
representative to the House of Delegates and as the only
physician in the 188-member General Assembly. I am
pleased to serve with my colleagues Bobby Zirkin, Jon
Cardin, and Dana Stein, to represent District 11 of
northwest Baltimore County. I would also like to
extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you who contacted me
during this session. Our democracy cannot work
without your input, voices, and involvement.
This session I reintroduced legislation (House Bill
291) that allows the medical use of
marijuana. The bill as introduced creates a
tightly monitored program that will ensure that medical
marijuana is safely available only to patients who have
been identified by doctors as suffering from a debilitating
medical condition. Although it received overwhelming
support when introduced, the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene preferred to have time to study the best
method of implementing such a program. As a result,
it was changed to 1) create a work group to develop a model
program, and 2) to allow patients who are prosecuted by law
enforcement for marijuana possession to be found not guilty
by reason of medical necessity. These concepts were
adopted into the Senate version of the bill, Senate
Bill 308, which passed. Our state is taking
a step forward to provide access to medical marijuana for
patients with serious illnesses without expanding
inappropriate use.
I also introduced several bills, all with bipartisan
support:
(HB=House Bill, SB=Senate Bill; information available at
http://mlis.state.md.us/)
·
HB 48 extends greater transparency in
government by improving the Open Meetings
Act, which requires “public” bodies to meet in
open session, and by tightening up regulations regarding
complaints and meeting notices. Although this bill
did not pass, I plan on introducing similar legislation
next year.
·
HB 82 (passed) improves a form now titled
“Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” or
MOLST. The form summarizes a
patient’s desires for specific life-sustaining treatment
and establishes a uniform document that will be used at
health care facilities throughout the state.
·
HB 286 (passed) requires greater
monitoring of procedures done by physician practices.
It mandates that every hospital or ambulatory care facility
establish objective standards for thepractitioner
performance evaluation process. This will be
a condition of the facility’s licensure and will help
prevent unnecessary procedures by physicians, which
unfortunately we have all too often read about in the
media.
·
HB 456 (passed) improves and extends the
state’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)
program. This bill is one way to provide citizens
equal access to business growth opportunities and to
eliminate discrimination against minority- and women-owned
businesses.
·
HB 941 (passed), the Dining Out
Growth Act of 2011, brought together restaurateurs
from across the state. The implementation of this
bill is cost-free, and it will help support local jobs,
tourism, and economic development. The pet-friendly sector
is the fastest growing part of the tourism industry.
This bill permits restaurants to decide whether to allow
dogs in outdoor eating areas under well-defined and narrow
circumstances.
I continue to serve as the House Deputy Majority
Leader, as a member of the Health and Government
Operations Committee, and as Chair of the
Government Operations Subcommittee, where my
efforts on identifying efficiencies and streamlining
government operations allows us to save money without
raising taxes or cutting essential programs.
I worked hard to ensure that spending on priority
issues such as health, education, and public safety was
maintained.
Overall, the 2011 General Assembly session saw many
challenges, including debates over the alcohol tax, same
sex marriage, and parole procedures. We also
deliberated in-state tuition for children of undocumented
immigrants, which I and the other District 11 legislators
voted against.
Despite the divisive nature of many of the issues that made
the news, my colleagues and I worked hard on many which did
not receive media attention. Here are some that
passed, all of which I co-sponsored, followed by bills
introduced by my colleagues:
Health
·
HB 83 helps our volunteer ambulance
companies get paid by requiring direct reimbursement by
health insurance plans.
·
HB 452 makes hearing aids more affordable.
·
HB 460 helps unused medications be
discarded safely.
·
HB 736 and HB 784 expand
and support use of electronic medical records.
·
HB 793 supports behavioral health programs
for veterans.
·
HB 888 requires insurers to cover
prescription eye drops medication refills.
·
HB 983 supports umbilical cord blood
donation.
Government Operations
·
HB 511 provides female juvenile offenders
with special services.
·
HB 520 makes sure that bidders for state
MARC train contracts disclose any involvement in Nazi
deportations.
·
HB 766 creates a commission to promote
transparency and citizen access to government.
·
HB 933 gives renewable energy credits for
solar hot water heating.
·
HB 1175 allows for direct shipping of
wine.
District 11
·
SB 200 (Senator Zirkin) requires the
Secretary of Juvenile Services, as part of an initial step
in overhauling the Department, to collect data on the
recidivism rates for children placed in residential care.
·
HB 11 (Delegate Cardin) adds members of
the Maryland Defense Force to the list of volunteer fire,
rescue, and emergency medical services personnel to be
eligible for a tax credit. The Force is based in
Pikesville and assists the National Guard with civil
services.
·
HB 972 (Delegate Stein) allows local
jurisdictions to adopt internationally recognized “green”
standards into existing or developing building codes in
order to promote sustainable building science, safety, and
performance.
Finally, I would like to thank my full-time, part-time, and
volunteer staff who did an outstanding job this
session. Michelle Bernstein, Shannon Frattaroli,
Clarence Lam, Keshia Pollack, and Daniel Krauth all worked
hard to meet constituents’ needs and help advance
legislation to improve the lives of those in District 11
and in our great state.
I look forward to continuing to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Delegate Dan Morhaim