The 2012 Maryland General Assembly Session convenes from Wednesday, January 11, 2012 to Monday, April 9, 2012. Below are links to key 2012 legislative proposals. For a full listing of all legislation introduced in the 2012 General Assembly Session, visit the Maryland General Assembly's website. For a full calendar of events, visit Dates of Interests 2012 Session. You are also invited to visit the USM legislative alert center, which provides you with an opportunity to voice your opinion.
HB 38: Sales and Use Tax - Exemption - University and College Textbooks – Exempting from the sales and use tax a sale of a textbook that is purchased by a full-time or part-time student enrolled at an institution of higher education.
HB 310: Public and Nonpublic Institutions of Higher Education - Internet and Electronic Account Privacy Protection - Prohibiting public and nonpublic institutions of higher education from requiring a student or applicant for admission to provide the academic institution with access to specified Internet sites or electronic accounts through specified electronic devices, to disclose specified password and related information, or to install specified monitoring or tracking software onto specified electronic devices; etc.
HB 427: Maryland Higher Education Commission - Program Review - Approval - Requiring the Maryland Higher Education Commission to approve or disapprove proposals submitted by an institution of postsecondary education for a new program or a substantial modification of an existing program under specified circumstances; etc.
HB 439: Maryland Health Improvement and Disparities Reduction Act of 2012 - Requiring the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to designate specified areas as Health Enterprise Zones in a specified manner; authorizing specified nonprofit community-based organizations or local government agencies to apply on behalf of specified areas for designation as specified Health Enterprise Zones; etc.
HB 448: Procurement - Preferences - Computer Purchasing and Electronics Recycling - Requiring a State unit to purchase computers that are listed on the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool registry when purchasing computers for use by the State; and requiring a State unit to award a procurement contract to an electronics recycler that is R2 or e-Stewards certified when awarding a procurement contract for electronics recycling services.
HB 519: Public Institutions of Higher Education - Tuition Rates - Veterans - Extending the time period within which an honorably discharged veteran must present specified evidence in order to qualify for a specified tuition rate at a public institution of higher education.
HB 613: Loan Assistance Repayment Program - Nancy Grasmick Teacher Scholars- Establishing the Nancy Grasmick Teacher Grant in the Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program; requiring the Office of Student Financial Assistance to assist in the repayment of specified higher education loans owed by individuals who receive specified degrees from specified institutions of higher education in the State or out of the State; requiring the Office to assist in the repayment of the amount of any higher education loan owed by specified public school teachers in the State; etc.
HB 696: Institutions of Higher Education - Hiring of Outside Legal Counsel – Requirements - Authorizing a public institution of higher education and its governing board to use existing resources for the provision of necessary legal services under a specified amount; providing that a public institution of higher education may hire outside legal counsel for legal services that meet or exceed a specified amount only with approval of the Attorney General; etc.
HB 746: Institutions of Postsecondary Education - Electronic Account, Service, and Communications Device Privacy Protection - Prohibiting an institution of postsecondary education from requiring a student or an applicant for admission to provide access to a personal account or service through an electronic communications device, to disclose any user name, password, or other means for accessing specified accounts or services through an electronic communications device, or to install on specified electronic communications devices software that monitors or tracks electronic content; etc.
SB 222: High Performance Buildings Act - Applicability to Recipients of State Aid – Making the High Performance Buildings Act applicable to specified capital projects that are funded or financed, to a specified extent, by a grant of State aid to specified grantees; requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development to require specified recipients of State funds to employ specified standards under specified circumstances; defining terms; etc.
SB 239: Economic Development - Maryland Technology Development Corporation - Maryland Innovation Initiative – Establishing the Maryland Innovation Initiative in the Maryland Technology Development Corporation; authorizing the Initiative to award grants to specified entities under specified circumstances; requiring the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to undertake specified high impact economic development activities; etc.
SB 358: Public-Private Partnerships - Establishing the policy of the State on public-private partnerships; altering provisions of law relating to public-private partnerships; authorizing a reporting agency to establish a public-private partnership and execute a partnership agreement in connection with specified functions, services, or assets; requiring a reporting agency to adopt regulations and establish processes for the development, screening, solicitation, evaluation, award, and delivery of public- private partnerships; etc.
SB 675: Tuition Cap and College Opportunity Act of 2012 - Requiring the State to provide General Fund support for the University System of Maryland and Morgan State University to achieve 100% of the Maryland Higher Education Commission funding guidelines by 2023; providing for a phase-in of increased General Fund support for the University System of Maryland and Morgan State University; etc.
SB 687: Higher Education - Academic Program Action - Repeal of Application Fees - Repealing the authority of the Maryland Higher Education Commission to impose application fees for the approval of specified academic program actions taken by specified institutions of higher education.
SB 808: Graduate Level Education - Exemption from Paying Nonresident Tuition - Members of the United States Armed Forces - Exempting active duty members and honorably discharged veterans of the United States armed forces, who attend a public institution of higher education within 5 years of the honorable discharge, from paying nonresident tuition rates at the public institution of higher education for graduate level education; etc.
SB 809: Sales and Use Tax - Tax-Free Periods - University and College Textbooks - Designating specified periods each year to be tax-free periods during which an exemption from the sales and use tax is provided for the sale of specified textbooks purchased by a full-time or part-time student enrolled at a public senior higher education institution or regional higher education center; etc.
SB 839: College Affordability and Innovation Act of 2012 - Requiring the Maryland Higher Education Commission to endorse and promote competency-based postsecondary education as an important component of Maryland's higher education system; requiring the Commission to develop and execute, in cooperation with Western Governors University (WGU), Excelsior College, and other comparable nonprofit institutions, a binding memorandum of understanding that supports and endorses analyzing and taking steps to reduce and remove specified obstacles; etc.
SB 843: Institutions of Postsecondary Education - Fully Online Distance Education Programs - Registration - Requiring institutions of postsecondary education that enroll Maryland students in fully online distance education programs in the State to register with the Maryland Higher Education Commission before commencing or continuing to operate, doing business, or functioning in the State within 6 months of enrolling the first Maryland student; providing for a specified exception from the requirement for registration; etc.