Health and Government Operations Committee unanimously advances cyber‑security, school officiating pay parity and insulin protections

The Health and Government Operations Committee on April 4 voted unanimously to approve a slate of amended bills, including measures on cyber‑security planning for community water and sewage systems, pay parity for high‑school sports officials, and limits on insurers’ use of step‑therapy for insulin.

The measures — advanced on a party‑line and committee consensus that left no recorded opposition — are intended to: strengthen planning and reporting requirements for water and wastewater utilities facing cyber threats; require school systems to pay officials the same rates for sports the State Department of Education and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association classify as "similar"; and bar carriers from imposing step‑therapy or “fail‑first” protocols for FDA‑approved insulin products used to treat type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Chair Jocelyn Pena‑Melnyk presided. Committee analysts summarized the amended language and fiscal impacts before the committee voted. "The amendments . . . significantly reduced" the fiscal impact for the water‑system bill by narrowing coverage and removing certain training and reporting duties, Committee analyst Lindsay said during the discussion. After brief discussion and no recorded opposition to the amendments, members moved, seconded and adopted each measure by voice vote.

Cyber‑security for water and sewage systems (House Bill 1062 / crossfile Senate Bill 871) Committee analysts said House Bill 1062 was amended to match Senate Bill 871. The amended language limits the bill’s operational requirements to community water systems (CWS) and community sewage systems (CSS) that serve more than 3,300 customers, removes a DoIT‑led "cyber sprint" training requirement and certain reporting obligations, and strikes requirements for tabletop exercises. The committee analyst said those changes produced a notably smaller fiscal note; the Ent(ty) that had been identified as the primary implementing agency received appropriations authorization for remaining impacts. The committee voted to report the bill favorably with amendment; the motion passed by voice vote with no opposition.

School‑sports officiating pay parity (House Bill 1483 / crossfile Senate Bill 923) As amended, the bill directs the Maryland State Department of Education, in consultation with the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA), to develop a list of "similar" high‑school sports for boys and girls by Sept. 1, 2025, and to update that list every three years. County boards would be required to ensure officials receive the same pay for officiating roles that the State and MPSSAA categorize as similar, and to reject procurement bids or proposals that would result in different pay or fees for officials providing the same officiating services in similar sports within the same county. The amendments permit local school systems to extend a contract’s term to align timelines for similar sports, but not beyond July 1, 2029, and they clarify the bill does not apply to contracts entered into before the bill’s effective date. The committee voted to report the bill favorably with amendment; the motion passed by voice vote with no opposition.

Insulin step‑therapy prohibitions (Senate Bill 646; related House measures) Senate Bill 646, as amended, prohibits certain carriers from imposing step‑therapy or fail‑first protocols for insulin products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and used to treat type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes. Committee analyst Lisa told members that the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) treats insulin analogs the same as other insulin for the purposes of copayment caps and that the state’s existing $30 copay cap would apply to analogs as well. After brief member questions, the committee voted to report the bill favorably with amendment; the motion passed by voice vote with no opposition.

Concurrences and other committee business The committee also voted to concur on a set of bills that had already passed both chambers but required identical final text before going to the governor. The committee concurred on: House Bill 970 (health‑insurance insulin step‑therapy prohibitions), House Bill 718 (establishing the Maryland Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission and adjusting membership), House Bill 300 (grants and contracts: reimbursement of indirect costs; amendment removed a DBM study requirement), House Bill 46 (departmental bill altering membership of the Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council to include the Office of Social Equity executive director), and House Bill 1142 (technical amendment to the Medicaid interested parties advisory group composition). All concurrences were approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Procedure and next steps Committee members noted the committee is "secondary" for several measures (meaning another committee is primary) and that identical crossfiles must have matching text before final passage. Chair Pena‑Melnyk reminded members the floor session was scheduled at 11 a.m. and that members might be called to vote in the Silver Room if necessary. There were no roll‑call vote tallies recorded in the committee transcript; all recorded actions were adopted by unanimous voice vote.

Votes at a glance (committee action) - HB 1062 (Dept. of Environment: CWS/CSS cyber‑security planning) — Favorable with amendment; reported out unanimous (voice vote). Crossfile: SB 871. - HB 1483 (Public schools: high‑school officiating procurement/pay parity) — Favorable with amendment; reported out unanimous (voice vote). Crossfile: SB 923. - SB 646 (Insurance: insulin step‑therapy prohibitions) — Favorable with amendment; reported out unanimous (voice vote). - Concurrences (committee agreed to final‑text concurrence for the House on the following): HB 970 (insulin step‑therapy), HB 718 (Health Insurance Coverage Protection Commission membership), HB 300 (grants/contracts indirect cost reimbursement; amendment removed DBM study mandate), HB 46 (membership change for Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council), HB 1142 (Medicaid advisory group composition) — all concurred unanimous (voice votes).

Reported by: Health and Government Operations Committee staff and Chair Jocelyn Pena‑Melnyk. The committee’s work in the transcript concluded with a reminder about the timing of the floor session and potential additional procedural votes.