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Baltimore City moves to modernize syringe services statute after 30 years of operation
Summary
HB1502 would update the 1994 statute governing Baltimore City’s syringe services program, transfer oversight nomination authority to the city, remove stigmatizing language and drop the 'pilot' label after three decades of operation.
The Health and Government Operations Committee heard from the Baltimore City Health Department on House Bill 1502, a technical and policy update to the statute that created Baltimore’s syringe services program in 1994.
Jennifer Martin, deputy commissioner for population health and disease prevention at the Baltimore City Health Department, testified the program reduced HIV infections tied to injection drug use from 67% of new infections at its start to less than 7% today, and that the program collected more than 10 million used syringes in the past decade.
HB1502 would update oversight by shifting nomination authority for the program’s oversight committee to Baltimore City, remove language the department considers stigmatizing, and eliminate the word “pilot” from the statute because the program has operated for 30 years. Martin said the changes reduce administrative burden, reflect current public-health science and increase local autonomy over the program’s governance while maintaining public-health safeguards.
Witnesses provided written support from the Baltimore City delegation and asked the committee for a favorable report. No formal vote was taken at the hearing.
