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*hb0878*
HOUSE BILL 878
K1 6lr1499
CF SB 449
By: Carroll County Delegation
Introduced and read first time: February 4, 2026
Assigned to: Economic Matters
Committee Report: Favorable
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 6, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Workers’ Compensation – Heart Disease and Hypertension Presumption and 2
Permanent Partial Disability – Carroll County Correctional Deputies 3
FOR the purpose of extending the presumption of compensability under the workers’ 4
compensation law to include, subject to certain conditions, Carroll County 5
correctional deputies who suffer from heart disease or hypertension resulting in 6
partial disability or death; altering a certain definition of “public safety employee” 7
for the purpose of applying a certain workers’ compensation provision relating to 8
permanent partial disability benefits to correctional deputies employed by Carroll 9
County; an d generally relating to compensability of Carroll County correctional 10
deputies under the workers’ compensation law. 11
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Labor and Employment 13
Section 9–503(b) and (e) and 9–628(a) 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2025 Replacement Volume) 16
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 17
Article – Labor and Employment 18
Section 9–628(h) and 9–629 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2025 Replacement Volume) 21
2 HOUSE BILL 878
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARY LAND, 1
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2
Article – Labor and Employment 3
9–503. 4
(b) (1) A paid police officer employed by an airport authority, a county, the 5
Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a municipality, or the State, 6
a deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, or, subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, a 7
deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy 8
sheriff of Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL D EPUTY, Montgomery 9
County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, Prince George’s County 10
correctional officer, or deputy sheriff of Allegany County is presumed to be suffering from 11
an occupational disease that was suffered in the line of duty and is compensable under this 12
title if: 13
(i) the police officer, deputy sheriff, or correctional officer is 14
suffering from heart disease or hypertension; and 15
(ii) the heart disease or hypertension results in partial or total 16
disability or death. 17
(2) (i) A deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County 18
detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL 19
DEPUTY, Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, 20
or Prince George’s County correctional officer is entitled to the presumption under this 21
subsection only to the extent that the individual suffers from heart disease or hypertension 22
that is more severe than the individual’s heart disease or hypertension condition existing 23
prior to the individual’s employment as a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne 24
Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY 25
CORRECTIONAL DEPUTY , Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s 26
County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County correctional officer. 27
(ii) To be eligible for the presumption under this subsection, a deputy 28
sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, deputy sheriff of 29
Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL DEPUTY , Montgomery County 30
correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince George’s County 31
correctional officer, as a condition of employment, shall submit to a medical examination to 32
determine any heart disease or hypert ension condition existing prior to the individual’s 33
employment as a deputy sheriff of Anne Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention 34
officer, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL DEPUTY, 35
Montgomery County correctional officer, Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, or Prince 36
George’s County correctional officer. 37
HOUSE BILL 878 3
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, any paid 1
firefighter, paid firefighting instructor, sworn member of the Office of the State Fire 2
Marshal, paid police officer, forest ranger, park ranger, wildlife ranger, paid law 3
enforcement employee of the Department of Natural Resources, deputy sheriff of Anne 4
Arundel County, Anne Arundel County detention officer, park police officer of the 5
Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission, deputy sheriff of Montgomery 6
County, deputy sheriff of Baltimore City, CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL DEPUTY, 7
Montgomery County correctional officer, deputy sheriff of Prince George’s County, or Prince 8
George’s County correctional officer who is eligible for benefits under subsection (a), (b), (c), 9
or (d) of this section or the dependents of those individuals shall receive the benefits in 10
addition to any benefits that the individual or the dependents of the individual are entitled 11
to receive under the retirement system in which the individual was a participant at the 12
time of the claim. 13
(2) The benefits received under this title shall be adjusted so that the 14
weekly total of those benefits and retirement benefits doe s not exceed the weekly salary 15
that was paid to an individual specified under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 16
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 17
as follows: 18
Article – Labor and Employment 19
9–628. 20
(a) In this section, “public safety employee” means: 21
(1) a firefighter, firefighting instructor, or paramedic employed by: 22
(i) a municipal corporation; 23
(ii) a county; 24
(iii) the State; 25
(iv) the State Airport Authority; or 26
(v) a fire control district; 27
(2) a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance, rescue, or advanced life 28
support worker who is a covered employee under § 9 –234 of this title and who provides 29
volunteer fire or rescue services to: 30
(i) a municipal corporation; 31
(ii) a county; 32
4 HOUSE BILL 878
(iii) the State; 1
(iv) the State Airport Authority; or 2
(v) a fire control district; 3
(3) a police officer employed by: 4
(i) a municipal corporation; 5
(ii) a county; 6
(iii) the State; 7
(iv) the State Airport Authority; 8
(v) the Maryland–National Capital Park and Planning Commission; 9
or 10
(vi) the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; 11
(4) a Prince George’s County deputy sheriff or correctional officer; 12
(5) a Montgomery County deputy sheriff or correctional officer; 13
(6) an Allegany County deputy sheriff; 14
(7) a Howard County deputy sheriff; 15
(8) an Anne Arundel County deputy sheriff or detention officer; 16
(9) a Baltimore County correctional officer or detention officer; 17
(10) a Baltimore County deput y sheriff, but only when the deputy sheriff 18
sustains an accidental personal injury that arises out of and in the course and scope of 19
performing duties directly related to: 20
(i) courthouse security; 21
(ii) prisoner transportation; 22
(iii) service of warrants; 23
(iv) personnel management; or 24
(v) other administrative duties; 25
HOUSE BILL 878 5
(11) a State correctional officer; 1
(12) a Baltimore City deputy sheriff; [or] 2
(13) a Harford County deputy sheriff, correctional officer, or detention 3
officer; OR 4
(14) A CARROLL COUNTY CORRECTIONAL DEPUTY. 5
(h) If a public safety employee is awarded compensation for less than 75 weeks, 6
the employer or its insurer shall pay the public safety employee compensation at the rate 7
set for an award of compensation for a pe riod greater than or equal to 75 weeks but less 8
than 250 weeks under § 9–629 of this subtitle. 9
9–629. 10
If a covered employee is awarded compensation for a period equal to or greater than 11
75 weeks but less than 250 weeks, the employer or its insurer shall pay the covered 12
employee weekly compensation that equals two –thirds of the average weekly wage of the 13
covered employee but does not exceed one–third of the State average weekly wage. 14
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, notwithstanding the 15
provisions of § 9–503(b)(2) of the Labor and Employment Article, as enacted by Section 1 of 16
this Act, a Carroll County correctional deputy who is employed on or before September 30, 17
2026: 18
(1) as a condition of continued employment shall provide to the Carroll 19
County Sheriff’s Office on or before December 31, 2026, a copy of a medical report disclosing 20
and describing any existing heart disease or hypertension from which the correctional 21
deputy may be suffering; and 22
(2) is entitled to the presumption under § 9–503(b) of the Labor and 23
Employment Article, as enacted by Section 1 of this Act, only to the extent that the 24
individual suffers from heart disease or hypertension that is more severe than the 25
individual’s heart disease or hypertension condition existing as of the date of the medical 26
report provided under item (1) of this section. 27
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section 2 of this Act shall be 28
construed to apply only prospectively and may not be applied or interpreted to have any 29
effect on or application to any claims arising from events occurring before the effective date 30
of this Act. 31
SECTION 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 32
October 1, 2026. 33