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EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1045*
HOUSE BILL 1045
J1, J2 EMERGENCY BILL 6lr1864
By: Delegate Cullison
Introduced and read first time: February 9, 2026
Assigned to: Health
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program – Data Disclosure to Federal Law 2
Enforcement – Limitation 3
FOR the purpose of altering the circumstances under which the Prescription Drug 4
Monitoring Program is required to disclose prescription monitoring data to a federal 5
law enforcement agency; and generally relating to the disclosure of prescription 6
monitoring data by the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. 7
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 8
Article – Health – General 9
Section 4–310 and 21–2A–06(a) 10
Annotated Code of Maryland 11
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 12
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Health – General 14
Section 21–2A–06(b) 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 17
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 18
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 19
Article – Health – General 20
4–310. 21
(a) There is a Protected Health Care Commission. 22
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(b) The purpose of the Commission is to make recommendations to the Secretary 1
regarding sensitive health services that should be determined by the Secretary to be legally 2
protected health care under this subtitle. 3
(c) The Commission consists of the following members: 4
(1) The Attorney General or the Attorney General’s designee; 5
(2) The Executive Director of the Maryland Health Care Commission or the 6
Executive Director’s designee; and 7
(3) The following members appointed by the Secretary: 8
(i) A resident of the State who is a licensed physician and nominated 9
by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 10
(ii) A resident of the State who is a licensed clinician who provides 11
reproductive health care and nominated by the Reproductive Health Access Project; 12
(iii) A resident of the State who is a certified nurse –midwife 13
nominated by the Maryland affiliate of the American College of Nurse Midwives; 14
(iv) A resident of the State who is a representative of Physicians for 15
Reproductive Health; 16
(vi) Two residents of the State who are consumer representatives 17
with expertise in consumer data privacy; and 18
(vii) A resident of the State with expertise in health information. 19
(d) The Commission shall: 20
(1) Select a chair of the Commission each year; and 21
(2) Meet at least four times a year. 22
(e) The Department shall provide staff for the Commission. 23
(f) (1) The Commission shall identify sensitive health services information by 24
diagnosis, procedural, medication, or related codes for which discl osure by a health 25
information exchange or electronic health network to a treating provider, business entity, 26
another health information exchange, or another electronic health network would create a 27
substantial risk to patients or health care providers. 28
(2) In carrying out its work, the Commission may consult with: 29
HOUSE BILL 1045 3
(i) Organizations with expertise in legal issues impacting providers 1
of legally protected health care; 2
(ii) Organizations with expertise in consumer health privacy; 3
(iii) Organizations with expertise in health information technology; 4
and 5
(iv) Other organizations with clinical, policy, or legal expertise 6
related to the work of the Commission. 7
(g) (1) The Commission shall issue semiannual reports to the Secretary on 8
recommendations regarding sensitive health services that should be determined by the 9
Secretary to be legally protected health care under this subtitle or for which the Secretary 10
should rescind a previous determination. 11
(2) The reports shall include an assessment of the potential risk to patients 12
and health care providers that would result from the disclosure of the sensitive health 13
services that are addressed in the reports. 14
(3) Within 60 days after receiving a semiannual report under paragraph 15
(1) of th is subsection, the Secretary shall submit a written response to the report that 16
includes the findings and determinations of the Secretary to: 17
(i) The Commission; and 18
(ii) In accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the 19
Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee. 20
21–2A–06. 21
(a) Prescription monitoring data: 22
(1) Are confidential and privileged, and not subject to discovery, subpoena, 23
or other means of legal compulsion in civil litigation; 24
(2) Are not public records; and 25
(3) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (f) of this section or 26
as otherwise provided by law, may not be disclosed to any person. 27
(b) The Program shall disclose prescription monitoring data, in accordance with 28
regulations adopted by the Secretary, to: 29
(1) A prescriber, or a licensed health care practitioner authorized by the 30
prescriber, in connection with the medical care of a patient; 31
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(2) A dispenser, or a licensed health care practitioner authorized by the 1
dispenser, in connection with the dispensing of a monitored prescription drug; 2
(3) A [federal law enforcement agency or a] State or local law enforcement 3
agency, on issuance of a subpoena, for the purpose of furthering an existing bon a fide 4
individual investigation; 5
(4) A FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEM ENT AGENCY , ON ISSUANCE OF A 6
SUBPOENA, FOR THE PURPOSE OF F URTHERING AN EXISTIN G BONA FIDE 7
INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATION UNLESS THE PRESCRIPTION MON ITORING DATA HAS 8
BEEN DETERMINED BY THE PROTECTED HEALTH CARE COMMISSION ESTABLISHED 9
UNDER § 4–310 OF THIS ARTICLE TO BE SENSITIVE HEALTH SERVICES INFORMATION 10
THAT HAS BEEN DETERM INED BY THE SECRETARY TO BE LEGAL LY PROTECTED 11
HEALTH CARE; 12
[(4)] (5) A licensing entity, on issuance of an administrative subpoena, for 13
the purposes of furthering an existing bona fide individual investigation; 14
[(5)] (6) A rehabilitation program under a health occupations board, on 15
issuance of an administrative subpoena; 16
[(6)] (7) A patient with respect to prescription monitoring data about the 17
patient; 18
[(7)] (8) The Office of the Attorney General, on issuance of a subpoena for 19
the purpose of furthering a bona fide existing investigation; 20
[(8)] (9) Subject to subsection (i) of this section, authorized users of 21
another state’s prescription drug monitoring program or any other authorized local, state, 22
territorial, or federal agency in connection with the provision of medical care; 23
[(9)] (10) The following units of the Department, on approval of the 24
Secretary, for the purpose of furthering an existing bona fide individual investigation: 25
(i) The Maryland Medical Assistance Program; 26
(ii) The Office of the Inspector General; 27
(iii) The Office of Health Care Quality; and 28
(iv) The Office; 29
[(10)] (11) The technical advisory committee established under § 21–2A–07 30
of this subtitle for the purposes set forth in subsections (c), (d), and (e) of this section; 31
HOUSE BILL 1045 5
[(11)] (12) The medical director of a health care facility, as defined in § 1
19–114 of this article, or the medical director’s designee, for the purpose of providing health 2
care practitioners employed or contractually employed at the health care facility access to 3
the prescription monitoring data in connection with the provision of medical care or the 4
dispensing of a monitored prescription drug to a patient of the health care facility; 5
[(12)] (13) The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in accordance with § 6
5–309 of this article; or 7
[(13)] (14) The following entities, on approval of the Secretary and for the 8
purpose of furthering an existing bona fide individual case review: 9
(i) The State Child Fatality Review Team or a local child fatality 10
review team established under Title 5, Subtitle 7 of this article, on request from the chair 11
of the State or local team; 12
(ii) A local drug overdose fatality review team established under § 13
5–902 of this article, on request from the chair of the local team; 14
(iii) The Maternal Mortality Review Program established under § 15
13–1203 of this article, on request from the Program; and 16
(iv) A medical review committee described in § 1 –401(b)(3) of the 17
Health Occupations Article, on request from the committee. 18
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 19
measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 20
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three –fifths of all the members elected to 21
each of the two Hous es of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 22
enacted. 23