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*sb0579*
SENATE BILL 579
L1, J1 (6lr2596)
ENROLLED BILL
— Finance/Health —
Introduced by Senators Jennings, Gallion, Corderman, Carozza, Bailey, and Salling
Salling, Beidle, Gile, Hayes, Hershey, Hester, Jackson, Kramer, Lam, Mautz,
and Ready
Read and Examined by Proofreaders:
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
_______________________________________________
Proofreader.
Sealed with the Great Seal and presented to the Governor, for his approval this
_______ day of _______________ at ________________________ o’clock, ________M.
______________________________________________
President.
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Counties – No–Cost Preventive Cancer Screenings for Volunteer and Retired 2
Volunteer Firefighters 3
FOR the purpose of requiring counties in which a volunteer fire company is located to offer 4
no–cost preventive cancer screenings in accordance with certain guidelines to 5
volunteer firefighters volunteering and retired volunteer firefighters who 6
volunteered with the volunteer fire company; authorizing a county to satisfy the 7
requirement by providing a certain annual examination or applying for a certain 8
grant; requiring the volunteer fire companies to maintain a certain list of volunteer 9
firefighters and retired volunteer firefighters and provide the list, annually and on 10
request, to the county in which the volunteer fire company is located; requiring the 11
counties to maintain the list provided; and generally relating to the provision of 12
2 SENATE BILL 579
no–cost preventive cancer screenings for volunteer and retired volunteer firefighters 1
by counties. 2
BY adding to 3
Article – Local Government 4
Section 9–115 5
Annotated Code of Maryland 6
(2013 Volume and 2025 Supplement) 7
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MA RYLAND, 8
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 9
Article – Local Government 10
9–115. 11
(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 12
INDICATED. 13
(2) “RETIRED VOLUNTEER FIR EFIGHTER” MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL 14
WHO IS A RETIRED FIREFIGHTER WHO: 15
(I) VOLUNTEERED WITH A V OLUNTEER FIRE COMPAN Y IN A 16
COUNTY; 17
(II) WAS ACTIVELY INVOLVE D IN FIRE SUPPRESSIO N WHILE 18
VOLUNTEERING WITH THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY; AND 19
(III) HAS RECEIVED BENEFITS UN DER A LENGTH OF SERV ICE 20
AWARD PROGRAM FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS COMPLETED A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS OF 21
VOLUNTEER SERVICE; AND 22
(IV) ACCUMULATED AT LEAST 50 POINTS UNDER A LENGT H OF 23
SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM OR A POINT SYSTEM ESTABLISHED IN LIEU OF A LENGTH 24
OF SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM. 25
(2) (3) “VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPAN Y” INCLUDES A VOLUNTEER 26
FIRE DEPARTMENT. 27
(3) (4) “VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER” MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS 28
A FIREFIGHTER ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN FIRE SUPPRESSION AND VOLUNTEERING 29
WITH A VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY IN A COUNTY. 30
(B) (1) EACH COUNTY IN WHICH A VOLUNTEER F IRE COMPANY IS 31
LOCATED SHALL OFFER NO–COST PREVENTIVE CANC ER SCREENINGS IN 32
SENATE BILL 579 3
ACCORDANCE WITH THE LATEST SCREENING GUI DELINES ISSUED BY TH E 1
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS TO EACH VOLU NTEER 2
FIREFIGHTER WHO VOLU NTEERS AND EACH RETIRED VOL UNTEER FIRE FIGHTER 3
WHO VOLUNTEERED WITH THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY. 4
(2) EACH VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY SHALL: 5
(I) MAINTAIN AN UP –TO–DATE LIST OF VOLUNTE ER 6
FIREFIGHTERS WHO ARE VOLUNTEERING AND RETIRED VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS 7
WHO VOLUNTEERED WITH THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY; AND 8
(II) PROVIDE THE LIST TO THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE 9
VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY IS LOCATED: 10
1. ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 1 EACH YEAR; AND 11
2. ON REQUEST OF THE COUNTY. 12
(3) EACH COUNTY IN WHICH A VOLUNTEER FIRE COM PANY IS 13
LOCATED SHALL MAINTA IN A LIST OF ALL VOL UNTEER FIREFIGHTERS WHO 14
VOLUNTEER AND ALL RETIRED VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS WHO VOLUNTEERED IN 15
THE COUNTY AS PROVID ED BY EACH VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY LOCATED IN THE 16
COUNTY UNDER PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION. 17
(C) A COUNTY MAY SATISFY T HE REQUIREMENT IN SU BSECTION (B)(1) OF 18
THIS SECTION BY: 19
(1) PROVIDING A NO –COST ANNUAL EXAMINAT ION TO VOLUNTEER 20
FIREFIGHTERS AND RETIRED VOLUNTEE R FIREFIGHTERS THAT INCLUDES 21
PREVENTIVE CANCER SCREENINGS FOR FIREFIGHTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 22
LATEST SCREENING GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 23
FIRE FIGHTERS; OR 24
(2) APPLYING FOR A GRANT UNDER TITLE 13, SUBTITLE 40 OF THE 25
HEALTH – GENERAL ARTICLE TO PAY FOR IN NOVATIVE CANCER SCREENING 26
TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING A MULTICANCER EARLY DETECTION BLOOD TEST. 27
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 28
1, 2026. 29