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SB 942

An Act providing for auditor qualifications for the Department of the Auditor General, for new department employees, for current department employees, for employee certification, for forensic audits, for fraud audits and for committee standards.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Cris Dush and 1 co-sponsor

Replaces a yearly state MAT budget line with MOOR-administered grants, funded by the Opioid Restitution Fund, to reimburse counties for prior-year MAT costs.

Referred to Finance
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Bill Summary · SB 942

SB 942 — Correctional Services: Medication‑Assisted Treatment (MAT) Funding

Type: Senate Bill (Maryland)
Introduced: Jan. 28, 2025
Committee: Judicial Proceedings; Finance (hearing scheduled Feb. 19, 2025)
Primary sponsor: Sen. Sydnor

Main purpose

Shift the funding mechanism for medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) for incarcerated individuals from an annual State budget line item to a grant program administered by the Maryland Department of Health (through the Office of Overdose Response, MOOR), funded from the Opioid Restitution Fund (ORF) and any budget appropriations. Also repeal a statutory requirement that local correctional facilities maintain at least one formulation of each FDA‑approved opioid medication class for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Key provisions

  • Repeals the statutory requirement that the State fund the OUD screening/evaluation/treatment program “as provided in the State budget.”
  • Repeals the requirement that each local correctional facility make available at least one formulation of each FDA‑approved:
    • full opioid agonist,
    • partial opioid agonist, and
    • long‑acting opioid antagonist used to treat OUD.
  • Requires the Maryland Secretary of Health, through MOOR, to provide each county an annual grant equal to the costs the county incurred for implementing a MAT program in the preceding fiscal year.
  • Authorizes the Governor to include an appropriation in the annual budget to provide these grants; grants are to be funded by the ORF and any such appropriations.
  • Expands authorized uses of the ORF to include these county MAT grants.
  • Grants may be reduced by amounts a county receives from GOCPP, MDH, or federal awards for the same purposes.
  • Requires each county to submit an annual report to MOOR by October 1 that includes:
    • number of days each incarcerated person received MAT services the prior fiscal year,
    • total itemized MAT costs by facility,
    • other MOOR‑required information.
  • Penalizes late reporting: if a county fails to submit the required report, MOOR must deduct 20% of the grant for each 30‑day period (or part) the report is late.
  • Modifies GOCPP reporting requirements to report average number of days MAT was received and total itemized costs (among other data) rather than certain percent‑of‑days statistics.

Who is affected

  • Counties and local correctional facilities: will receive grants to cover prior‑year MAT costs but must comply with reporting and may face grant reductions for noncompliance. They also lose the statutory mandate to stock all formulations of FDA‑approved opioid medications (though clinical care standards remain governed by MDH guidelines).
  • Incarcerated individuals with OUD: MAT availability remains addressed by statute (screening, assessment, treatment access, reentry planning), but the statutory medication‑formulation stocking requirement is removed; operational access will depend on county program decisions and grant use.
  • Maryland Department of Health / MOOR and GOCPP: new grant administration and revised reporting/oversight duties.
  • Opioid Restitution Fund: expanded authorized uses to include these grants.

Fiscal and timing effects

  • Department of Legislative Services estimates combined MDH expenditures will increase by about $11.4 million annually beginning in FY 2027 to provide the grants (no effect projected in FY 2026). The estimate represents the aggregate amount counties currently incur for MAT programs; actual net ORF impact depends on other competing ORF uses and annual appropriations.
  • Counties are expected to see corresponding revenue increases (aggregate ≈ $11.4 million/year beginning FY 2027).
  • Reporting deadline for counties: October 1 each year; grant calculations based on prior fiscal year costs.

Procedural status (as of documents provided)

  • Introduced Jan. 28, 2025; assigned to Judicial Proceedings and Finance. Hearing scheduled Feb. 19, 2025 (Judicial Proceedings). Fiscal note and committee materials prepared. Further committee action and floor consideration TBD.

Additional notes

  • The bill preserves requirements that incarcerated persons be screened, assessed, evaluated by prescribers, offered MAT if appropriate, receive counseling, and have reentry continuity plans; it primarily changes funding, reporting, and an equipment/stocking statutory mandate.
  • Grants are intended to reimburse counties for actual prior‑year MAT costs, subject to offsets for other awards and penalties for late reporting.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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