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HB 1012

Public Health - Local Suicide Fatality Review Teams - Authorization

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Tiffany Alston and 13 co-sponsors

Authorizes counties/munis to form local suicide fatality review teams to identify factors, coordinate prevention, and make recommendations to reduce deaths.

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Bill Summary · HB 1012

Summary of HB 1012 (2026) – Public Health: Local Suicide Fatality Review Teams – Authorization

Date introduced: February 6, 2026
Jurisdiction: Maryland
Committee: Health

Purpose and Intent

  • Authorizes counties or municipalities to establish local multidisciplinary and multiagency suicide fatality review teams.
  • Aims to prevent suicide deaths by:
    • Reviewing suicide deaths within the county
    • Identifying systemic, service, and policy factors contributing to suicide risk
    • Promoting coordination among entities involved in prevention, crisis response, treatment, and postvention
    • Developing recommendations to prevent suicide

Key Provisions and Changes

Establishment and Structure

  • Local teams may be established by a county or a municipality; two or more counties may form a single multicounty local team.
  • Multicounty teams must execute a memorandum of understanding on membership, staffing, and operation.
  • Local team membership (if available) should include:
    • County health officer or designee
    • Director of local Department of Social Services or designee
    • Director of local health authority or designee
    • Superintendent of schools or designee
    • Law enforcement officer (state, county, or municipal)
    • Director of behavioral health services or designee
    • EMS provider
    • Hospital representative
    • Mental/behavioral health professional
    • A public member with suicide prevention expertise (appointed by the county health officer)
    • Other necessary individuals recommended by the local team and appointed by the county health officer
  • Local teams must elect a chair from among its members.

Coordination and Guidance

  • Local teams must coordinate with the State Suicide Fatality Review Committee (State team) and operate under guidance issued by the State team.
  • Purpose and duties align with the broader state framework established under Subtitle 10.

Scope of Activities

  • Local teams may:
    • Examine trends in suicide and contributing risk factors
    • Identify gaps in systems of care or coordination
    • Submit recommendations to the State team or other local entities

Meetings and Confidentiality

  • Meetings discussing individual suicide cases are closed to the public and not subject to the Maryland Open Meetings Act.
  • Public meetings are permitted when not discussing individual cases, but identifying information and agency involvement details disclosed at public meetings must be limited to protect privacy.
  • Violations related to meeting confidentiality trigger misdemeanor penalties (fine up to $500, or up to 90 days imprisonment, or both).

Data, Records, and Privacy

  • All information and records gathered by a local team are confidential and exempt from disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act; not subject to discovery; may only be disclosed as necessary to fulfill the team’s purpose.
  • Mental health and substance abuse treatment records face additional legal protections.
  • Statistical data and reports that do not identify individuals may be public records.
  • Members and attendees are generally barred from testifying about information or opinions from meetings in civil/criminal proceedings, except for independently obtained or public information.
  • Information, documents, or records are not subject to subpoena or discovery in most civil/criminal proceedings, with exceptions if information is available from other sources.

Data Access and Records Requests

  • Local teams may request records necessary to complete reviews, including hospital, medical, police, coroner, vital records, social services, and related documents.
  • Local teams may request information from individuals with direct knowledge of a fatality.

Immunity and Regulation

  • Team members receive liability immunity for actions related to local team duties.
  • Maryland Department of Health (MDH) may adopt regulations to implement protocols, data storage/security, and permissible data dissemination.

Interplay with Other Fatality Review Teams

  • If a suicide death involves someone under 18, local child fatality review teams retain primary authority, but may coordinate or conduct joint reviews with the local suicide fatality review team.

Applicability and Effect

  • This act authorizes localities to form teams; it does not compel every jurisdiction to establish a team.
  • Local expenditures may increase, starting as early as FY 2027, to fund staff, operations, data-sharing infrastructure, and related needs.
  • State costs are expected to be modest and potentially absorbable within existing resources; a limited increase may occur for data systems if multiple jurisdictions require secure data transfer.

Effective Date

  • October 1, 2026

Additional Context

  • The bill aligns with the State Suicide Fatality Review Committee framework established by earlier legislation (Chapters 80 and 81 of 2022) and builds local capacity for coordinated suicide prevention review.
  • Fiscal notes indicate potential local cost ranges (approximately $30,000–$50,000 per jurisdiction for initial setup) and small state administrative costs if new data-sharing systems are required.

Sponsors include Delegate Fair and multiple co-sponsors. The bill received favorable reports in the House Finance committee and progressed to passage stages in 2026.

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

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