Maryland legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Maryland HB1109: Public Health Reform Act
Status: Signed into law, April 28, 2026
Requiring the Maryland Department of Health to organize the Maryland Medical Reserve Corps; requiring the Department to notify each health officer for a county of a certain procurement to offer the opportunity for the county health department to join the procurement; requiring the Department of Legislative Services to develop a process to assess the health equity impacts of relevant legislation; requiring the Department to convene a workgroup to review local health department recruiting and classification processes; etc.
What the bill says
A bill ENTITLED AN ACT concerning Public Health Reform Act FOR the purpose of requiring the Maryland Department of Health to organize the Maryland Medical Reserve Corps; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to notify each health officer for a county of a certain procurement to offer the opportunity for the county health department to join the procurement; authorizing a health officer for a county to make an appointment to a position without the approval of the Maryland Department of Health or the Department of Budget and Management if the position is fully funded without State funding…
From the introduced text, February 11, 2026:
A BILL ENTITLED AN ACT concerning Public Health Reform Act FOR the purpose of requiring the Maryland Department of Health to organize the Maryland Medical Reserve Corps; requiring the Maryland Department of Health to notify each health officer for a county of a certain procurement to offer the opportunity for the county health department to join the procurement; authorizing a health officer for a county to make an appointment to a position without the approval of the Maryland Department of Health or the Department of Budget and Management if the position is fully funded without State funding; authorizing a health officer for a county to enter into certain contracts if the Secretary of Health does not respond to a request for approval within a certain time period; altering the membership, leadership selection process, and staffing of the Commission on Public Health; requiring the Commission on Public Health to provide oversight over the implementation of recommendations made by the Commission on Public Health; establishing the Public Health Workforce Development Fund; requiring that interest earnings of the Public Health Workforce Development Fund remain in the Public Health Workforce Development Fund; authorizing the Maryland Department of Health and the Health Services Cost Review Commission to transfer money from the Population Health Improvement Fund to the Public Health Workforce Development Fund; requiring the Department …