The Week Ahead

Last week Neil blogged about the continued moderately good news coming out of the Board of Revenue Estimates, and the recommendation of the Spending Affordability Committee. However, as Neil points out Congressional action or inaction may still have a large effect on Maryland's budget.

The new General Assembly website has gone live. There are still a few glitches, but advocates should familiarize themselves with the new website now before the start of session 2013.
 
Monday, December 17th

• Alcoholic Beverages Article Review Committee meets to complete its review of material dealing with multiple licensing plans (Various Titles, Subtitle 14A of the Alcoholic Beverages Article) and miscellaneous provisions. 5pm in Judicial Training Room 3, 2009F Commerce Park Drive, Annapolis.
• Maryland Health Care Reform Coordinating Council meets. 10am in room 240, House Office Building, Annapolis.

Tuesday, December 18th

• House Health and Government Operations Committee reviews draft palliative care legislation. 10am in room 241, House Office Building, Annapolis.
• Joint Committee on Access to Mental Health Services is briefed on the effect of the Affordable Care Act on access to mental health services and the DHMH Behavioral Health Integration Report.

Wednesday, December 19th

• Board of Public Works meets. 10am in the Governor's Reception Room, State House, Annapolis.
• Workgroup on Access to Habilitative Services Benefits meets. 9:30-11:30am in the Maryland Insurance Administration Hearing Room, 22nd Floor of St. Paul Plaza, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore.
• General Provisions Article Review Committee reviews drafts of Title 4 "Public Information Act" and Title 5 "Maryland Public Ethics Law" changes. 3pm in room 241, House Office Building, Annapolis. 
• Maryland Nonprofits offers a webinar on Starting a Nonprofit: Planning and Preparation. This is a paid training, for more information or to register go to their events page.

Thursday, December 20th

• Maryland Health Care Commission meets. 1pm in conference room 100, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore.
• Board of Directors of the Maryland Health Insurance Plan (MHIP) holds a public session. Topics will include prescription drug utilization, MHIP Tier 4 prescription drug cost sharing alternatives; and a procurement update. The Board also holds a closed session about the MHIP Executive Director search. Participants can attend the meeting in person or by conference call Dial in: 888-603-9632 Participant passcode: 2184969. 9am in suite 630, 1 Calvert Plaza, 201 E. Baltimore Street, Baltimore. 

Friday, December 21st

• Bureau of Labor Statistics releases state employment data for November. Maryland's unemployment rate fell in October, to just 6.7 percent.