# Maryland SB 0340: Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman - Mandatory Appropriation

Maryland SB 0340, Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman - Mandatory Appropriation, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Shelly Hettleman (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-26 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 761) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0340-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland SB 0340
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman - Mandatory Appropriation
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-23
- Last action: 2026-05-26, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 761
- Sponsor: Shelly Hettleman (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Elderly, Public Health, Aging, Department of, Annotated Code of Maryland, Appropriations, Assessments -see also- Property Tax, Budgets -see also- Capital Budgets, Governor, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Long-Term Care -see also- Continuing Care; Nursing Homes, Managed Care Organizations -see also- Health Maint Orgs, Medical Assistance, Nursing Homes -see also- AsstLiving; ContinCare; LTCare, Ombudsmen, Revenue and Taxes -see also- (specific tax)
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (164 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Stable funding for long-term care ombudsman: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the law requires at least $2 million a year for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Office, starting with the FY 2027 budget. The money comes first from managed care organization payments from two years earlier. If those payments are under $2 million, the General Fund makes up the…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Shelly Hettleman (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-13 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 122 | 1 | 17 |
| 2026-03-23 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 42 | 0 | 2 |

## Actions (17)

- 2026-05-26: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 761
- 2026-04-13: Returned Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (122-1) (House)
- 2026-04-09: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-04-09: Favorable Report by Appropriations (House)
- 2026-04-07: Hearing 4/07 at 1:30 p.m. (House)
- 2026-04-07: Hearing canceled (House)
- 2026-04-07: Hearing 4/07 at 1:15 p.m. (House)
- 2026-04-07: Hearing canceled (House)
- 2026-03-26: Hearing 4/07 at 1:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-03-24: Referred Appropriations (House)
- 2026-03-23: Third Reading Passed (42-0) (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Favorable with Amendments {653422/1 Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-03-23: Favorable with Amendments Report by Finance (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Hearing 2/10 at 1:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: First Reading Finance (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-05-26: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_761_sb0340t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-03-23: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0340t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-01-23: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0340f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_761_sb0340t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0340t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0340f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0340-2026RS (as of 2026-10-19).