[NationalHarbor] Congratulations to Us Again! Accessible Prescription Labels - SB 940

Fri Apr 7 22:55:20 UTC 2023

Yay!!

On Fri, Apr 7, 2023, 10:40 AM Maryland President via NationalHarbor <
nationalharbor at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Friends,
> Just a moment ago, SB 940, the Senate cross-file of HB 456 was passed by
> the
> Maryland House of Delegates.  So it's official - we have now gotten both
> our
> bills on making accessible prescriptions available adopted by the General
> Assembly, and we just await Governor Moore's signature.  They are identical
> bills, but it's a true victory to have both bills passed unanimously by
> both
> chambers.
>
> Well done, us!  This is what collective action looks like!
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland President <president at nfbmd.org>
> Sent: Thursday, April 6, 2023 2:11 PM
> To: 'nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org' <nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmd at nfbnet.org
> '
> <nfbmd at nfbnet.org>; 'greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org'
> <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'md-atlarge at nfbnet.org'
> <md-atlarge at nfbnet.org>; 'md-sligo at nfbnet.org' <md-sligo at nfbnet.org>;
> 'nationalharbor at nfbnet.org' <nationalharbor at nfbnet.org>; 'mabm at nfbnet.org'
> <mabm at nfbnet.org>; 'mdabs at nfbnet.org' <mdabs at nfbnet.org>;
> 'mdpobc at nfbnet.org' <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>; 'NFB of Maryland, Baltimore
> County
> List' <md-baltimore-county at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Congratulations to Us! Accessible Prescription Labels - HB 456
>
> Federation Family,
> Congratulations!  Just moments ago, the Maryland Senate passed HB 456,
> Accessible Prescription Labels for Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print
> Disabled Individuals.  This bill now just awaits Governor Moore's
> signature.
> Under this bill, the Maryland Board of Pharmacies must promulgate
> regulations that will go into effect no later than January 1, 2025, to
> require that Maryland pharmacies provide prescription labels, bag tags, and
> guides in accessible format for those who are blind, low vision, or
> otherwise print disabled.  Pharmacies must also have information readily
> available and accessible so that patients know accessible labeling is
> available.  The accessible prescription labels, bag tags, and guides must
> be
> made available at no additional cost to the patient and in the same
> timeframe as prescriptions with standard labels.  The Board of Pharmacy
> must
> work with the blind community when promulgating these regulations.
> Finally,
> the Maryland Department of Health must conduct an analysis by December 1,
> 2023, to determine if there are ways to help off-set the cost of the labels
> and labeling technology for certain types of pharmacies.
>
>
> In a nutshell, as of January 1, 2025, any of us in Maryland should be able
> to walk into our local pharmacy or call in a prescription, tell them we
> want
> accessible labels in Braille or large print or audio, and get those
> prescriptions with the label type of our choice, at no extra cost to us, in
> the same timeframe as any other patient.
>
> I would urge those who can to send an email to our sponsor, Delegate
> Michele
> Guyton - Michele.Guyton at house.state.md.us - to thank her and her staff for
> their extraordinary work on this bill.
>
> Also, thank you to each of you who testified, attended a hearing, wrote a
> letter, made a phone call, or worked to see this bill move from idea to
> law.
> Special thanks to our brilliant Director of Legislation and Advocacy,
> Sharon
> Maneki, for all of her hard work.  I had a front-row seat for the literally
> dozens of meetings, in person visits, and conversations with everyone from
> the legislature to the Governor's Office to the Pharmacists Association to
> the Maryland Retailers Association to the Maryland Hospital Association and
> so on for this bill, and Sharon, per usual, handled them masterfully.
>
> Relatedly, SB 940 just, again, moments ago, received a favorable report
> from
> the House Health and Government Operations Committee and should be on the
> House floor for second reader this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  Even
> though HB 456 has already passed both houses, it's always wonderful to also
> get the cross-file across the finish line too.
>
> More to come on SB 940!
>
> Yours,
> Ronza
>
>
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland President <president at nfbmd.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 5, 2023 8:47 PM
> To: 'nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org' <nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmd at nfbnet.org
> '
> <nfbmd at nfbnet.org>; 'greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org'
> <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'md-atlarge at nfbnet.org'
> <md-atlarge at nfbnet.org>; 'md-sligo at nfbnet.org' <md-sligo at nfbnet.org>;
> 'nationalharbor at nfbnet.org' <nationalharbor at nfbnet.org>; 'mabm at nfbnet.org'
> <mabm at nfbnet.org>; 'mdabs at nfbnet.org' <mdabs at nfbnet.org>;
> 'mdpobc at nfbnet.org' <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>; 'NFB of Maryland, Baltimore
> County
> List' <md-baltimore-county at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: RE: Update: Accessible Prescription Labels - HB 456 and SB 940
>
> Hi Everyone,
> Here's an update on our Accessible Prescription Labels legislation.
>
> SB 940 was moved out of the House Rules Committee this morning and is
> before
> the House Health and Government Operations Committee.  They have a voting
> session tomorrow and Friday, so we're hopeful it'll get out on time to get
> to the House floor before Monday.  I've been speaking with the Chair of
> HGO,
> and she's committed to do what she can to get it out.
>
> Meanwhile, HB 456, the House Companion, has come before the Senate earlier
> this week for what is called second reader, and we're just waiting on the
> Senate to vote on third reader.  We thought that would happen today, but
> the
> Senate adjourned early for Passover.  So tomorrow's a great day to listen
> to
> the Senate Stream because once HB 456 is passed by the Senate, we just need
> Governor Moore's signature for it to become law.
>
> So if you want to listen to the Senate stream tomorrow (Thursday) to see
> our
> bills hopefully get final passage both for HB 456 and for SB 535, go to:
> https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/
>
> The Senate is scheduled to convene at 10AM, but they nearly always start
> late.  Just keep refreshing the browser until the link changes from
> "adjourned" to "convened" and then select "play" on the browser.  The page
> will automatically update as bills are heard and voted on.
>
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland President <president at nfbmd.org>
> Sent: Saturday, April 1, 2023 8:57 AM
> To: 'nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org' <nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmd at nfbnet.org
> '
> <nfbmd at nfbnet.org>; 'greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org'
> <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'md-atlarge at nfbnet.org'
> <md-atlarge at nfbnet.org>; 'md-sligo at nfbnet.org' <md-sligo at nfbnet.org>;
> 'nationalharbor at nfbnet.org' <nationalharbor at nfbnet.org>; 'mabm at nfbnet.org'
> <mabm at nfbnet.org>; 'mdabs at nfbnet.org' <mdabs at nfbnet.org>;
> 'mdpobc at nfbnet.org' <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>; 'NFB of Maryland, Baltimore
> County
> List' <md-baltimore-county at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: RE: Update: Accessible Prescription Labels - HB 456 and SB 940
>
> Hi Everyone,
> The Senate passed out SB 940 earlier this week, and it is now at the House
> Rules and Executive Nominations Committee waiting to be assigned to the
> House and Government Operations Committee.  Everything that gets passed
> past
> a certain date goes to Rules first and the relevant committee with
> jurisdiction has to pull it into their committee.  Stay tuned, as if the
> bill does not get assigned to HGO early next week, we'll need your
> collective action.  The current legislative session ends in 10 calendar
> days.
>
> HB 456 is in the Senate Finance Committee and is scheduled for a vote on
> Monday.  We'll keep you posted on our progress.
>
>
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland President <president at nfbmd.org>
> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2023 7:10 AM
> To: 'nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org' <nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmd at nfbnet.org
> '
> <nfbmd at nfbnet.org>; 'greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org'
> <greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org'
> <central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org>; 'md-atlarge at nfbnet.org'
> <md-atlarge at nfbnet.org>; 'md-sligo at nfbnet.org' <md-sligo at nfbnet.org>;
> 'nationalharbor at nfbnet.org' <nationalharbor at nfbnet.org>; 'mabm at nfbnet.org'
> <mabm at nfbnet.org>; 'mdabs at nfbnet.org' <mdabs at nfbnet.org>;
> 'mdpobc at nfbnet.org' <mdpobc at nfbnet.org>; 'NFB of Maryland, Baltimore
> County
> List' <md-baltimore-county at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Update: Accessible Prescription Labels - HB 456 and SB 940
>
> Hi All,
> Congratulations!  On Saturday, the Maryland House passed HB 456, Accessible
> Prescription Labels for Blind, Visually Impaired, and Print Disabled
> Patients.  This bill was sponsored by our good friend and advocate,
> Delegate
> Michele Guyton.
>
> It moved to the Senate on Monday and we are very hopeful about it's
> chances.
>
>
> We had our hearing in the Senate on the cross-file of HB 456, which is SB
> 940 this past Tuesday.  Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee issued a
> favorable report on SB 940, and it'll come to the full Senate for two
> rounds
> of vote starting this morning.
>
> What will happen next is that either the Senate will vote on whether to
> adopt the House bill, or provided the Senate bill passes out of the Senate,
> the House will vote whether or not to adopt the Senate bill.  One chamber
> needs to adopt the other's by April 10 when the 2023 legislative session
> ends.
>
> Stay tuned, but for now, we celebrate!
>
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Pronouns: she, her, hers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: president at nfbmd.org <president at nfbmd.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 7, 2023 7:28 PM
> To: nfb-maryland at nfbnet.org; nfbmd at nfbnet.org;
> greater-baltimore at nfbnet.org;
> nfbmdtlc-chapter at nfbnet.org; central-md-chapter at nfbnet.org;
> md-atlarge at nfbnet.org; md-sligo at nfbnet.org; nationalharbor at nfbnet.org;
> mabm at nfbnet.org; mdabs at nfbnet.org; mdpobc at nfbnet.org; NFB of Maryland,
> Baltimore County List <md-baltimore-county at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Progress on Guide Dog Bill
>
> Hi everyone, we have some significant progress on our guide dog protection
> in housing legislation. The Senate Judicial  Proceedings Committee has
> voted
> the bill out of the committee with a favorable report. That means in the
> next few days, the bill will be considered by the full Maryland senate. The
> Senate will have two opportunities to consider the bill and debate it. If,
> on the second review, they vote to adopt it, it will then move over to the
> House of Delegates for their consideration. We will keep you posted as
> things progress, and hopefully things will move quickly now
>
> Ronza Othman, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Maryland
> 443-426-4110
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
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