SB90 expands Maryland’s workers’ compensation presumptions for certain public safety employees by adding hypertension to the list of conditions presumed to be an occupational disease suffered in the line of duty. The bill applies to paid firefighters, paid fire fighting instructors, paid rescue squad members, paid advanced life support unit members, and sworn members of the Office of the State Fire Marshal employed by an airport authority, county, fire control district, municipality, or the State. To qualify, an employee must have a hypertension diagnosis by an authorized provider, have been prescribed medication for at least 90 consecutive days, have at least two years of cumulative in-state service in one of the covered roles, and be employed in a covered position at the time of claim application.
Under the bill, qualifying employees are presumed not only to have an occupational disease compensable under workers’ compensation law, but also to be disabled under the general occupational disease presumption statute. The bill also preserves existing rules limiting duplicate recovery: an individual who qualifies under the new hypertension presumption may not receive disability retirement benefits based on the same condition unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, and separate claims are required for heart disease or lung disease. The act takes effect October 1, 2026.
Impact
SB90 amends Labor and Employment Article § 9-503 to create a new, specific workers’ compensation presumption for hypertension for covered fire and rescue personnel and State Fire Marshal members, while leaving § 9-502’s general occupational disease framework in place. The practical effect is to make it easier for eligible employees to obtain workers’ compensation benefits by shifting the burden away from the claimant to prove that hypertension arose from employment. It also clarifies the interaction between workers’ compensation and disability retirement benefits, and it preserves the prohibition on duplicative benefits for the same condition.
Sentiment
The available voting history indicates strong support for the bill: it passed the Senate on third reading by a unanimous 45-0 vote. No committee transcript is available, but the favorable committee report and unanimous floor vote suggest broad agreement that the bill provides needed protection for public safety workers. The overall sentiment appears positive and noncontroversial in the recorded legislative action.
Contention
The main policy issue reflected in the text is the scope of the presumption and its interaction with other benefit systems. The bill limits eligibility to specified paid and sworn public safety employees, requires a minimum service period and current employment, and bars duplicate disability retirement benefits for the same condition unless a collective bargaining agreement says otherwise. Another point of potential concern is the expansion of compensable occupational disease presumptions, which can increase employer and insurer liability, but no recorded opposition appears in the provided materials. The bill also distinguishes hypertension claims from existing heart disease and lung disease claims, requiring separate filings for those conditions.