Marvin Mandel, Governor                         959

ing requirements, suspension and revocation of licenses; to pro-
vide for the financing of mental retardation services; to provide
for patients' civil rights and the enforcement thereof; to provide
for civil and criminal penalties; TO PROVIDE FOR A COMPRE-
HENSIVE PLAN OF DAY PROGRAMS AND RESIDENTIAL
SERVICES FOR THE NON-RETARDED DEVELOPMEN-
TALLY DISABLED AND GENERALLY RELATING THERE-
TO; and relating generally to all phases of the law pertaining to
mental retardation and mentally retarded persons.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 2, 3, 22(a), 31(a) and 54 of Article 59 of the Anno-
tated Code of Maryland (1968 Replacement Volume and 1971 Supple-
ment) , title "Mental Hygiene," subtitles, "Short Title, Statement of
Policy and Definitions," "Admissions, Release and Transfer," "Facili-
ties," and "Mental Health Information and Review Service," respec-
tively, be and they are hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amend-
ments, to read as follows:

2.

It is the policy of the State of Maryland that the mental hygiene of
its citizens be fostered and preserved to the best of the ability of the
State. To that end, care and treatment to or for all citizens of the
State affected by or afflicted with mental illness [or mental retarda-
tion] shall be provided without partiality. It is also the policy of this
State that those persons who have financial resources sufficient to
pay the cost of their care and treatment shall do so. The provisions
of this article shall be construed in a manner consistent with the pol-
icy of the State as herein defined.

3.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated unless a contrary meaning is clearly intended from the con-
text in which the term appears:

(a)    "Admission" shall mean that process by which any person
is admitted as an inpatient to any facility or Veterans' Administra-
tion hospital in the State intended to be used for the care of any
person suffering any mental disability and shall include the physical
act of entering the facility or Veterans' Administration hospital by
any such person.

(b)    "Commissioner" shall mean the Commissioner of Mental Hy-
giene of the State of Maryland.

(c)    "Cost of care" shall mean and include the cost of care, main-
tenance, treatment and support of each individual patient in a pub-
lic facility.

(d)    "Department" shall mean the Department of Mental Hy-
giene of the State of Maryland.

(e)    "Facility" shall mean any clinic, hospital, or other institution,
public or private, other than a Veterans' Administration hospital,
which purports to or does provide treatment or other services for
persons having any mental disorder.