1364                                      LAWS OF MARYLAND                                Ch. 655

(d)  Each legally liable person shall elect which schedule he is to be billed under
on forms to be furnished by the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene, the
election to become effective as of the beginning of the next succeeding calendar
year. Any election shall remain in force until modified by the legally liable person
and any modification shall become effective at the beginning of the calendar year
next succeeding the year during which it is made. If a legally liable person fails to
elect within the time limited, the Secretary shall determine which schedule to
apply.

(e)  For purposes of this subsection both parents of a patient shall be considered
a single legally liable relative. Liability of legally liable relatives, as such, for the
support of a patient in a state residential facility for the retarded shall cease when
the patient has reached the age of twenty-one or when support has been charged
for a period or periods amounting to sixteen years, whichever occurs sooner.]]

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section 21 of Article
59A of said Code (1972 Supplement) title "Mental Retardation." subtitle
"Financing of Services for the Mentally Retarded." be and it is hereby repealed,
and that new Section 25 be and it is hereby enacted in lieu thereof to stand in the
place of the Section so repealed and all to read as follows:

25.

[(a) The Department shall fix a rate to be charged to all mentally retarded
persons admitted to public facilities, not to exceed the actual cost of care, per
capita, of such persons. The cost per capita shall be determined annually prior to
the beginning of the fiscal year, by the Department and the Secretary of the State
Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning.

(b) In the case of mentally retarded persons who have been continuously
hospitalized for a period in excess of thirty months, in any one ox more public
facilities, the rate to be charged to the responsible relatives of the mentally
retarded person, where payment has been made for the first thirty months'
hospitalization, shall thereafter not exceed 25% of the per capita cost. Continuous
hospitalization shall mean and include all hospitalization where successive periods
of inpatient care are not separated by absences in excess of one year.]

(A) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, ANY
PERSON WHO IS FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
MAINTENANCE OF A MENTALLY RETARDED PERSON IN A STATE
INSTITUTION OR OTHER FACILITY FROM WHICH THE STATE
PROCURES RESIDENTIAL CARE SHALL BE CHARGED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULES, AT
THE OPTION OF THE LEGALLY LIABLE PERSON.

Gross Mo.                      Schedule Based on Gross Monthly Income

Income

More Less         2           3           4           5           6 7 8

Than Than        Dep.      Dep.      Dep.      Dep.      Dep. Dep. Dep.

$ 500- 575       $16.00 $.....        $—-     $--— $----- $—- $.—

575- 650        22.40    16.00 ........-- .........-

650- 725        25.60    22.40 19.20 16.00 ...............

725- 800        32.00    28.80 22.40 19.20 16.00 ..........

800- 875        35.20    32.00        28.80    25.60    22.40 16.00 -—

875- 950        43.20    39.20        35.20    32.00    25.60 22.40 19.20