Ch. 593                                    1997 LAWS OF MARYLAND

SECTION 1. 7. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, except as provided in
Section 2 of this Act, at the end of Fiscal Years 1997 and 1996, any excess funds that
remain from the Fiscal Years 1997 and 1998 appropriations to the Family Investment
Program shall be transferred to the Citizens Tax Reduction and Fiscal Reserve Account
a dedicated purpose account. Funds from the Citizens Tax Reduction and Fiscal Reserve
Account this dedicated purpose account may only be appropriated through the annual
budget bill or by budget amendment after approval by the Legislative Policy Committee
after the Legislative Policy Committee has referred the appropriation request to the Joint
Committee on Welfare Reform and the budget committees for their recommendations.

SECTION 7 AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That:

(a) In the budget submitted to the 1998 Session of the General Assembly, the
Governor shall include a General Fund appropriation to the Dedicated Purpose Account for
the Family Investment Program equivalent to the amount by which the legislative
appropriations from the General Fund for the Family Investment Program exceeds actual
expenditures for that program in Fiscal Year 1997.

(b) In the budget submitted to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly, the
Governor shall include a General Fund appropriation to the Dedicated Purpose Account for
the Family Investment Program equivalent to the amount by which the legislative
appropriations from the General Fund for the Family Investment Program exceeds actual
expenditures for that program in Fiscal Year 1998.

SECTION 8. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That if any provision of this Act
or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason in
a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or any
other application of this Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and for this purpose the provisions of this Act are declared severable.

SECTION 9. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the provisions of Article
88A, § 50A(a)(5) and (d)(1) of the Code, as enacted by Section 1 of this Act, shall take
effect July 1, 1998.

SECTION 10. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, notwithstanding the
provisions of Section 9 of this Act, the provisions of Article 88A, § 50A(a)(5) of the Code,
as enacted under Section 1 of this Act, shall take effect July 1, 1997 in one county in the
State selected by the Department of Human Resources for the purpose of testing the
ability of the Clients' Automated Resource and Eligibility System to successfully capture
and report information regarding an adult or minor parent Family Investment Program
recipient's completion of an initial health screen in accordance with the provisions of
Article 88A, § 50A of the Code, as enacted under Section 1 of this Act:

SECTION 10. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene shall develop, in a sample county, a methodology for analyzing the
percentage of new managed care enrollees who obtained their initial health screen within 90
days of enrollment, and the Department shall submit a report, subject to § 2-1312 of the State
Government Article, to the Joint Committee on Welfare Reform on or before December 1,
1997, on the progress that has been made in fulfilling the requirement of this section.

SECTION 11. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED. That:

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