21-107.

THIS TITLE SHALL BE KNOWN AND MAY BE CITED AS THE MARYLAND YEAR 2000
COMMERCE PROTECTION ACT.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall be
construed only prospectively to apply to causes of action arising out of a Y2K date
data problem, as defined in § 21-101(g) § 21-101(h) of the Commercial Law Article as
enacted by this Act, occurring on or before January 2, 2001 and may not be applied or
interpreted to have any effect on or application to any case filed before the effective
date of this Act.

SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That nothing in this Act shall
be construed to:

(1) Recognize, endorse, or suggest the existence or validity of any purported
cause of action;

(2) Create a cause of action where none otherwise existed;

(3) Limit the ability of contracting parties to enter into agreements as they
deem appropriate on the issue of liability and damages;

(4) Affect the validity of existing contracts created on or before the effective
date of this Act regarding issues of liability and damages; or

(5) Be indicative of any type of industry standard relating to year 2000
readiness of information technology products or goods and services that rely on
information technology products.

SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That it is the intent of the
Maryland General Assembly that parties contemplating any litigation regarding year
2000 readiness should engage in alternative dispute resolution prior to entering into
any litigation and that the courts actively encourage parties to seek to address legal
issues through an alternative dispute resolution mechanism before allowing any trial
on year-2000 issues to go forward.

SECTION 5. 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That nothing in this Act may
be construed to preclude or limit the effect of any legislation enacted by the United
States relating to year 2000 readiness.

SECTION 6. 5. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take
effect June 1, 1999. It shall remain effective until January 2, 2004, and at the end of
January 2, 2004, with no further action required by the General Assembly, this Act
shall be abrogated and of no further force and effect.

May 27, 1999

The Honorable Casper R. Taylor, Jr.
Speaker of the House
State House
Annapolis MD 21401