House Bill 19 would expand the Maryland Loan Assistance Repayment Program (MLARP) and extend the Board of Nursing's sunset and the Secretary of Health's authority over certain board infrastructure operations, the Maryland Department of Health told the Health and Government Operations Committee.

Deputy Secretary Naresh Kalyanaraman said the bill would expand eligible fields of employment to include practitioners working in for‑profit settings that contract with underserviced sites — for example where corrections or other facilities rely on contracted providers — and could permit inclusion of certain specialty practitioners, such as nurse anesthetists, "if funding is available." The department initially proposed removing nursing support staff but reported it received stakeholder requests to retain that eligibility and said it submitted an amendment to keep nursing support staff in the program.

Rhonda Scott, executive director of the Maryland Board of Nursing, said the bill would continue the department's authority over the board's infrastructure and human-resources operations for an additional five years. She described improvements since 2023 — upgraded IT, increased staffing and shorter processing times — and said continued partnership with the department is needed to finish a major IT licensure-system upgrade and to resolve findings from prior program evaluations.

Committee discussion and public testimony focused on several implementation details:
- Testing backlog for nursing assistants: Committee members and board staff discussed difficulties with the current vendor for competency testing (candidates have a 120‑day window to take an exam or must repeat training). The board said it is procuring an additional vendor, working with the current vendor's action plan, and has asked for a count of candidates awaiting testing to prioritize scheduling. The department reported CMS indicated no waiver exists for the 120‑day testing window.
- Preceptor tax credit hours: Several witnesses and stakeholders urged changing the nurse preceptor tax credit threshold from 100 hours to 90 hours to align with COMAR's academic-credit equivalence (45 clinical hours equals one academic credit). Multiple organizations signaled support for a 90‑hour amendment as a practical measure to increase use of the tax credit.
- Program funding and sunset extension: The department said it recommends extending the sunset for the secretary's authority through June 30, 2030, to allow continued operational improvements and evaluation; members asked staff to follow up on fiscal-note details for FY2026 and ongoing fee/regulatory actions.

Labor, hospital, and union stakeholders testified with amendments: 1199 SEIU requested priority funding for long-term-care workers and additional training support for nursing support staff; the Maryland Hospital Association submitted a friendly amendment proposing a standing advisory council for the loan-repayment program; other supporters urged flexibility to reach underserved areas.

The hearing closed with the department offering to work with legislators and stakeholders on amendments and data follow-ups.

Provenance: The HB 19 departmental panel began with the committee calling the panel (block starting at 1554.645) and Deputy Secretary Kalyanaraman's opening remarks began at 1596.8799; public testimony and committee questioning continued through blocks ending near 3360.7952 when the hearing closed.