Delegate Tom Hutchinson highlights bills passed with DoCo impact

MARYLAND- Delegate Tom Hutchinson is touting a series of bills passed this legislative session that he believes will make a positive impact in the community.

From increasing access to health care services, cutting wait times for prescription drug renewals, and even a green light to help deal with invasive deer.

HB934 would allow for increased training for radiologists to be able to take over certain procedures to allow specialists to see more patients in a shorter time frame, helping the providers see more patients as the need for their services increases.

“If we can get more trained to be able to take care of the limited scope x-rays, that allows the radiology technologist to spend more time, with, more acute patients and, and getting patients, through the E.R., at a faster and more rapid pace,” Delegate Hutchinson said.

Also in the health field, he sponsored a bill to remove re-registration for prescription drugs despite a last-minute 180 from a major pharmaceutical lobby, he says they were still able to pass a strong bill.

“Carefirst, the largest insurer in the state, sort of reneged on their promise. but what we were able to come out with was, no prior authorization on several mental illness drugs, which is good. and then we hope to come back in future years and try to continue to expand that for, for all Marylanders,’ he said.

Also on his agenda helping hunters deal with the wild deer population whose grazing threatens local farmers and their crops, this bill makes the Doe Harvest challenge compliant with state law.

“This, legislation legalized what was technical, a program that, under DNR regulations necessarily wasn’t, a legal program, what it does, is it helps us mitigate the white deer and Sigurd deer, population, And to help mitigate the crop damage caused by the deer population,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson says he is also proud to have signed on to the state juvenile crime reform.

While he would have liked to see stiffer penalties on car theft, a rampant problem in his home district which encompasses Cambridge, he says he expects the reform to have a positive change in the community.

” I had introduced sort of a separate bill to try to address, juvenile crime, particularly in the schools, and making assaulting a school teacher or school, subcontractor a crime of violence, which would then allow the juvenile to be, processed through the juvenile court system,” Hutchinson said adding the current reform bill added, “accountability back for  juveniles.”