Baltimore City Bans Trans Fats

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon signed into law City Council Bill 08-0034 which prohibits food service facilities from serving, storing, distributing, or holding food containing trans fat. The bill will take effect in the Fall of '09. See this BBJ article for more. Also see this City of Baltimore Law Department letter which was included as an attachment to the bill.

Draft Computer Service Tax Regulations

Up until now, no one knew how the computer services tax (Section 3 of SB2), adopted as part of the 2007 Maryland General Assembly special session legislation, was intended to be implemented. The Comptroller's office just today released draft regulations implementing the law. The Comptroller's office also released this FAQ. Barring any unforseen challenges, final regulations are scheduled to be released sometime after the close of the legislative session on April 7. For more, see this BBJ article.

Baltimore City Green Bills

Today's Daily Record article, "Proposals Before City Council Would Offer Big Tax Breaks To 'Green' Buildings," (subscription) reports on two bills introduced into the Baltimore City Council which would provide tax incentives for green buildings. One bill, Bill 57, would provide a 100% property tax incentive for the construction of "high performance buildings." The other bill, Bill 58, would provide a tax credit for the installation of "qualified energy devices."

Advanced Medical Directives

The Maryland Attorney General's site contains a 17 page brochure entitled "Maryland Advance Directive: Planning For Future Health Care Decisions." In addition to providing background information, the brochure also includes an 8-page form which can be used in Maryland. For resources on making medical decisions for someone else, see this overview or this in-depth 23-page guide.