Delegation backs bill to extend workers' compensation presumption to Carroll County correctional deputies

The Carroll County legislative delegation voted to move a bill "favorable" that would add correctional deputies at the county detention center to the state's presumptive occupational disease protections.

Ash Owens, president of the Carroll County Fraternal Order of Police and a detective with the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, asked the delegation to support amending existing workers' compensation statutes (he referenced Labor and Employment Article sections he cited as 9-503 and 9-628) to include correctional deputies alongside firefighters and law-enforcement deputies.

Owens described the physical and mental stresses of corrections work, cited a sergeant's sudden death from a heart attack as part of his motivation, and said similar additions have been made in other counties. "It's the cost of the job on one's health that doesn't change," he said.

Delegation members expressed support for the idea but pressed for fiscal clarity. Delegate Delia Boucher asked for a fiscal note and said county accounting staff should estimate the premium impact of adding the detention-center employees to the presumptive coverage. Ash Owens said it is difficult to provide a specific annual cost because claims are unpredictable; he estimated roughly 100 additional eligible employees but said actual claims could vary widely.

Procedure and vote: the motion to move the bill favorable was made and seconded during the session; the delegation approved the motion by voice vote. The advisory action positions the bill for committee consideration (delegation-level "favorable" movement does not itself change state law).

Next steps: delegation members asked staff to obtain a fiscal estimate from county accounting and to notify relevant committee staff (potentially judiciary) before the bill proceeds.