In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Disability” means any physical or mental impairment that constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment or independent living. “Division” means the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education. “Federal acts” means the rehabilitation acts of the United States Congress. “Rehabilitation” means the process of enabling a disabled individual to become gainfully employed and to function more independently.

The State of Maryland assents to the federal acts. The State Treasurer shall: Be the custodian of any money received under the federal acts; and Disburse this money in accordance with the federal acts. The State Board of Education shall: Cooperate with the appropriate federal agencies in administering the federal acts; and Do anything necessary to secure the benefits of the federal acts. In this subsection, “State match amount” means the amount of the State’s share of funding required under the federal acts. The Governor may include in the annual budget bill an increase in the General Fund appropriation to ensure the State match amount for the Division is met.

There is an Employment Program Fund in the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education. Funds for the Employment Program Fund established under this section shall be included in the budget of the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education. A community rehabilitation and employment agency accredited by the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education is eligible to receive funds available in the Employment Program Fund established under this section. The Division of Rehabilitation Services may contract with nonprofit rehabilitation and employment agencies to provide the funds established under this section for: Supported employment placements; Competitive work placements; or Transitional employment. The Division of Rehabilitation Services shall adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section.

There is a Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education. The State Board of Education shall: Disburse all funds provided, and administer all programs established under this subtitle, for the rehabilitation of disabled individuals; Appoint and fix the compensation of the personnel necessary to administer this subtitle; Rehabilitate and place in gainful occupations individuals eligible for the benefits of this subtitle; Rehabilitate eligible individuals to function more independently; Adopt rules and regulations necessary to administer this subtitle; Report annually to the Governor on the administration of this subtitle; and Cooperate with other public and private departments, agencies, and institutions to: Provide for the rehabilitation of disabled individuals; Provide for the independent living rehabilitation of severely disabled individuals; Study the problems of rehabilitation; and Develop and provide programs, facilities, and services necessary or desirable to implement this subtitle. The State Department of Education shall, in addition to licensing vending facility managers in federal buildings in this State under § 21–302(c) of this subtitle pursuant to the federal acts, license blind persons to manage vending facilities in all State, county, and municipal buildings and in all privately owned buildings and premises in this State in the event of contract with such person. The Division shall be the licensing agency for all vending facilities within this State licensed under this subtitle. In this subsection, “medical and psychological records” includes: Medical documentation; Psychological information; School documentation; and Any other relevant information. The Division and the Developmental Disabilities Administration shall enter into a memorandum of understanding, the terms of which shall include a data sharing agreement for the medical and psychological records of mutual clients in order to expedite decisions regarding eligibility for services.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Division” means the Division of Rehabilitation Services within the Maryland State Department of Education. “Transition services” means a coordinated set of activities for a student with a disability who meets the definition of a transitioning student that promotes movement from school to postschool activities, including postsecondary education, vocational training, integrated employment, supported employment, adult services, independent living, and community participation. “Transitioning student” means a student with a disability who is between the ages of 14 and 21 years who meets the eligibility criteria of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or § 7 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. The Division shall: Assign a rehabilitation counselor as a liaison to each Maryland public high school; Establish a cooperative agreement with each county board defining roles, responsibilities, and procedures in order to provide appropriate transition services for a transitioning student; and Develop, in consultation with county boards, for each transitioning student who is determined eligible for rehabilitation services, an individualized plan for employment prior to graduation. Each county board shall transmit to the Department information relating to the postsecondary anticipated services of the county’s transitioning students. The information shall be reported in the manner required by the Department. The Department shall aggregate the information provided under paragraph (1) of this subsection and forward the information annually to: The Behavioral Health Administration of the Maryland Department of Health; The Developmental Disabilities Administration of the Maryland Department of Health; and Other appropriate State adult services agencies, as determined by the Department. The information under this section shall include, for each transitioning student: The student’s current age; The projected year of exit of the student from school; Anticipated needs of the student; The student’s county of residence; and Any other information that the Department considers appropriate.

To be eligible for rehabilitation an individual shall: Be disabled; and Be susceptible of rehabilitation.

The State Board of Education and the State Workers’ Compensation Commission shall administer jointly the program established in this section. The State Workers’ Compensation Commission: Shall establish a rehabilitation program; May employ the necessary rehabilitation counselors and clerical staff to review all reports and claims; Shall select from the reports and claims filed with it those for which rehabilitation services appear to be appropriate; After proper investigation, shall refer appropriate cases to the Division of Rehabilitation Services; On request of the Division of Rehabilitation Services, shall make available to the Division a complete medical evaluation, including a prognosis of work potential of any worker whose case it refers to the Division; and Shall pay the salaries of the employees of the workers’ compensation rehabilitation program and all necessary expenses incurred: In investigating and reviewing all reports and claims; and For supplies, furniture, and office space.

Any report, record, memorandum, action, or finding of the Division of Rehabilitation Services may not be referred to in any way or be received as evidence in any civil proceeding before any agency or court, except under the rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, under this subtitle.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Business entity” means: A person conducting or operating a trade or business in Maryland; or An organization operating in Maryland that is exempt from taxation under § 501(c)(3) or (4) of the Internal Revenue Code. “Division” means the Division of Rehabilitation Services of the Maryland State Department of Education. “Qualified child care or transportation expenses” means: State regulated child care expenses that are incurred by a business entity to enable a qualified employee with a disability to be gainfully employed; or Transportation expenses that are incurred by a business entity to enable a qualified employee with a disability to travel to and from work. “Qualified employee with a disability” means an individual who: Meets the definition of an individual with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act; Has a disability that presently constitutes an impediment to obtaining or maintaining employment or to transitioning from school to work; Is ready for employment; and Has been determined by the Division or the Maryland Department of Labor, in consultation with the Division, as having met the criteria of a qualified employee with a disability established under this section. “Qualified employee with a disability” includes: An individual who has been determined by the Maryland Department of Labor, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as having been discharged or released from active duty in the uniformed services for a service–connected disability; and Any other individual meeting the definition of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, whether or not the individual receives services from the Division. “Wages” means wages, within the meaning of § 51(c)(1), (2), and (3) of the Internal Revenue Code without regard to § 51(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that are paid by a business entity to an employee for services performed in a trade or business of the employer. Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, a business entity may claim a tax credit in the amounts determined under subsections (c) and (d) of this section for the wages and qualified child care or transportation expenses with respect to a qualified employee with a disability that are paid in the taxable year for which the business entity claims the credit. The same tax credit cannot be applied more than once against different taxes by the same taxpayer. For each taxable year, for the wages paid to each qualified employee with a disability, a credit is allowed in an amount equal to 30% of up to the first $15,000 of the wages paid to the qualified employee with a disability during each of the first 2 years of employment. For each taxable year, for child care provided or paid for by a business entity for the children of a qualified employee with a disability, or transportation expenses that are incurred by a business entity to enable a qualified employee with a disability to travel to and from work, a credit is allowed in an amount equal to up to $1,500 of the qualified child care or transportation expenses incurred for each qualified employee with a disability during each of the first 2 years of employment. A business entity may not claim the credit under this section for an employee: Who is hired to replace a laid–off employee or to replace an employee who is on strike; or For whom the business entity simultaneously receives federal or State employment training benefits. A business entity may not claim the credit under this section until it has notified the Division that a qualified employee with a disability has been hired. A business entity may claim a credit in the amount provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection for an employee whose employment lasts less than 1 year if the employee: Voluntarily terminates employment with the employer; Is unable to continue employment due to a further disability or death; or Is terminated for cause. If a business entity is entitled to a tax credit for an employee who is employed for less than 1 year because the employee voluntarily terminates employment with the employer to take another job, the business entity may claim a tax credit of 30% of up to the first $15,000 of the wages paid to the employee during the course of employment. If a business entity is entitled to a tax credit for an employee who is employed for less than 1 year for a reason other than that described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the amount of the credit shall be reduced by the proportion of a year that the employee did not work. If the credit allowed under this section in any taxable year exceeds the total tax otherwise payable by the business entity for that taxable year, a business entity may apply the excess as a credit for succeeding taxable years until the earlier of: The full amount of the excess is used; or The expiration of the 5th taxable year after the taxable year in which the wages or qualified child care or transportation expenses for which the credit is claimed are paid. If a credit is claimed under this section, the claimant must make the addition required in § 10–205 or § 10–306 of the Tax – General Article. Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the Maryland Department of Labor and the State Department of Education shall jointly adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The Comptroller shall adopt regulations to provide for the computation and carryover of the credit under § 10–704.7 of the Tax – General Article. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation shall adopt regulations to provide for the computation and carryover of the credit under §§ 8–216 and 8–413 of the Tax – General Article. The Maryland Insurance Commissioner shall adopt regulations to provide for the computation and carryover of the credit under § 6–115 of the Insurance Article. The Maryland Department of Labor shall administer the tax credit and report to the Governor, and, subject to § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly, before January 15 of each year on: Marketing activities for the credit under this section; The number of business entities who hired a qualified employee with a disability during the preceding year; The number of qualified employees with disabilities: Hired in each business sector for the preceding year; and Hired during the preceding year and employed for less than 1 year; A summary of the average hourly wages paid to qualified employees with disabilities for the preceding year; The number and amount of credits claimed during the preceding year; and The number and amount of credits claimed for child care or transportation expenses, including a summary of the types of transportation expenses incurred by business entities.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “DORS” means the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the State Department of Education. “DORS consumer” means an individual determined eligible for rehabilitation services under § 21–306 of this subtitle who is placed by DORS in an unpaid work–based learning experience. “Unpaid work–based learning experience” means a program that provides a DORS consumer with structured employer–supervised learning that: Occurs in the workplace; Links with an individualized plan for employment; Is coordinated by a DORS rehabilitation specialist; and Is conducted in accordance with the terms of an individual written work–based learning experience agreement between DORS and the employer of that participating DORS consumer. A DORS consumer who is placed with an employer in an unpaid work–based learning experience is a covered employee of that employer, as defined in Title 9 of the Labor and Employment Article for the purpose of coverage for medical services and treatment under the State workers’ compensation laws. The participating employer where a DORS consumer is placed in an unpaid work–based learning experience shall secure workers’ compensation coverage for that DORS consumer. The State Department of Education shall reimburse the employer in an amount equal to the lesser of: The cost of the premium for the workers’ compensation coverage; or $250.