Prince George's hospital deal clears another hurdle

Senate panel gives nod to county, state bailout

The House, which passed its own version of the package March 20, could vote on the bill as early as Saturday.

Although county and House officials said they still need to check 23 amendments placed on the package by the Budget and Taxation Committee, they did not expect the last-minute arguments that scuttled a similar proposal in the final hours of last year’s session.

‘‘I didn’t hear of anything that was a problem,” said Del. Doyle L. Niemann (D-Dist. 47) of Mount Rainier.

However, it is unclear if the County Council is willing to sign off. Lawmakers involved in last year’s failed deal said council members held up that attempt to bail out the hospitals.

‘‘It’s always a moving target,” said Sen. Ulysses Currie, the Budget and Taxation Committee chairman. ‘‘Everybody from the County [Council] is not on board. But I believe we are close enough [that] we can get a vote.”

Currie (D-Dist. 25) of Forestville would not elaborate on the source of the council disagreements. Council Chairman Samuel H. Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

But officials said political pressure and proactive work should forestall a repeat of last year.

‘‘Last session we waited for an agreement. This year we’ve got a bill out there,” said Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Dist. 21) of Beltsville. ‘‘I’m not certain that everyone in the delegation is happy, but I believe for the most part there are enough votes to get it through.” Frush chairs the county House delegation.

Changes to the package have been mostly minor since county and state officials triumphantly announced the deal on March 6 — the latest attempt to divest the county from an aging government-owned medical care system that has been losing money for more than a decade.

The new arrangement calls for Maryland and Prince George’s County each to pay $24 million over the next two years to keep the county-owned hospitals in Cheverly, Bowie and Laurel running. Meanwhile, both governments will appoint a seven-member authority tasked with creating a proposal to sell the system in the hope of bringing a deal back to the legislature early next year.

The county and state would each appoint three members, with the heads of the House and Senate appointing the final member.

The future deal for the hospital will require both the county and state to pledge an unknown amount of annual aid to the new private buyer. That amount is to be settled 60 days after the bill passes, and will be a key part of the bidding process that begins this summer.

‘‘That way, at least [future buyers] will know up front,” said John Erzen, spokesman for Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D).

Erzen said county officials are still reviewing the amendments. A Senate committee staffer said the 23 changes on the hospital bill were mostly minor.

One change allows a 30-day extension to the deadline for the governments to pledge funding. Another amendment allows the governments to use their $12 million annual pledges to pay for any emergency funding gaps that occur at the hospitals before the July 1 start of the fiscal year.