Almost Halfway There - Weekly Update

As regular readers of this email know, the structure of our legislative session is built around time: we start on a specific date, bills need to be introduced by a specific date, bills need to pass from one chamber to the other by a specific date, and we adjourn on a specific date. Between this weekly email and the next, we will pass the halfway point of the 90 day 2025 legislative session. That means we will have 45 days and counting to work on several major issues before us including, most notably, the annual budget and energy issues. The countdown clock will have an impact on my personal legislative agenda as well. As one of my favorite movie characters--Rocky Balboa--explained in the 2015 film Creed--"Time's undefeated." The legislative sessions always start a little slow but, at this point, we start to feel time slipping away as we work on complex and important issues.
As if on cue when I was drafting this, the clock in my office stopped working which must be some type of metaphor for how time looms over us during the 90 day legislative session. So here's a bonus "Office Corner" showing where my clock used to be--and hopefully will be again soon!

DELEGATION UPDATE
Our Montgomery County House Delegation meets most Fridays during session. The main event last Friday was hearing from our Congressman, Jamie Raskin, about the situation in Washington. For those who want a deep dive, my legislation on the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission was also considered and passed by the Delegation. Watch the meeting here.

LEGISLATION UPDATE
Since my last email, one of my bills had a hearing: the MARC Rail Authority Act (HB 517). The bill would separate the MARC commuter rail system from the rest of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). As I explained at the hearing, I do not think the MTA is organized in a way that makes sense for our state and I am open to other ways to improve its structure. You can watch the hearing here.
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I have additional bill hearings today, tomorrow and Friday on legislation to reform our state's franchise laws, a bill to reform conflict of interest laws for governors, and a proposal for privacy standards for our automated enforcement systems.

BUDGET UPDATE
The budget continues to get a lot of attention and is one of the major issues of the legislative session. I have heard from many of you opposed to specific cuts or tax increases. As a reminder, the Department of Legislative Services' detailed analysis of each agency's budget can be found here. Federal uncertainty is also clouding the budget debate as the federal government's current funding bill expires in March and the current administration and Elon Musk continue to make radical changes such as clawing back already appropriated funding, freezing National Institutes of Health and other grant funding, and mass firing employees at federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and other agencies where a more refined approach would be much more appropriate than the current actions.
If you are one of those affected, be sure to check out the resources page launched by Governor Moore as well.

PRESIDENTS' DAY UPDATE
This past Monday we honored Presidents' Day in the House chamber. As we do every year, we heard from a member about the continued importance of George Washington. This year's speaker was Delegate Palakovich Carr from Montgomery County. I had the honor of delivering the address in 2018 and you can listen to it here.

OFFICE CORNER
​In honor of Presidents' Day, this week's highlight from my office is one of my more off-beat items, a campaign poster for Estes Kefauver. Kefauver ran for president in 1952 and 1956 and was actually the Democratic nominee for Vice President that year (he edged out JFK for the spot). Kefauver was a Tennessee Senator and is a personal hero of mine.