A New Senator - June Update

The most exciting news in District 16 this summer is that we have a new State Senator, Sara Love. Under the state constitution, legislative vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment based on the recommendation of the local political party committee of the vacating legislator (in our case, Ariana Kelly).  Sara has been a terrific partner in the House of Delegates and--this past year--on the Environment and Transportation Committee.  I look forward to seeing her thrive as our new State Senator. You can watch her swearing-in here.

​Of course, now that Sara Love is in the Senate, we need a third Delegate to join Delegate Sarah Wolek and me in the House.  That process is set out by the Montgomery County Democratic Party here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 
The Governor has completed his actions on legislation from the 2024 legislative session with his veto decisions.
He vetoed 3 substantive bills (and 1 duplicative).
He let one one substantive bill (but both House and Senate versions) become law without his signature.
As a reminder, you can view the complete list of bills the Governor signed into law here.
 
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
 As regular readers know, we spent a lot of time this recent legislative session addressing transportation funding. It is not easy to raise taxes and fees, but in this case I viewed it as critical to ensure our transportation network (roads, bridges, transit, and more) can be built and maintained. Moreover, part of the fees support the Maryland trauma system, which hopefully most of us will never need to take advantage of. The Motor Vehicle Administration announced the new registration rates here.
I want to provide tangible evidence that these fees--while not fun to pay--have a valuable impact. Instead of eliminating all commuter bus service--as was proposed last year by the Department of Transportation--all routes will be maintained. In addition, exciting progress is coming to the Brunswick line, a MARC commuter rail line along the I-270 corridor. First, additional mid-day trains will be announced shortly. Second, Maryland has local match funding available to support its federal grant application to improve Brunswick line infrastructure and service, which you can read about here.
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Last month, I shared information about Metro's proposed Better Bus Network. Below are the District 16 Metrobus stops slated for consolidation into other nearby stops. If you feel strongly about any, share your input: https://betterbus.wmata.com/share

BUDGET UPDATE
The Treasurer recently announced that the major rating agencies reaffirmed Maryland's AAA bond rating. One of the agencies, Moody's, did give Maryland a negative credit outlook. We will have to respond accordingly to ensure our strong record of fiscal management continues and the outlook be put back to stable, as happened during the Great Recession.
As I write every time these are released, in many ways, the bond rating agencies make us bow at false gods, but it does allow the state to borrow for construction projects at more favorable rates.
I always recommend reading these reports for insight into our fiscal management. They can be found here.
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These bond ratings were tied to a bond sale, which was very successful. Based on the bond sales and the premium the bonds were sold at, debt service will be $150 million less than anticipated next year. Read the Department of Legislative Services summary here.

 
ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
I recently had some fun and different media appearances.
First, C-SPAN aired my interview with McKay Coppins, author of Romney: A Reckoning, at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. You can watch it here.

​Second, I participated in East Bethesda resident Eric Nerenberg's movie and TV podcast that he does with his cousin: Ben and Eric's Podcast. You can listen here if you are curious for my thoughts on the recent Netflix movie Hit Man and the HBO show Hacks.

COMMUNITY NEWS 
Congratulations to Christian Navvaro and Jennifer Berzok on their appointment to the Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities.
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The C&O Canal National Historical Park is a treasure in District 16 (and beyond). Hear more about it on this recent Preservation Maryland podcast.