Best Wishes to the Governor and June Update

You have probably heard by now that Governor Hogan has been diagnosed with cancer.  I wish him a speedy recovery and send my best wishes to him and his family as they go through this challenging time together.

The legislature only meets in Annapolis for 90 days a year and I am often asked, what do legislators do the rest of the year?  

​First, most of us have other jobs.  The salary for legislators is not insignificant, but it is also not enough to live in our area with a family.  I work as an attorney.  Of course, I also try to spend time with my wife and son.  

Second, although the legislature only convenes for 90 days (plus the occasional special session), the work of legislators is 365 days a year.  I spend my time outside of the legislative session on:

• Constituent Service: If you are having any difficulty with an agency of the state government, please contact me anytime.
• Meetings with Constituents: I am always eager to meet with groups of constituents.  Over the past few weeks I have met with a few neighborhood associations and the local chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.  If you know of a group who would like to hear from me, please let me know.
• Planning Legislation: I am already hard at work researching and writing potential legislation for the 2016 state session.
• Oversight: I believe an important job of the legislature is to provide oversight of state government and other relevant agencies or organizations, such as the Metro system.
• Committees and Task Forces: My committee, the Appropriations Committee, met last week for a briefing on higher education affordability.  We will continue to meet occasionally between now and the next legislative session.  As I mentioned in a previous email, I am always the House appointee to County Executive Leggett's Transit Task Force, a group meeting on a weekly basis all summer long.
• Door-to-Door: Just like during my campaign, I am going door-to-door on weekends to chat with constituents one-on-one about the state.

If you are interested in keeping track of me, you can follow @mkorman on Twitter or "Like" Marc Korman for Delegate on Facebook.
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Many of you have heard that the Gazette is no longer publishing.  I believe this is terrible news for our County.  It will only increase the disconnect people feel from their state and local government as coverage of those issues declines even further.  Two good resources for news about state government are Center Maryland and Maryland Reporter.  Both produce free daily news summaries of state government and politics.  For a more local perspective, try Bethesda Beat.

Legislative News

As mentioned above, between legislative sessions the committees of the House of Delegates hold occasional meetings on important topics.  I serve on the Appropriations Committee which has jurisdiction over higher education.  We recently met for a briefing on college affordability and aide, particularly focusing on the state's Educational Assistance Grant and Guaranteed Access Grant and potential reforms to improve those programs.

The state's capital budget recently become law.  The capital budget provides state funding for buildings, infrastructure, and other construction projects.  Included in this year's capital budget are state bond funds for two District 16 projects: Josiah Henson Special Park and Graceful Growing Together Community Center (the links are to Gazette articles and I do not know how long they will be available).

Agency News

The Governor recently announced that the Purple Line will go forward.  As of this writing, the details of the precise cost savings proposed by Governor Hogan have not been shared.  We do know that headways (the time between trains) will be increased which means less cars need to be purchased and less facilities for those cars will be necessary.  An additional contribution from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties is also being requested, the size of which is unknown as I type this.

Recent news about our local Metro system has been concerning to say the least.  The Federal Transit Administration issued a safety audit highlighting several serious safety lapses.  This comes on top of a fiscal management audit that has still not been resolved.  In the coming months, there will be additional reports by the National Transportation Safety Board and Government Accountability Office.  On the more positive side, the Metro board has voted to eliminate the turnbacks at Grosvenor station.  This means that all trains go to the end of the line at Shady Grove starting in 2018, which is great news for Montgomery County.

Community News

• The Governor's Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force will be holding its sixth regional summit on Thursday, July 2, 2015, 9:00am-1:00pm at Montgomery College - Cultural Arts Center, Silver Spring, Maryland.  This regional summit is intended to attract persons knowledgeable on the heroin and opioid crisis in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.  

If you know of an upcoming community event, please email [email protected]
If you know of an event that should be advertised, please email the information to [email protected].

District 16 Notes

• Now that summer is here, congratulations to all of the high school graduates in the area including those from Whitman, BCC, WJ, Churchill, and other area public and private schools.  Among the graduating seniors at BCC was my terrific intern, Olivia Delaplaine.  Many of you met Olivia when she attended community events on my behalf.
• District 16 resident and former County Councilman Bruce Adams is a baseball fanatic.  He recently took a long road trip to the College World Series, stopping at baseball stadiums along the way.  You can read about his journey here.
• New District 16 constituent--but long-time Korman friend--Allison Leotta has just released a new novel, A Good Killing.
• Congratulations to Andrew Nieble, who won the Maryland Parent Involvement Matters Award for a program that provides food and household items for needy families at Westland.
• Congratulations to District 16 resident and University of Maryland School of Law Professor, Jana Singer, on the release of her new book, Divorced from Reality: Rethinking Family Dispute Resolution.
• Congratulations to the recent graduates of Leadership Montgomery's Core, Seniors, and Emerging Leaders program including Meredith Bowers, Annice Cody, Siobhan Davenport, Deborah Feinstein, Lori McFarling, Leslie Miles, Howard Vogel, Kim Emerson, Jeremy Feinberg, Phillip Hummel, Angela Neira, Cyril Draffic, Karen Judson, and Donna Kanin.  I am a 2013 graduate of the core program.
• Condolences to Dorothy Bathelmes, a District 16 constituent a former president of the Woman's Democratic Club, on the passing of her husband, Robert (Bob) Henry in May.

If you know of a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email [email protected].