Bill Hearings - Weekly Update

When the legislative session commences, it takes a little bit of time for enough bills to be introduced and for the Department of Legislative Services to draft enough fiscal notes--and analysis done for every bill--to allow for bill hearings to begin. This past Friday, the committee I chair had its first afternoon of bill hearings including a hearing on my specialty vintage license plates bill. The next hearing on one of my bills--the County Board Member Anti-Bias Training Act for school board members--will be later today. And the pace will only quicken from there.

Presenting legislation regarding Maryland license plates.
BUDGET UPDATE

​Thank you for all of the email and telephone call feedback I received on last week's run through of the Governor's proposed budget. That will be the focus of a lot of discussion and work over the next few months.
Some of you have asked for my position on discrete provisions--taxes/revenue, cuts, shifts to the county--within his overall proposal. While I obviously have views on individual provisions, the budget is not just an a la carte menu where we can pick and choose what we like and don't like. Ultimately, the final package must represent a balanced budget and that will undoubtedly involve some tough decisions about what programs will be reduced and how programs are paid for. My approach is to ensure:
1. That we do what we can to protect the most vulnerable who rely on our support to live and thrive;
2. That we remember the need for economic competitiveness as we make these decisions to ensure we can grow and prosper; and
3. That it be a fair deal for Montgomery County and District 16. 
Others have asked for predictions about what will happen with particular proposals. I believe it is really too soon to predict the final outcome and, indeed, there will be other ideas not introduced by the Governor that will enter the conversation.
Please keep hitting reply or calling with your questions, concerns, and other feedback on the budget.

 BRIEFINGS UPDATE

The Environment & Transportation Committee continues its robust schedule of briefings. Last week, we had a lengthy joint briefing with our Senate colleagues on Maryland's zero emission vehicle goals, a briefing on background checks for renters, a briefing on Department of Natural Resources issues including the charter boat industry and Maryland's tree planting goals, and one on avian influenza. So far this week, we have had a briefing on the state of Maryland's agriculture industry.
Separate from my committee work, I would recommend this thorough briefing on the Blueprint for Maryland's future, Maryland's major investment in pre-k through 12 public education reform and improvement.

FEDERAL UPDATE

In the weekly update that I sent around this time eight years ago, I shared my general philosophy that I try to keep my updates focused on the state and local issues that are in my purview. That does not mean I do not have opinions about what happens nationally and, certainly, many federal actions can have a significant impact on our community. The new Administration's war on federal employees and recent decisions to freeze certain spending already agreed to are uniquely bad for Maryland and my district.
That said, we took a number of actions in 2017 and beyond to try and insulate our state from certain actions such as codifying Obamacare protections in state law, funding reproductive health, and more. One of the most significant actions we took was to further empower our state Attorney General to bring suit against the federal government.  Some members of Maryland's minority party disingenuously opposed this stating that the states should not sue the federal government, despite their own cheering at that time for conservative state suits against Obamacare and EPA regulation--cheering that certainly continued in the Biden years when conservative states challenged, for example, student debt relief. I hope that Attorney General Brown actively uses his authority and I will encourage him to do so at appropriate times.

LEGISLATION UPDATE

I continue to introduce the legislation that I announced in my first email of the legislative session. This past week, I introduced two more bills:
Automated Enforcement Privacy Protections (HB 516): This year I am the House cross-file of Senator Sara Love’s bill to set privacy protections around our automated enforcement programs. I believe these programs are important for public safety but there should be clear rules about how our personal data can be used. Senator Love championed this issue for years in the House and I am happy to follow her lead now.
The MARC Rail Authority Act of 2025 (HB 517): Maryland’s commuter rail system—the three lines that make up MARC rail including the Brunswick Line through Montgomery County—has long been the stepchild of the state Department of Transportation. Despite endless initiatives and plans, little seems to change with this system that could be a crucial part of our 21st century transportation network. I believe that part of the challenge is that our Maryland Transit Administration is not built to succeed. Unlike most state transit agencies, it provides the local Baltimore-area transit service (bus, light rail, and subway), similar to WMATA/Metro in our area, while also maintaining control of commuter rail, transit planning and grantmaking statewide, and more. This legislation would separate the MARC system to function more independently. Senator Cory McCray is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE

A provision of the annual state budget requires the Maryland Department of Transportation to provide bimonthly reports on Purple Line progress. The January report is now available here. The chart below shows the overall progress and progress of specific project elements.

COMMUNITY NEWS

​The Planning Department's annual Downtown Bethesda Annual Monitoring Report has been released and will be discussed at this week's Planning Board meeting.
OFFICE CORNER

Last week I shared my office's Metro stuff. This week, I want to share a few Maryland Transit Administration maps I obtained and had framed (at my own expense) and placed in the outer office of the Environment & Transportation Committee. These show some of the other current and future transit options around the state beyond WMATA.