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I spend a lot of time in this weekly newsletter talking about the work of the House of Delegates. No surprise there. I am a Delegate after all and, these days, House Majority Leader. But this is the time of the year that members of the House and members of the Senator quickly remember that like 48 other state legislatures--all but Nebraska--Maryland has a bicameral legislature. The story goes that George Washington said that the U.S. Senate's purpose was to "cool" U.S. House legislation just as a saucer is used to cool hot tea. I do not think it works quite the same way in Maryland where the Senators and House members represent the same constituencies and serve the same overlapping terms, but each chamber does bring different perspectives to bills.
This is the time of year we are all reminded of the other body because members from each are marching across the hall (really between our separate legislative buildings) to present our bills that passed our own chamber to the other. For example, last week I presented the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Sunset Act to the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. Unlike most of my other bills, this one had no "Senate cross-file"--an identical bill introduced by a Senator--so it was the first time any Senator was really hearing or thinking about my bill. And earlier this week I presented the Teacher Pay Parity Act to the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee. BUDGET UPDATE Earlier this week, the Governor sent down a supplemental budget making various changes to the proposed operating and capital budgets. You can review it here. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am also part of the "conference committee" on the budget when the House and Senate budget leaders get together to sort out differences. As I draft this, I am between meetings of the conference committee. COMMUNITY NEWS Condolences to the Temple Beth El community on the passing of Rabbi Emeritus William Rudolph. ----- Three District 16 residents were recently nominated to state boards and commissions by Governor Moore:
Two District 16 residents were also nominated to County Boards and Commissions by the County Executive:
District 16's Dr. Kevin Cullen has been added to the Baltimore Sun's Business and Civic Hall of Fame for his work on cancer care. UPCOMING EVENTS
If you know of an upcoming District 16 event or a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email marc@marckorman.com. Just before I finalized this weekly newsletter, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee selected Sarah Wolek to fill now Senator Kelly's unexpired term as Delegate for District 16. Sarah's name now goes to Governor Moore for appointment to join Delegate Sara Love and me in representing you in the House of Delegates. Congratulations to Sarah! Monday was the so-called "crossover deadline," the date by which bills need to move from one chamber of the Maryland General Assembly to the other to avoid being sent to the Rules Committee (significantly harming the chance of final passage).  The Maryland General Assembly deals with thousands of bills each year and as House Majority Leader, I am proud to be in the mix on many of them related to choice, healthcare, firearm safety, the environment, the economy and more. But the crossover deadline is a good time to assess the status of the ten bills of which I am the primary author.
The State and Federal Transportation Funding Act (HB 51) allows so-called GARVEE and GAN financing for certain transportation mega projects. It has passed the House. The Maryland State Agency Transparency Act (HB 58) applies certain Open Meetings Act requirements including web streaming of meetings to the State Ethics Commission. It has passed the House and the Senate version has passed that body. The Net Metering Flexibility Act (HB 68) makes net metering for home solar panels more consumer friendly. It is still in committee but the Senate version has passed. The Maryland Rail Investment Act (HB 74) to create a state rail authority funded by tolls on existing tolled facilities is stuck in committee. The Board of Public Works Public Comment Act (HB 498) will bring more transparency to that unique body. The House and Senate version have each passed. The Teacher Pay Parity Act (HB 448) reforms special needs school teacher pay. The bill has passed the House. The Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act (HB 380) would allow binding arbitration for our collectively bargaining state employees. It is stalled in committee. The Young Readers Program Act (HB 243) expands a program created last year to support books for those under 5 years old. It has passed the House and the Senate version has passed that body. The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Sunset Act (HB 161) requires a sunset review of that quasi-governmental agency. It has passed the House. HB 377 is a Montgomery County Delegation bill I am championing with Senator Ariana Kelly and Delegate Sara Love to reform procurement policies for the Village of Friendship Heights in District 16. COMMUNITY NEWS District 16's Anna Palmisano is the recipient of the Robert Wears Award for National Leadership in Patient Safety in the volunteer category. I have seen Anna up close advocating for patients' rights and improved healthcare in Annapolis. ----- Congratulations to District 16's Robert Chanin and Judith Rivlin on their reappointment and appointment, respectively, to the Maryland Public School Labor Relations Board. ----- Congratulations to District 16's Judith Hallett, whose book Ancient Women Writers of Greece and Rome, has been selected to receive the 2023 Bochazy Pedagogy Award from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. ----- Condolences to the family of Norman Knopf on his passing. Norm was an attorney who had long been active in county land use issues. ----- State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. UPCOMING EVENTS
If you know of an upcoming District 16 event or a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email marc@marckorman.com. The one piece of business the General Assembly is required to address each year is the annual budget. This year's budget originates in the House of Delegates. As I have shared before, the Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, considers the budget through different subject matter subcommittees. I chair the Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment. Last week, each subcommittee made its recommendations to the full Appropriations Committee which passed the budget on a bipartisan basis. You can read the reports of each subcommittee here:
As I have shared before, this year's budget fully funds the various statutory formulas in law for public education (including $1.1 billion in aid for Montgomery County Public Schools); is balanced, as required by Maryland laws; holds tuition increases at the University System of Maryland to 2% and fully funds the state's community college funding formula; and more. Combined with the state capital budget, it also funds school construction, parks infrastructure, and transportation projects. This action on the budget comes just after our state's Board of Revenue Estimates made some revisions to the current and next fiscal year provisions. They expect less growth in both the income and sales taxes and noted that the state's economic strength was a little weaker than the country as a whole. It's a $477m reduction across both fiscal years (out of an almost $25b general fund). Of course, we have to balance our budget every year so we adjusted the budget described above to account for this. The slide deck from the BRE's meeting is available here. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Three more of my bills passed the House of Delegates last week: The Maryland State Agency Transparency Act, which would expand certain Open Meetings Act requirements--including web streaming of meetings--to the State Ethics Commission; The Young Readers Program Expansion Act, which would build on a program created last year to support county-based programs that send books to young Marylanders; and the Board of Public Works Public Comment Act, which would bring new transparency to items voted on by the Board of Public Works. This week, the House will take up my legislation, the State and Federal Transportation Funding Act. The bill authorizes grant anticipation financing (known as GARVEE or GAN) for some of the state's largest transportation projects. ----- Several major initiatives passed the House of Delegates last week: -Family Prosperity Act: Tax legislation that permanently extends the state's Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. -Reproductive Freedom Constitutional Amendment: This will place on the ballot next year a constitutional amendment regarding reproductive freedom. -Cannabis Reform: The bill puts in place the licensing, regulatory, and taxation framework for the recreational cannabis market authorized by the voters last year. And this week we will be taking up firearm safety legislation as the state responds to the Bruen Supreme Court decision. The bill modifies the qualifications for a wear and carry permit in Maryland. TREASURER UPDATE Earlier this week, State Treasurer Davis announced that Maryland had retained its AAA bond rating from all three major ratings agencies. Although these bond rating agencies do not always get it right, their view does impact the cost Maryland pays to borrow for construction projects. The ratings reports also provide a nice little fiscal check-in. You can read all three of the reports here.There's actually a minor error in the Fitch report, as it says that Maryland "established the nation's first taxes on digital goods and downloads, including advertising." That's only half right, the digital advertising was the first in the nation and currently under litigation but many states preceded Maryland in taxing digital goods and digital downloads. The reports all emphasize their appreciation for Maryland's fiscal management policies and that is a big part of why we get strong ratings. TRANSPORTATION NEWS The vendor for the I-495/I-270 private toll lanes project has announced that they are withdrawing from the project. The current Administration has made clear that they plan to continue the project in some form, relying on the environmental documentation and Record of Decision obtained last year. Because of the method by which the vendor withdrew, the state owes them no funds and the vendor owes no funds to the state. Whatever you think of the project or the use of Public Private Partnerships (P3), let me just suggest that large multi-national companies do not just walk away from multi-billion dollar projects without a fight. But the reality of this project has always been that the P3 could not do what the Hogan Administration said it could do: magically solve traffic at no net cost to the taxpayers. This is something even the Hogan Administration acknowledged late in the game when they sought a federal bridge grant (that MD was not awarded) on their way out the door. As I told the media, “I trust we will now have a more honest and cooperative process.” Read an article about the project change. COMMUNITY NEWS In a prior email, I shared the news that former District 16 Delegate Marilyn Goldwater passed away. The Washington Post recently published an obituary on her passing. ----- State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. UPCOMING EVENTS
One of my roles as House Majority Leader is to help lead debate on the House floor. Last week, I participated in the debate on a bill to allow non-citizens honorably discharged from our nation's armed forces to qualify for law enforcement positions in Maryland. You can view my comments here. The bill ultimately passed with bipartisan support.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
My first bill of the legislative session passed the House of Delegates unanimously last week. The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Sunset Act would require a sunset review of this forty year old authority created to build incinerators and was unanimously voted out of the Environment & Transportation Committee. Three more of my bills are poised to pass the House of Delegates this week: The Maryland State Agency Transparency Act, which would expand certain Open Meetings Act requirements--including web streaming of meetings--to the State Ethics Commission; The Young Readers Program Expansion Act, which would build on a program created last year to support county-based programs that send books to young Marylanders; and the Board of Public Works Public Comment Act, which would bring new transparency to items voted on by the Board of Public Works. ADMINISTRATION UPDATE The Washington Post ran a deep dive over the weekend on most of Governor Wes Moore's cabinet. If you are interested, check it out here. ----- I always try to keep you up to date on the Maryland budget, as that is the one bill we are constitutionally required to pass each year. Governor Moore recently sent down a "supplemental budget" in addition to his January budget request. Supplemental budgets are routinely used as additional needs or unnecessary expenditures are identified and is especially sensible here, when Governor Moore's budget proposal was due two days after he took office. The largest changes in this supplemental relate to education funding and some adjustments now that better tax data is available. We expect further supplemental or changes in the weeks ahead. TRANSPORTATION NEWS Montgomery County Parks has provided an updated schedule regarding their analysis of the Little Falls Parkway pilot project. A briefing and public hearing will occur on March 30 in the evening. More information is available here. Because the Planning Board directly oversees Montgomery County Parks, if you have feedback on the current pilot I would encourage you to contact the Planning Board here. ----- The Maryland state budget requires the Maryland Transit Administration to submit bimonthly reports on Purple Line progress. The report includes the percentage of completion across 10 categories of work. The report also publicly acknowledges the concessionaire's (contractor's) view that the project will not be completed when currently planned, which the state disputes. You can review the report here. COMMUNITY NEWS State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. ----- Congratulations to two District 16 residents recently appointed to county positions:
UPCOMING EVENTS
If you know of an upcoming District 16 event or a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email marc@marckorman.com. We are now more than halfway through the 90 day legislative session which means floor sessions are getting longer and committees are voting out more bills. Over the past few weeks, significant public hearings have been held on legislation related to the legalization of cannabis, placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot in support of reproductive rights, responding to the Supreme Court's Bruen decision on firearms legislation, the Governor's proposal to raise the minimum wage and peg it to inflation and more. If there is a legislative issue or bill you are interested in, please just click the reply and I am happy to let you know the status of that particular one.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Each of my bills has now had a hearing and several of them are moving through the process. The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Sunset Act (mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0161?ys=2023RS) would require a sunset review of this forty year old authority created to build incinerators and was unanimously voted out of the Environment & Transportation Committee. The Maryland State Agency Transparency Act (mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0058?ys=2023RS), which would expand certain Open Meetings Act requirements--including web streaming of meetings--to the State Ethics Commission, was voted out of subcommittee. The Young Readers Program Expansion Act (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0243?ys=2023RS), which would build on a program created last year to support county-based programs that send books to young Marylanders, also passed out of subcommittee. I expect further progress on bills I am working on over the next few weeks. COMMUNITY NEWS State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. ----- Congratulations to two District 16 residents recently appointed to county positions:
UPCOMING EVENTS
If you know of an upcoming District 16 event or a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email marc@marckorman.com. Yesterday, Governor Moore testified before the House Appropriations Committee regarding the Serving Every Region through Vocational Exploration (SERVE) Act, the Governor's service year initiative. Last week he testified before the Ways & Means Committee regarding the Keep Our Heroes Home Act, the Governor's proposed tax reduction for military retirees. Such testimony used to be routine in Annapolis from Governors of both parties, but the office's prior occupant refused to engage with the legislative branch of government in this way and it was symptomatic of a broader disinterest in the legislative process. I appreciate having a Governor who respects that the legislative branch elected in the same November election that he was also has a role to play as a co-equal branch of government.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The bill hearings for three more of my bills have taken place over the past few days: The Maryland State Agency Transparency Act would expand certain Open Meetings Act requirements--including web streaming of meetings--to the State Ethics Commission. You can watch the hearing here. The Teacher Pay Parity Act would ensure that special education teachers at specialized schools that our public school systems route children to are paid wages comparable to the typical public schools. You can watch the hearing here. The Board of Public Works Transparency Act would establish a transparent public commenting system for the state's unique Board of Public Works, a body made up of the Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer that approves state contracts, among other functions. You can watch the hearing here (starting at 1:11:10). COMMITTEE NEWS As I have shared before, the Maryland General Assembly is a committee-driven body and I serve on the Appropriations Committee. In addition to regular legislation, our major focus is the budget. As chair of the Transportation & Environment Subcommittee, I spend the most time on agency budgets dealing with those issues including the Maryland Department of Transportation, Public Service Commission, and similar agencies. Thus far, we have had hearings on the Maryland Department of Planning, Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund, Maryland Environmental Service, the Maryland Port Administration, the Maryland Aviation Administration, the Maryland Insurance Administration, the Transportation Secretary's office, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro), and the Department of Agriculture. You can view the analyses on these and other agencies prepared by our Department of Legislative Services here. COMMUNITY NEWS State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. ----- The Governor recently released his so-called "green bag" appointments, which are announcements of nominees to state boards and commissions. If you are interested in these opportunities, further information is available at the Governor's Appointments Office. A particular congratulations to several District 16 residents nominated to positions:
UPCOMING EVENTS
Just as I was completing my weekly email, my teammate Delegate Ariana Kelly was selected to fill the term of our now departed State Senator, Susan Lee. Ariana's name now goes to the Governor for further action. Congratulations Ariana! We are more than one-third of the way through the 2023 legislative session and have passed the bill filing deadline, the date by which legislation must be introduced to be guaranteed a hearing. 1,226 bills have been introduced in the House and 890 in the Senate. You can browse every House bill here. As I have shared previously, I am the primary sponsor of nine bills as well as one piece of local legislation. Six of the bills have already had bill hearings and two more will be heard later today.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The bill hearings for four pieces of legislation I have introduced occurred last week.
COMMUNITY NEWS State legislators have the opportunity to award scholarships to our constituents for their higher education. If you are interested in a scholarship, please visit https://www.marckorman.com/scholarship.html for further information about how to apply. ----- In a prior update, I shared information about the Blueprint for Maryland's Future Accountability and Implementation Board. The Board now has a vacancy and if you are interested in applying, more information is available here. UPCOMING EVENTS
Last week I previewed the Governor's State of the State address. You can read the speech here or watch it here.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Governor has also introduced his legislative package, which by tradition is introduced by the Speaker by request of the Administration (yes, the Democratic Speaker would even sponsor the former Republican Governor's bills). Governor Moore's proposed bills are: Serving Every Region Through Vocational Exploration Act of 2023: Establishing a service year option program for high school graduates to perform a year of service. Family Prosperity Act of 2023: Extends the state earned income and child tax credits. Access to Banking Act: Establishes the Maryland Community Venture Investment Fund to incentivize the placement of banks and credit unions in low and moderate income neighborhoods. Fair Wage Act of 2023: Speeds up the implementation of the $15.00/hour minimum wage and links it to inflation. Clean Transportation and Energy Act: Increases the incentives for zero emission vehicles, including for trucks. Broadband Expansion Incentive Act of 2023: Exempts certain broadband related equipment from the sales and use tax. Innovation Economy Infrastructure Act of 2023: Establishes a grant program in the Department of Commerce for certain technology related infrastructure projects. Health Care for Heroes Act of 2023: Covers healthcare costs for Maryland's National Guard members. Keep Our Heroes Home Act: Increases the tax benefit for military retirement income. The committees in the General Assembly will now do their due diligence and consider these proposals. ----- Two priorities of the General Assembly have also been introduced. The first is the Speaker's constitutional amendment to enshrine reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The second is the cannabis reform legislation to implement Maryland's new recreational cannabis market, required by the successful constitutional ballot question last year. Recreational cannabis will be regulated like medical cannabis to ensure safety through the renamed Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission. Existing growers, dispensers, and operators in the medical cannabis program would be able to convert--at a cost--to a combination recreational/medical license and additional licenses would become available. The tax rate will begin at 6% and slowly rise to 10%, with most of the funding originally targeted towards implementation and social equity programs. COMMUNITY NEWS
At noon today, Governor Moore will deliver his first State of the State Address in the House chamber. You will be able to watch the speech on the House of Delegates' YouTube channel. I will include a link to the speech on my social media feeds and in next week's newsletter. And speaking of Governor Moore, many of you immediately noticed that I inadvertently used the former Governor's name last week when referencing a cabinet appointment. Old habits die hard and I added the paragraph after my dedicated proofreaders did their work, so the error was entirely my own. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE I have now introduced nine pieces of legislation, which I expect to be my full load this legislative session. You can browse the bills here. Of course, I will be involved in many other pieces of legislation and issues as a member of the Appropriations Committee and House Majority Leader, so just because you do not see a topic in my own bill list does not mean it will not be addressed or I will not be working on it. Thus far, two of my bills have been the subject of House committee hearings (every bill introduced before a certain date is guaranteed a hearing). Both bills are devoted to trying to increase our ability to fund major infrastructure projects. The State and Federal Transportation Funding Act hearing was last week and allows the state to use a federal financing vehicle referred to as "GARVEE" bonds for major projects. The Maryland Rail Investment Act hearing was earlier this week and the bill would establish a rail authority in the state funded by road tolls to build major rail projects. EDUCATION UPDATE The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is a comprehensive and far-reaching effort to improve public education in the state of Maryland. Most of the press coverage of it during the Hogan years was about cost. Overall cost is important, but the Blueprint is really about what we are doing with our scare resources. It focused on five areas, now known as pillars and described more fully in the legislation:1. Early Childhood Education 2. High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders 3. College and Career Readiness 4. More Resources for Students to Be Successful (particularly targeting certain groups such as special needs to English Language Learner populations) 5. Governance and Accountability On point five, this included standing up a new Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), which is chaired by Ike Leggett. The AIB is required to produce a Comprehensive Implementation Plan and then each school district will do the same. The Comprehensive Implementation Plan is now available online. For those who want to do a deep dive, it gets into the details of each pillar by describing the objectives, tasks, and sub tasks that will go into achieving the goals of that pillar and the outcome measures and milestones that will be used to track progress. It will not always be perfectly smooth and progress will be challenging, but the Blueprint for Maryland's Future is more than an increase of funds for our public schools--as important as that is--but a new way to ensure progress towards our ambitious goals. COMMITTEE UPDATE As I often explain, the vast majority of our work in the legislature is committee-driven. I serve on the Appropriations Committee. In addition to bill hearings, my committee holds budget hearings on each state agency and department. But early in the session we also do more general briefings and here is what we have been up to this past week.  As chair of the Transportation and Environment Subcommittee, I presided over the briefing on major projects. Because of a technical issue, the video of the meeting is not available but the audio is here.
The full committee also held its annual fiscal briefing, where we break down the Governor's budget broadly before examining each agency more closely. The materials for that briefing are available here. And you can watch the briefing here. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The Brunswick Line is the MARC commuter rail line that serves Montgomery County (and beyond). The Maryland Transit Administration is taking comment on the Brunswick Line Expansion Study, which focuses on specific and achievable infrastructure and service improvements. Read the study and comment here. ----- The Biden Administration recently released a fact sheet regarding the bipartisan infrastructure law's impact on Maryland. Read it here. ----- I know many of you are concerned about Old Georgetown Road and Little Falls Parkway. I have been involved in numerous constituent conversations on both over the past few weeks but do not have any type of comprehensive update since my prior weekly emails. We continue to pass along specific questions, concerns, and feedback on both issues to the relevant agencies. COMMUNITY NEWS
Last Friday, the Governor introduced his first budget proposal. It is made up of three components: the operating budget; the capital (or construction) budget; and a Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) which proposes changes in statute to support a balanced budget. You can review the budget submission here. Later today the General Assembly will have its annual fiscal briefing as we begin to dig into the proposal. Over the next few weeks we will continue to go through the budget on an agency-by-agency basis as we work with the Governor to finalize the budget.  Here are some of the highlights of the budget:
As I said, we will dig more deeply into the budget over the coming weeks. ----- Last week, I joined my colleague Senator Cheryl Kagan for "Kibbitzing with Kagan." You can hear our conversation on YouTube. TRANSPORTATION In my update two weeks ago I mentioned a forthcoming announcement from Montgomery County Park & Planning regarding Little Falls Parkway. That announcement came a few days ago. On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, from 7 – 8:30 p.m, Parks will hold a virtual meeting to present data from traffic studies conducted on Little Falls Parkway between Arlington Road and Dorset Avenue. After the meeting, Parks will present the findings of the traffic studies to the Planning Board in a hearing during which members of the public will have the opportunity to testify. The Planning Board will then review the Parks Department’s recommendations and the public testimony and determine whether to proceed with the pilot project in a subsequent meeting. The Planning Board public hearing and meeting dates are yet to be determined but will likely be held in late March and early April. Once the dates are set, they will be publicly announced and posted on the Parks Department’s website on the project page. ----- Work continues on the Purple Line, but the construction contractor has recently claimed that delays on utilities relocation will extend the construction by several months. The state's view is that the delays can be mitigated but you can read more about the situation here. ----- Governor Moore recently announced his new Secretary of Transportation: Paul Wiedefeld. Mr. Wiedefeld is best known in our area for his work as the General Manager of Metro, but he has also led the Maryland Aviation Administration and Maryland Transit Administration, and worked at the State Highway Administration. Read more about the announcement here. COMMUNITY NEWS
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