Today marks the start of the 2025 legislative session. Unlike the United States Congress, the Maryland General Assembly is part-time and meets for 90 days each year. After several legislative sessions starting new roles, I am excited to start this session in my second year as chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, one of our six committees.

As I do each year with this first email of the legislative session, I will discuss my legislative agenda—the bills I will be primarily sponsoring—below. But I also have the opportunity each year to work on numerous other issues both as a member of the full House and chair of a committee.  Specifically, in addition to having the usual opportunity to weigh in on the state budget, public education, healthcare (including reproductive health), sensible gun control and public safety, and numerous other issues, the committee I chair has jurisdiction over the environment, transportation, housing, agriculture, ethics, and more.  In fact, as committee chair, I am the sponsor of 21 bills as a courtesy to various state departments and agencies seeking changes to their governing statutes.
 
That said, I currently plan to sponsor the most diverse slate of legislation of my entire career. Here are brief summaries of the eleven bills that I plan to primarily sponsor:
 
WSSC Transparency and Reform Act of 2025: The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is our local water utility and while it succeeds every time clean water comes out of the tap and dirty water goes out with a flush, I am a strong believer in making sure our institutions are subject to strict oversight and review to ensure their continued success. This legislation arose from constituent complaints of varying scales: concerns about unexplainable high bills, exasperation with ever rising rates and add-on charges, and WSSC disregarding its contractual obligations to local communities. The bill puts in place several reforms and transparency provisions while also requiring a full review of WSSC’s performance. As a local bill, this has already been introduced and had local bill hearings (you can watch my testimony here). If it makes it through the local process in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, it will go through the regular legislative process.
 
The MARC Rail Authority Act of 2025: 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.
 
Metro Funding Modification Act of 2025: Regular readers of my updates will not be surprised to see a Metro funding bill included here. In 2018, our region came together to support dedicated capital funding to rebuild our Metro system. And it worked. The system is in far better shape today than it was five years ago. But the regional commitment of $500 million has not kept up with inflation and this legislation would re-base Maryland’s commitment to account for inflation and peg it for future 3% growth increments, all contingent on our regional partners doing the same. Senator Malcolm Augustine is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.
 
Franchise Reform Act: Franchising is the system by which a successful business can replicate their idea with independent ownership. If you think about McDonald’s, some of the stores are owned by the McDonald’s Corporation but many are owned by individual franchisees who have to follow certain requirements of the Franchisor (the McDonald’s Corporation). Maryland has one of the toughest franchising laws in the country, making it difficult for Franchisors to expand their concepts and for small business owner franchisees to access these concepts. The regulatory regime is well meaning to protect potential franchisees from being taken advantage of, but I believe Maryland can be more friendly to these new business concepts, a concern brought to me by several constituents. The bill would pilot a new system for franchisors to file their paperwork with the state and make other changes to our franchising regulatory regime.
 
Affordable Housing Payments in Lieu of Taxes Expansion Act: Working with our county partners, this legislation would expand an existing state program that allows housing projects meeting certain affordability requirements to pay no or discounted property taxes. In Montgomery County, more of these projects involve maintaining affordability for existing naturally occurring affordable housing that would otherwise be redeveloped to higher market rates. The legislation would allow these types of projects to benefit from the program and keep more housing affordable. Senator Shelly Hettleman is bringing the bill forward in the Senate.
 
Conflicts of Interest Act: The committee I chair has jurisdiction over our state ethics laws. Several disturbing stories have come out regarding how the former Governor did not recuse himself from matters that clearly impacted the private business he still owned. This legislation would strengthen the state’s rules around blind trusts and non-participation requirements to ensure our governors are acting on behalf of the state and not their private interests. Senator Brian Feldman, chair of the Senate committee of jurisdiction, is sponsoring the Senate version of this bill.
 
School Board Member Antibias Training Act: Last year, the General Assembly passed Ways and Means Chair Vanessa Atterbeary’s bill requiring school employees to undergo anti-bias training, including training related to anti-semitism. I was surprised to learn that school board members are not considered school employees and, therefore, were not included. This legislation closes that loophole and requires school board members around the state to go through the same training. I understand that our own county school board is doing some voluntary training, but this sets the law for all to follow. Chair Feldman is also cross-filing this legislation.
 
Local Board of Elections Transparency Act: For several years, Senator Cheryl Kagan and I have advanced transparency legislation including at the State Board of Elections to require public posting of agendas and live web streaming of meetings. This year, we are proposing to expand those requirements to local Boards of Elections including for when they canvass ballots, as was done during COVID.
 
Automated Enforcement Privacy Protections: 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.
 
Specially Designed Vintage Reproduction Registration Plates: If you ever see me driving, you know I do not even use my special General Assembly plates to say nothing of the plates you can buy with a Baltimore Oriole logo or a nice picture to support the state Agricultural Trust or Bay Foundation. But I believe Marylanders who want to pay extra should have these options and am partnering with Senator Folden to allow Marylanders to purchase vintage plates that were in use 100 years ago.
 
State Mineral Act: Picking up the mantle from former Delegate Bill Frick, Senator Craig Zucker and I are championing my constituent’s initiative to have Chromite declared the state mineral. Chromite was first discovered in the United States in Maryland and is an industrial metal. 
 
STAY CONNECTED
If you click reply to this email (this email or any weekly email from me), a return message comes directly to me and I welcome your feedback, questions, or comments anytime. You can also email me at [email protected] or call me on my cell phone at 240-447-1175. I post regularly on Facebook (Marc.Korman.Campaign), Twitter/X (@mkorman), and Threads (@marc_korman).
The Maryland General Assembly website has many great resources if you are interested in following our work over the next 90 days.  I will highlight just a few:
The general schedule is available here.
You can look up legislation and track its progress here.  Every bill introduced by the bill introduction deadline is guaranteed a hearing and before the hearing, a fiscal and policy note about the bill will be published.
You can view the Committee Schedule, which will be regularly updated, here.
I also recommend a few different news resources for those of you interested in the legislature.  In addition to the Washington Post and Baltimore Banner, there are three websites that specialize in coverage of Annapolis:
Maryland Reporter: http://marylandreporter.com/
Maryland Matters: https://marylandmatters.org/
Center Maryland: http://www.centermaryland.org/ 

LEGISLATIVE SESSION PREP I joined the I Hate Politics Podcast to preview one of the major issues of the legislative session, the project budget shortfall. You can listen to the episode here.
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Pre-filed legislation--bills introduced before the legislature convenes--are now available online. Find the House bills here and the Senate bills here. This year, the House Environment & Transportation Committee I chair has the second highest number of pre-filed bills assigned to it among the House committees.
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I have previously shared the 2025 legislative session issue papers prepared by the Department of Legislative Services, but as a reminder, you can find them here. 

OFFICE CORNERLast legislative session, I shared a book about Maryland politics and history each week of the legislative session. This year, I thought I would share something from my Annapolis office in each of my emails. This is a bit more self-indulgent compared to book recommendations but after several years in various Annapolis offices, I have some fun stuff on my shelves and walls. You should come visit me in it but, for now, I can share these tidbits. First up is my bookshelf of Maryland politics and history, featuring many of the volumes I shared last legislative session.

Dear Friend:
The Maryland General Assembly will convene for the annual 90-day legislative session on January 10th. My newsletter will transition to its weekly format during the legislative session.
Sometimes I am asked about this newsletter. Do I write it myself? I do but I have two helpful proofreaders in my aide and my mother (thanks Conor and mom!). When do I find time to write it? I regularly drop material in an email draft during the month (for the nine months the General Assembly is not in session) or week (for the 12 or so weeks the General Assembly is in session) to make it easier to assemble. Have I ever missed a month or week? I don't think so but it could happen anytime. Although I started the newsletter prior to getting elected, it is actually inspired by former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's constituent newsletter which he wrote himself and did not start doing until two years into his first term. For a while, he addressed those letters "Dear Yorker" using a 19th century term. If anyone knows of an equivalent historic Maryland term I should use every once in a while, let me know.
In any event, my family and I wish you all happy and healthy holidays!

DISTRICT 16 MEETING
​On Saturday, January 4th at 4pm, we will participate in an in-person legislative send-off with the District 16 Democratic Club at the Carderock Springs Swim & Tennis Club. I hope to see you there.

BUDGET UPDATE
The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates (BRE) recently met to update their budget projections. These figures set up fiscal year 2026 (July 2025-June 2026) budget negotiations next year. The estimate was a conservative one, with a small increase in income tax revenue this fiscal year based on year-to-date reporting but mostly holding next year steady because of the uncertainty of the impacts on our local economy from federal government changes by the incoming administration. Even with this write-up in revenue, a large budget deficit is expected for the next fiscal year that will need to be balanced.
You can watch the meeting here. And you can read the presentation here.
In part based on the work of the BRE, the General Assembly's Spending Affordability Committee has met to set the parameters for the budget. That meeting can be watched here and the presentation reviewed here. The major recommendations include balancing the structural budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, getting ahead on the future structural deficits, flat funding the capital (construction) budget unless certain conditions are met, and increasing transportation system preservation funding beyond what is currently planned.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
For bills that affect only Montgomery County or Montgomery and Prince George's County, we hold fall bill hearings. I am the sponsor of the WSSC Reform and Transparency Act to bring some sunshine and changes to our water utility. You can watch my local hearing testimony here and more information about the bill is available here.
The complete bill hearings held over two nights can be watched here and here.
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​In 2023, I sponsored legislation to review the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority and whether it should continue. The legislation developed out of a bipartisan commission formed by then-Governor Hogan to review quasi-governmental entities. You can read the sunset review report from the Department of Legislative Service's Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability here.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE 
Last legislative session, the House Environment & Transportation Committee worked on a bill that became law from Senator Jeff Waldstreicher and Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr to bring some much-needed accountability to our state’s work on Vision Zero, our goal to reduce auto traffic related fatalities and protect drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The bill requires public meetings of the state’s Vision Zero Committee and has the committee review and vote to accept the infrastructure reviews conducted after fatalities.
You can watch the first public meeting here. And you can learn more about the legislation setting this up here.
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A provision of the state budget requires bimonthly reports from the Maryland Transit Administration on the Purple Line’s progress. The November report is here. The key charts showing progress by component and the milestone schedule are unchanged from the last report

COMMUNITY NEWS
Congratulations to Judge Catherine McQueen, a new Montgomery
​County Circuit Court Judge.

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Congratulations to Bethesda's Michelle Buteau on being appointed to the Montgomery County Commission on Women.
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David Schardt of Bethesda has been appointed to the Montgomery County Sports Advisory Committee. Congratulations David!
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Congratulations to Stacey Band and Matt Gordon on being reappointed to the Downtown Bethesda Implementation Advisory Committee.
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District 16 residents Connie Morella--a former Member of Congress, Ambassador, and state Delegate--and Gareth Murray--also a former state Delegate--have been selected for the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame. Learn more here.

The morning after the election, I shared this message on social media:
     Congratulations to all of last night’s winners from school board on up.
     And thanks to all of the candidates who did not make it but put themselves out  there to make their 
​      town, county, state, and/or nation a better place.
I am sure many of you were thrilled by some results and dismayed by others. Readers of my emails know where I stand and who I support. Typically, the local school board races have more of a direct impact on a lot of our lives than the presidential race--as important as our national leader is. But the incoming president's approach could mean turbulent times for Maryland. Even if you are not a federal employee, our area is a "company town" and that company is the federal government. Many jobs around here are direct federal or military jobs, involve federal contracting, or are in some direct or indirect way tied to the federal government (more on that in the economic update below). Moreover, I think of this quote from General James Mattis in 2020:
     “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the        American people        —does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us”
Hopefully, the second term will be different than the first but based on the announced plans and appointees so far, I am not optimistic. What this means for our federal workers, funding for Maryland priorities like rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, relocating the FBI to Maryland, and so on remains to be seen.
All of that said, this is a good time to put national politics out of mind and enjoy your families and Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving!
UPCOMING DISTRICT 16 MEETINGS
There are two upcoming dates to engage with me and the rest of the District 16 Team.
On Monday, December 2nd at 7:30am, we will be online with the Bethesda Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club to talk about the upcoming legislative session and take questions. Email [email protected] for the meeting link.
Then on Saturday, January 4th at 4pm, we will be participating in an in-person legislative send-off with the District 16 Democratic Club at the Carderock Springs Swim & Tennis Club. I hope to see you there.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
​Every year the non-partisan Department of Legislative Services publishes Issue Papers that explain some of the key matters the General Assembly will deal with next legislative session.
Read the 2025 Issue Papers here.
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The House Environment and Transportation Committee that I chair recently held a briefing with Attorney General Anthony Brown on the state's legal claims related to the Francis Scott Key Bridge. In September, Maryland filed a suit for damages against the owners of the cargo vessel that crashed into the bridge. You can watch the hearing here.
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Each fall the Montgomery County Delegation has a series of meetings virtually and in Rockville to lead into the next legislative session. Two of the meetings have already occurred.
The first meeting is our annual meeting with the Maryland Department of Transportation about the transportation budget's impact on Montgomery County. You can watch the District 16-specific comments here. The full meeting is also online.
The second meeting is the Joint Priorities hearing, sometimes referred to as Open Mic Night It is a chance for constituents to tell the 35 member Montgomery County House and Senate Delegations what you want us to work on. You can watch this year's hearing here.
The remaining two meetings relate to local and bicounty bills that will be considered by the Montgomery County Delegation. These bills are now available online and either impact only Montgomery County or our bicounty entities such as Park & Planning. The bills are here. As shown in the graphic below, bill hearings will be on December 9th and 16th.
I am the sponsor of the WSSC Transparency and Reform Act to make changes to WSSC governance and processes and provide for further review of how WSSC functions. You can read it here.

BUDGET UPDATE
​The Spending Affordability Committee met for its first of two annual meetings recently. I used to chair this special committee that sets the guidelines for our annual budget process. The first of the two meetings is the annual update on the state economic and budget outlook.
You can watch the full briefing here: https://tinyurl.com/4x55pmcx
And read the full report here: https://tinyurl.com/ysjpz956
I like to share the good, the bad and the ugly so I will say this was not a good report. We will tackle it and have our usual balanced budget but there are some clouds ahead.
First, overall growth in the state is not strong although we have a healthy--if stagnant--underlying economy with a low unemployment rate. The data on private sector jobs is contradictory and the Department of Legislative Services believes that data will be revised upward (Pages 1-3 of the report).
Second, the budget outlook is poor with large structural deficits. Unlike the federal government, we do not run an operating deficit each year but even when we balance for the current budget year, future structural deficits may remain depending on what tools we used to balance the budget. What is driving the budget deficits is, largely, major investments including in pre-K through 12 education. We are not seeing budget write-downs or unexpected costs, this is the cost of a major investment we have made to make our schools much better (Pages 13-18 of the report).
Third, one of the storm clouds is the impact the Trump II presidency may have on a state very reliant on federal jobs and contracts. Lots of unknowns there at this point (Page 4 of the report).
Fourth, we made some transportation revenue increases last year that have been successful in raising funds and avoiding some of the worst cuts to transportation, although the overall problem is far from solved to even do the currently planned construction program to say nothing of other major investments people want (Pages 21-25 of the report)
Fifth, our state staffing crisis continues with an overall double digit vacancy rate. One piece of good news is some agencies are doing much better. In October of 2022, for example, the Department of Transportation had a 10.6% vacancy rate. Now it is 6.8% (Page 36 of the report).
Sixth, our capital (construction) budget plans are within the state's debt affordability limits, which is good news (Page 26 of the report).
There is a lot more in the report and presentation for any wonks interested in diving in.
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
Metro recently advanced the Better Bus Network, a revenue neutral bus network redesign. One of the examples of adjustments made to the plan based on feedback was keeping the J2 (soon to be M70) on its current alignment and not cut off service to existing riders.
The Maplewood community in particular raised concerns about losing service. We worked with the State Highway Administration and County Department of Transportation on signal and sign changes at Cedar and Wisconsin to allow the current route to continue in use.
The J2 line supports an average of 5,287 riders on weekdays, 3,940 riders on Saturdays, and 3,004 riders on Sundays according to Metro data.
The full Metro packet on the Better Bus Network is here for those who are interested.

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A Corridor Needs Analysis for River Road/MD-190 has been released by the State Highway Administration. Go to this site and scroll down to “Summer 2024 - MD 190 Needs Analysis” to review the short, medium, and long term recommendations. A virtual meeting will be hosted by the District 16 legislators and Councilmember Friedson with the State Highway Administration on Tuesday, December 17th at 6pm. RSVP here to get the link to the meeting.
The segment of River Road covered is Springfield to Little Falls Pkwy. That does not mean other segments don’t warrant this type of safety review but this was a place to start because of several deaths—including Sarah Langenkamp and Marge Wydro—and other incidents.

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The bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road have generated a lot of concern and controversy. Ultimately, State Highway installed them as a safety feature not only for cyclists but also to create a buffer between car traffic and the sidewalks in the aftermath of the deaths of two young people along the road. Recognizing the community concern, the General Assembly asked the State Highway Administration to prepare and submit an update report on the lanes, which you can read here.
COMMUNITY NEWS
On December 4th at 6pm, the National Park Service will hold a virtual meeting regarding Glen Echo Park. Here is the meeting link.

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Park & Planning will host a virtual meeting on the Friendship Heights Sector Plan Update on December 3rd, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Zoom, RSVP to receive a meeting link and find more information at: montgomeryplanning.org/fhsp.
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Park & Planning is working on a refresh of Merrimac Neighborhood Park, something the District 16 legislators obtained funding for in the state budget. Read the latest on the project here.
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District 16 resident Ben Ross recently published an article about the manipulation of traffic models in project planning. Read the article here.
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Congratulations to Friendship Heights Mayor Melanie Rose White on being inducted into the Maryland Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
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Several District 16 residents have been appointed or re-appointed to County Boards and Commissions. Congratulations to:
-Frances Marshall, Board of Social Services  
-Constance Mordecai, Commission on Children and Youth
-Ellyce Butuyan, Commission on Children and Youth
-David B. Lieb, Bethesda Downtown Plan Advisory Panel
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And congratulations to District 16's Rose Li on being named the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Leader of the Year.

It's time to vote!

Of course, you can also vote on Election Day, Tuesday November 5th from 7am to 8pm. Find your polling place here.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
On October 22nd, the House Environment and Transportation Committee that I chair held a briefing on the Governor's recent executive order on climate pollution reduction and other issues the Maryland Department of Environment is working on. You can watch the briefing here.
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I had the opportunity to discuss some of the work of the House Environment & Transportation Committee recently. You can watch the interview here.
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I recently earned 100% on the Maryland League of Conservation Voters scorecard. You can read about the environmental initiatives they included here.
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Each fall the Montgomery County Delegation has a series of meetings virtually and in Rockville to lead into the next legislative session. Those meetings kick off tonight with the annual Consolidated Transportation Program presentation. Further information about the meetings is below

BUDGET UPDATEThe Board of Revenue estimates met at the end of September. Current year (fy25) estimates were increased $88m (corporate tax and interest income largely driving the change). Next year's (fy26) first estimates assume .9% growth in general fund.
Keep in mind, General Fund is important but we have lots of special funds and more sales tax and lottery revenue has been directed towards them. But sales tax growth has been slow. Interest income, incidentally, is being redirected more to the general fund.
Review the full presentation here.
Watch the full meeting here.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
​Although not in our area, the Port of Baltimore is important to the entire state and region and was hit hard by the vessel that collided into--and collapsed--the Francis Scott Key Bridge. I have been monitoring the Port's recovery and thought others might be interested.
August numbers for the Maryland Port Administration are now up. The good news is that there is a sustained recovery including on lagging container traffic. A few smaller categories, however, are down from last month. This should all improve more as the labor situation becomes more clear.
Data source: https://mpa.maryland.gov/Pages/cargo-stats.aspx

​COMMUNITY NEWS
​Montgomery County Public Schools recently released its new Capital Improvement Plan. You can read it here.
So what is important for District 16 to know?
The Radnor Center off of Bradley Blvd continues to have no planned uses. The school system has done some work to clean this site up and fix up the playground for local use but it is time to make some long term decisions about this virtually abandoned building.
In the BCC Cluster, Bethesda Elementary is 84 students over capacity--my daughter's second grade has 30 kids--while the adjacent Somerset is 237 under capacity. These differences continue into the out years where no other school in the cluster but one is over capacity.
The Board of Education proposed a capacity study for elementary schools in this cluster and WJ but the funds have been pushed to the out years so no change is in sight.
BCC Is also part of the boundary study for the new Woodward High School on Old Georgetown Road. And HVAC dollars have been included for Westland.
In the Churchill cluster, the biggest challenge is high school capacity. Churchill is part of the boundary study for the new Crown High School in Gaithersburg.
In the WJ cluster, capacity challenges include the high school--the new Woodward will help considerably--North Bethesda, Ashburton (where my son used to go!), and Farmland. As noted above, the WJ cluster is part of a future elementary planning study with BCC. Funds are also proposed to add an auditorium to Woodward.
Whitman is part of the new Woodward boundary study. A study for Burning Tree capital expansion has been included. Also funding for further Whitman HVAC work is included.
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Montgomery County has launched a new composting program. For those in Bethesda, it means easy compost drop-off at the Bethesda Farmer's Market on Sundays. More information is here.

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Caroline Freeland Urban Park is reopening soon. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for November 9th at 2pm to 3:30pm, but they will have a “soft opening” prior to the ribbon cutting when the public has access to the park before its official opening. More details on the changes here.
As Montgomery County Parks explained to me:
“The construction period was lengthy for this project but for good reason. During construction, the crew discovered utility lines on the site that were not on any maps. They also discovered structures from previous buildings that were unknown prior to digging. These things are not unheard of in urban environments, but they take time to work around. More recently, several weeks of consistent rain has delayed work.”
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For those of you in or near Friendship Heights, there is a prescription drug drop off on Saturday, October 26th.

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Several District 16 residents have been appointed to County Boards and Commissions:
Kevin Beverly, Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity
Elaine Binder, Friendship Heights Transportation Management District Advisory Committee
Gretchen Blankenship, Board of Education Compensation Commission
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Two District 16 residents have been named Daily Record Icon award winners: Judge Irma Raker and former University of Maryland School of Law Dean Karen Rothenberg.
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District 16 resident Whitney Ellenby did a TedX talk on the Autism Ambassadors program she runs. Watch it here.
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Congratulations to Bruce Adams, recipient of the AARP Maryland Andrus Award for Community Service.

Dear Friend:
Over the summer, my legislative office has had some big changes.
After about six years with me in a few different capacities, my Chief of Staff, Joseph Swit, has moved on to another great opportunity in state government. Joseph has been an incredible help as I transitioned across different roles and committees over the past few years, making sure all of those changes were seamless and my legislative agenda progressed. He was also outstanding at dealing with constituent service cases, including the many unemployment cases we helped navigate people through during the height of COVID and numerous complex matters with the State Highway Administration. Thank you Joseph!
And after working for me at various times in different roles since 2016, the Environment & Transportation Committee Secretary Rebecca Stryer has gone on to continue her education. JFK’s aide and speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, was referred to as his frontal lobe and while I’m no JFK, Rebecca has been my frontal lobe particularly for the past two years in the Majority Leader’s office—always making sure I was ready to jump up to discuss a bill—and on the committee—especially helping us navigate transportation funding challenges and solutions. Thank you Rebecca!

 
2024 ELECTION
 
The 2024 General Election is fast approaching. The local drop boxes for ballots that we have all become familiar with since the pandemic have popped up and ones around District 16 are listed below. If you need reminders about mail-in voting, here is information on the State Board of Election website. By the way, if you apply to vote by mail, I highly recommend that you choose to receive the ballot by mail and not email delivery. Email delivery is convenient but it requires you to print your own ballot and--after you mail it back in--the Board of Elections needs to copy it over to a standard ballot for counting which slows down the overall process.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 
Each fall, the Montgomery County Delegation to the General Assembly holds a series of meetings as we prepare for the next legislative session. These include a meeting with the Maryland Department of Transportation; a priorities hearing where residents can tell us what they want us to work on; and bill hearings on local legislation. The schedule is below.

I am pleased to announce that I scored 100% on the Humane Society Legislative Fund scorecard. I am even more excited that both House of Delegates-scored bills went through the Environment & Transportation Committee that I chair.
The methodology and list of bills can be found here.

BUDGET UPDATE
 
The Comptroller of Maryland released the fiscal year 2024 close-out report recently. With all of the accounting done, there is a $479.5m surplus which can be applied to future expenses. Read the full report.

 
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
 
The formal transportation budget process kicked off at the beginning of September with the release of the draft capital program. You can read the document here. Although actions the General Assembly took last year mitigated some of the worst potential cuts to local road and transit aide, there is still a significant funding shortfall impacting the transportation budget and freezing most programs.
You can hear me discuss the transportation budget in a bit more detail on the I Hate Politics Podcast here.
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A provision in the state budget requires the Maryland Transit Administration to submit Purple Line progress reports every other month. The key charts are below (the milestones are unchanged from the last report) and here is the full report.
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The Maryland Port Administration recently posted their July 2024 data for their public terminals—the first full month the port was reopened. Here is data comparing July 2024 to the previous four months of affected operations (March-June 2024), the last full month of regular operations (February 2024), and July 2023 (to address seasonal variations).
The good news: the Port is recovering. Autos, Steel, and Forest Products exceed July 2023. The bad news is nothing else equals or exceeds July 2023, especially containers which are a plurality of overall tonnage and have a long road back ahead (they are at 60% year-over-year). The source of the information is here.

​COMMUNITY NEWS
 
-Congratulation to District 16's John D. Brewer, Jr. on his appointment to the Maryland Port Commission. You can read about the appointment here.
-Two District 16 residents are winning awards from Potomac Community Resources: Joseph Leasure, Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award, and Anna Carter Sullivan, Outstanding Adult Volunteer.
-Congratulations to Todd Rosenberg, who is receiving the Sara and Samuel Lessans Community Leadership Award from the Jewish Community Relations Counsel of Greater Washington.
-Several District 16 residents have been appointed or re-appointed to county boards and commissions over the past month: Maura Lynch (Domestic Violence Coordinating Council); Lavontte Chatmon (Domestic Violence Coordinating Council); Kavita Battula (Solid Waste Advisory Committee); and Michael Goldman (Washington Suburban Transit Commission).
-Congratulations to Anne Derse, a Moco360 Women Who Inspires. Read about it here.
-Bruce Adams is this year's recipient of the Community Service Award from the Bernie Scholarship Awards Program. Congratulations Bruce!

​Dear Friend:
Happy first day back to school for all of the Montgomery County Public School students, including my daughter who started second grade at Bethesda Elementary this morning. Time flies!
Every year I knock on doors in District 16--although during the height of COVID I just left constituent service guides on doorsteps. Occasionally, a social media troll barks that this is a waste of time and voters won't remember I was at the door the next time that I am on the ballot. But I am not just knocking on your doors to earn votes--although I will take them! This year, I am sharing information about Angela Alsobrooks--my candidate for Maryland's next U.S. Senator--and ballot question 1, which will place reproductive health protections in the state constitution. But I also knock on doors to hear directly from you about what issues you care about and want to see the Maryland General Assembly working on. So if you see me at your door, please open up and say hello! 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATEDistrict 16 has a new state legislator. State Delegate Teresa Woorman has been sworn in as my new colleague. Watch her swearing-in here.

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE
There has been some recent coverage of shoplifting trends in Downtown Bethesda. Overall, our area is very safe and has low crime but there has definitely been a post-COVID change that requires our attention and vigilance. I wrote about some of these public safety trends in a recent social media post and plan to update these statistics going forward. You can read the post here.
Our community also celebrated National Night Out last week and my thanks to local law enforcement, county government, and the Bethesda Urban Partnership for a successful event.

Dear Friend:
Happy first day back to school for all of the Montgomery County Public School students, including my daughter who started second grade at Bethesda Elementary this morning. Time flies!
Every year I knock on doors in District 16--although during the height of COVID I just left constituent service guides on doorsteps. Occasionally, a social media troll barks that this is a waste of time and voters won't remember I was at the door the next time that I am on the ballot. But I am not just knocking on your doors to earn votes--although I will take them! This year, I am sharing information about Angela Alsobrooks--my candidate for Maryland's next U.S. Senator--and ballot question 1, which will place reproductive health protections in the state constitution. But I also knock on doors to hear directly from you about what issues you care about and want to see the Maryland General Assembly working on. So if you see me at your door, please open up and say hello! 

 


 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 
District 16 has a new state legislator. State Delegate Teresa Woorman has been sworn in as my new colleague. Watch her swearing-in here.

 
PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE
There has been some recent coverage of shoplifting trends in Downtown Bethesda. Overall, our area is very safe and has low crime but there has definitely been a post-COVID change that requires our attention and vigilance. I wrote about some of these public safety trends in a recent social media post and plan to update these statistics going forward. You can read the post here.
Our community also celebrated National Night Out last week and my thanks to local law enforcement, county government, and the Bethesda Urban Partnership for a successful event.

 


 
 

 
COMMUNITY EVENTS
-On Wednesday, September 4 at 6:30pm, Montgomery County Department of Transportation will host an online forum related to improvements at Bradley Boulevard and Wilson Lane. You can register here.
-Montgomery County Planning is continuing their work on the Bethesda Downtown Plan Minor Master Plan Amendment. As a reminder, the County's 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan required a "check-in" when the area got to 30 million square feet of development--approaching a cap of 32.4 million square feet. The Planning Board recently approved the scope of work for that check-in (known as a Minor Master Plan Amendment). Another series of meetings is coming up on that process:
Wednesday, September 11, at 7 p.m. in the large meeting room at the Connie Morella Library (7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD)
Tuesday, September 17, at 7 p.m. (Virtual). RVSPs are required to receive a meeting link.
Saturday, September 21, at 11 a.m. at Chevy Chase Town Hall (4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD)
-The Montgomery County Council is taking up Planning Board recommended Attainable Housing Strategies. You can read more about the proposals here. The Council is holding a series of listening sessions on this plan, including one in our area on Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD – Wisconsin Room).

 
COMMUNITY NEWS
-Congratulations to our State Senator, Sara Love, on being named a Maryland League of Conservation Voters Changemaker.
-The Friendship Heights Alliance has issued its 2024 Market Report. Learn about all of the action and activity in Friendship Heights here.
-Congratulations to District 16 Democratic stalwarts Gene Granof and Eliot Greenwald on being named the Montgomery County Democratic Party's Jack Dean and Helen Peacock Precinct Officials of the Year and Devang Shah on being named the Democrat of the Year.
-Congratulations to Vivian Bass on winning the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award for her decades of volunteer and philanthropic work in the Jewish community. Read more here.
-Congratulations to District 16's Deb Miller on being appointed by the Maryland Attorney General to the Maryland Hate Crimes Commission.
-District 16's Chris Palmer has published a new book: Achieving a Good Death: A Practical Guide to the End of Life. Learn more and pre-order a copy here. 

​Dear Friend:
My last update was on June 24th and a lot has happened since then in our politics.
First, the former president faced an assassination attempt. No clear motive has been assigned yet--and recall that both President Reagan and Congresswoman Giffords were shot for apolitical reasons (although we do not know what happened here yet)--but violence is never the answer in the United States to any political disagreements.
Second, President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him. The events are still unfolding, but as a political history nerd, the 24 hours that followed President Biden's announcement brought to mind events from 1956 for me. At that year's Democratic Convention, the nominee Adlai Stevenson announced that he was throwing the choice of Vice President to the convention delegates. What followed was 24 hours of hectic organizing and whipping by the aspirants including John F. Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Al Gore, Sr. and, the eventual winner, Estes Kefauver. Vice President Harris probably had the most exciting 24 hours of organizing in presidential politics since then.
And closer to home, the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee selected Teresa Woorman to succeed Sara Love as a District 16 Delegate. Her name is now awaiting action by Governor Moore. You can read about her selection here.
 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
A large number of the bills passed each legislative session become effective on July 1st (also the start of the fiscal year).  You can see a list of such laws here.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
 Last week, the Transportation Planning Board (a regional board on which I serve) awarded $1.2 million in federal Carbon Reduction Program funds for preliminary engineering of River Road improvements in the area where Sarah Langenkamp was killed in a bike lane.  Below is the scope of that work from the State Highway Administration (SHA).
Scope of Work for Preliminary Engineering (MD 190 between Brookside Drive and Little Falls Parkway) 
Near-Term Improvements
Potential improvement options throughout Segment 2 target improvements at intersections, including upgrading pavement markings, improving signal timings for vehicular and pedestrian safety, and improving awareness of bicyclists with signing installation. These potential signal timing improvements include lengthening the allotted time for pedestrians to cross MD 190 and lengthening the timing for vehicles to clear through the intersection after the light turns green.
At the time of this analysis, the intersection of MD 190 at Brookside Drive was a three-legged intersection with the south leg closed due to the construction of Westbard Avenue. The intersection contains high volumes of pedestrians and bicyclists and will need to be evaluated once the south leg is reopened to traffic.
Potential segment improvements include separating parked vehicles at businesses by providing a separating system, such as flex posts, at key locations where turning conflicts are present. To keep bicycle lanes clear, restricting vehicles from parking on the roadway to load/unload may be considered.
Mid-Term Improvements
The intersection of MD 190 at Kenwood Station is a pedestrian generator with direct access to the shopping center on the north leg. To protect non-motorists, potential treatment options include restricting right turns on red from the shopping center to avoid conflicts with pedestrians within the crosswalk, modifying signal timings to allow more crossing time for pedestrians, and installing a hardened centerline to slow down turning vehicles into the shopping center. All potential improvements shall be studied further prior to implementation.
There are opportunities for mid-term improvements at the uncontrolled crosswalk under the Capital Crescent Trail bridge, including realigning the crosswalk and providing a median refuge to create a shorter crossing distance and providing pushbuttons and pedestrian hybrid beacons to provide a protected crossing. Challenges for the development of this mid-term improvement include utility conflicts and maintaining driveway access for businesses.
Several improvement options could be implemented throughout the whole segment, including relocating obstructions within the sidewalk to maximize sidewalk width for pedestrian comfort, modifying the existing bicycle lane to a buffered bicycle lane (connecting to Segment 1) by reducing lane widths and providing space between vehicular traffic and bicycle traffic, and reducing the speed limit within the segment and further east to slow down vehicles thereby improving safety for all road users.
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As a result of language in the state budget, the Maryland Transit Administration submits a bimonthly progress report on the Purple Line. The summary charts are below and there has been no change to the milestone schedule since the last report. The full report is available here.

​BUDGET UPDATE 
When the General Assembly is not in session, the Board of Public Works (Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer) have limited authority to make budget reductions. A few weeks ago, $150 million in reductions were posted and then voted on seven days later. You can review the changes here.
These budget reductions used to occur in the dark and the public would not know what the cuts were until after they were made. But bills I sponsored made this process transparent with seven day notice and line item detail of the reductions proposed.
Many of the programs facing reductions are ones I support, like housing vouchers. But we must maintain a balanced budget in Maryland which means difficult choices and setting priorities. In this case, we found that Medicaid (healthcare for those in need) and childcare programs were oversubscribed, so these cuts were made to shift the money to support these programs.

COMMUNITY NEWS
The County's 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan required a "check-in" when the area got to 30 million square feet of development--approaching a cap of 32.4 million square feet. The Planning Board recently approved the scope of work for that check-in (known as a Minor Master Plan Amendment).
You can read the full document here.
You can watch the presentation and Planning Board consideration here (starts at 5:15:13).
A series of community meetings are also being held:
Tuesday, July 30, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the large meeting room at the Connie Morella Library (7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD).
Wednesday, August 14, at 7 p.m. (Virtual). RVSPs are required to receive a meeting link.
Saturday, August 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Chevy Chase Town Hall (4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD).
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Long-time Democratic Precinct Official--and, personally, one of my earliest supporters--Jon Weintraub recently passed away. Jon had a long career in the federal government both on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Education. Learn more about Jon here.
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Congratulations to District 16's Kavita Mohan and James Montgomery on their appointment and re-appointment to the Montgomery County Library Board.
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And congratulations to former County Councilmember and Bethesda resident Bruce Adams on winning the Montgomery Serves Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award. Learn more about it here.

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.

And you can watch last week's full District 16 town hall here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
​Governor Moore has finished bill signings for legislation passed in the 2024 session. You can review the complete list of bills he signed into law here: https://governor.maryland.gov/news/Pages/bill-signings.aspx
I am pleased that the signed bills included the following legislation of which I was the primary author:
Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Act of 2024 to clarify the rules for vehicle charging equipment in condo, homeowners association, and co-op communities.
Maryland Metro Funding Act of 2024 to allow Maryland to contribute more to our area Metro system as part of a regional agreement.
The Washington Suburban Transit Commission Reform Act to reform the bi-county agency that oversees and works with the Metro.
Open-Source Phonics Matching Grant Program Act to establish a small grant program that will allow parents, tutors, and others to access free reading education materials.
Port of Baltimore Renaming renaming--in state law--the Port of Baltimore after its champion, Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley.
I worked on many other successful pieces of legislation during the 2024 legislative session, but these are the bills that I primarily sponsored which are now law.
I am also pleased that among the bills Governor Moore signed, 228 were within the jurisdiction of the Environment and Transportation Committee that I chair. Here are some highlights of the committee's work.

​Part of my work as a state Delegate is to serve in my county's legislative delegation, which I used to chair. So I am proud to highlight some of our Montgomery County Delegation highlights for 2024 including new continuous funding for the Institute of Health Computing in North Bethesda.

The Joint Chairs Report summarizes the General Assembly’s work on the state budget. It is also an important oversight tool as it allows us to require the executive agencies and departments to provide information and reports. You can read the complete “JCR” here.
This year, my committee and I worked with our Appropriations Committee colleagues to maintain the bimonthly Purple Line progress reports, track our zero emission vehicle goals, make sure our toll authority has bike and pedestrian options, address out of state license plates, and much more.

POLITICAL UPDATE
Since my last email, Maryland held its primary election. I spent the day traveling to 32 polling places around District 16 and it was great to see so any advocates and activists working the polls and many residents going into vote, even as early voting and vote by mail has diverted many election day participants. Congratulations to all of those going on to the November election.
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If you were unable to attend my annual fundraiser with Governor Moore and Speaker Jones, you can see some of the Governor's remarks here and some of my comments here.  Thank you to so many supporters who attended. You can always support my political efforts online.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
Metro is redesigning their bus network, which has around 440,000 boardings per weekday right now. These changes do not impact the RideOn bus service in the county but do implicate MetroBus, which is any bus that starts with a letter like the J2 or T2 (the two MetroBus routes I typically hear about from constituents). If you are a rider or are otherwise interested, be sure to check out the informative webpage and provide feedback:
https://betterbus.wmata.com/
The J2 essentially stays intact as the new M70 (routes are being re-designated and the M stands for Maryland).
The T2 (renamed M82) will look different: It will still connect Friendship Heights to Potomac but instead of running all the way to the Rockville Metro, its end point will be the Twinbrook Metro.
And note that there are bus stops slated for elimination/consolidation under Metro's guidelines. These stops should all have other stops nearby that will be served but check out the changes here.
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Thanks to a provision in the state budget, every other month we receive a report from the Maryland Transit Administration on the Purple Line's progress. The most recent report is available here and a progress chart is below.

COMMUNITY NEWS
​Several District 16 residents have been named to County Boards and Commissions since my last update, including:
-Mark Rittenberg, Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board
-Mary Anne Keeffe, Rodrigo Figueroa, and Jeffrey Slavin, Committee Evaluation and Review Board
-Cherian Thomas, Bethesda Urban Partnership
-Barbara Hoover, Rustic Roads Advisory Committee
-Ronald Aizer, Revenue Authority
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Congratulations to the Montgomery County Council of PTAs President of the Year, Janelle Mizera, for her work as president of the Luxmanor Elementary PTA.
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The Sulam Ambassdor Award went to Marcy and David Sussman. Congratulations!
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If you know of a District 16 resident who deserves recognition, please let me know by clicking reply.

The 2024 Maryland legislative session has now concluded. The legislative session was a challenging yet productive one marked by some substantial budget challenges and the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge because of a vessel collision. I also took on a new role as Chair of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, one of just six standing committees in the House of Delegates. In this position, I had the opportunity to work closely with my seatmate, Delegate Sara Love, who is a member of the committee. The newest member of the District 16 team, Delegate Sarah Wolek, completed her first full legislative session, representing our constituents well on the Appropriations Committee. There will also be some changes to the District 16 Delegation over the interim. State Senator Ariana Kelly announced that she will be leaving the legislature in May for an exciting new opportunity at the Maryland Commission for Women. Thank you to Senator Kelly for her years of service to District 16.
Below is a synopsis of some key highlights from the legislative session. We work on thousands of bills each legislative session so if an issue you care about is not addressed here, please email me about it at [email protected]. You can also attend the District 16 virtual town hall on May 19th by registering here: bit.ly/D16-05-19-24

Education
Ensuring Maryland students receive a quality education has remained one of my top priorities, and this session, the Maryland General Assembly took additional steps to improve our education system. As described below, the annual state budget fully funds our education formulas to support pre-K through 12 education in Montgomery County.
I was also pleased to sponsor the Open-Source Phonics Matching Grant Program Act (HB 475), a grant program that works to support organizations who provide free open-source phonics materials that adults can use to tutor children. This legislation aims to address the state’s literacy rates and reading comprehension that continue to linger below pre-pandemic levels.
Education equips young Marylanders with the tools they need to understand and engage with the world around them. To achieve this goal, it is critical that students have access to a diverse range of authors and literary perspectives, especially those that are often marginalized. I proudly supported the Freedom to Read Act (HB 785), which prohibits the exclusion of reading materials in public schools and libraries based on the views of the author, or due to differences in partisan, ideological, or religious beliefs. 
Access to diverse educational materials is only part of the solution. In these turbulent times, it is important that our educators understand the complexity and diversity of our community. That is why I supported HB 1386, which requires the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to develop guidelines for an anti-bias training program for our school systems, including training on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
Firearm and Public Safety
With the continued prevalence of gun violence, I am proud to have supported many efforts this session to improve firearm safety in Maryland. I voted to establish a new organization under the Maryland Department of Health, the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention (HB 583). The Center will take an innovative public health approach towards reducing firearm violence, harm from firearm violence, and the misuse of firearms in the state. I also supported the Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2024 (HB 947) to create consequences for negligent conduct by the firearm industry that creates significant public safety concerns.  
Outside of measures to reduce gun violence, the General Assembly advanced legislation (HB 575) to support victims of crime by expanding the eligibility for, amount of, and types of awards that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board is authorized to make. I also supported the Juvenile Law Reform (HB 814), which alters procedures relating to juvenile arrests, complaints, probation and detention. We want to ensure we are treating juveniles fairly while also addressing juvenile criminal activity. Finally, I was proud to support HB 195, which creates a Purple Alert program to disseminate information to assist in locating a missing person who has a cognitive impairment, mental disorder, or intellectual or developmental disability. 
Budget Highlights
The one piece of legislation that we are constitutionally required to pass each year is a balanced budget. I was a member of the conference committee appointed to settle differences between the House and Senate budget proposals. This year’s budget includes:
Full funding for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education, including $1.1 billion in state support for Montgomery County Public Schools and advance funding of our public education reform program (the Blueprint for Maryland’s future) for the next several years.
$330 million in transportation funding to reduce the budget deficit and support our transportation system, including road maintenance, transit services, and funding to address the impacts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. 
$105 million in additional funding for Maryland’s trauma centers.
$90 million allocated towards the implementation of the Climate Solutions Now Act to help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Sufficient funding to maintain the state Rainy Day Fund at 7.5% of General Fund revenue.
The full actuarially required contribution to the state pension.
In District 16 and across Montgomery County, the capital–or construction–budget as passed includes:
$3 Million — New Entrance to the North Bethesda Metro Station
$150,000 — Renovation of Merrimac Neighborhood Park
$150,000 — Glen Echo Stormwater Restoration
$100,000 — Jewish Social Services Agency Mobile Mental Health Unit
$150,000 — Restoration of Bethesda Meeting House
$3 Million — Institute for Health Computing in North Bethesda
$440,000 — Disabilities Access for Diener School
$2.7 million for Walt Whitman High School upgrades.

​Environment, Energy, and Climate Change
In 2022, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Climate Solutions Now Act, which sets ambitious goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Meeting these goals is one of the major undertakings of my committee.
We took a step forward this year through the passage of HB 990, which expands greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements to the cement sector and narrows exemptions for other manufacturers. The manufacturing sector accounts for 10% of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, with cement production being the single largest contributor within that. 
Through the hard work of my seatmate Delegate Sara Love, the Department of Natural Resources is bolstered in their efforts to protect and improve the quality of state waterways. The Whole Watershed Act (HB 1165) establishes a fund and partnership program to accelerate restoration of the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays by providing grants and technical assistance for integrated efforts to address watershed pollution. With the passage of the Clean Water Justice Act of 2024 (HB 1101), we are also working to protect our waterways by establishing legal standing in state courts for private actors to sue for the violation of clean water laws. This measure restores waterway protections that were removed at the federal level due to the Supreme Court’s decision to narrow the applicability of the federal Clean Water Act. 
I am also proud to have sponsored and supported efforts making it easier for individuals to transition to an electric vehicle. Along with Senator Kelly, I introduced the Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Act of 2024 (HB 159) which builds on my previous work to facilitate the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for residents of common ownership communities and co-ops.
In order for the state to meet our climate goals, we will need to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the transition to clean energy sources for buildings throughout the state. This transition necessitates a deliberate, multi-faceted approach, which is why I supported revisions to the state’s EmPOWER program for low-income households to require electric companies, gas companies, and the state Department of Housing and Community Development to develop energy efficiency, conservation, demand response, and beneficial electrification measures that will enable them to meet their greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals (HB 864). The Environment and Transportation Committee also passed legislation to facilitate the installation of electric vehicle recharging equipment, solar energy equipment, and energy storage systems for condominium common elements (HB 216). 
We also need to ensure that Maryland’s electric companies are operating in the state’s best interest. The legislature invested in the transition to renewable energy sources through bills that establish funding opportunities for thermal energy network system pilot programs (HB 397), modify and expand our offshore wind energy program (HB 1296), and restructure solar energy incentives to optimize investment (SB 783).
Transportation Investment, Safety, and Accessibility
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)–our local Metro system–is facing an operating funding short-fall. This not only impacts Metro riders but our entire transportation system and economic health. The Moore Administration has stepped up with additional funds but this requires a change to our state law that currently caps the operating fund increases to Metro. I sponsored the Maryland Metro Funding Act of 2024 (HB 198), which temporarily lifts the operating cap to allow for the necessary funding increases. I also supported legislation that will study how to improve the Maryland Transit Administration’s paratransit service to ensure that transit is accessible for those with disabilities (HB 1199). 
Maintaining safety on the roads is one of my top priorities, as it is for many of you. I was proud to support the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Memorial Act (HB 337), cyclist safety legislation sponsored by Delegate Love in response to the death of Sarah Langenkamp on River Road. The Maryland Road Worker Protection Act (HB 513) protects roadway construction and maintenance workers and improves safety around work zones through the increased use of speed cameras and traffic enforcement. SB 345 establishes the Vision Zero Advisory Commission to study and advise the Department of Transportation on best practices to eliminate road deaths. This session, we also addressed the proliferation of dangerous and disruptive behavior on our roadways by establishing increased penalties for street racing and banning exhibition driving statewide (HB 601). Finally, noise pollution substantially impacts quality of life for many residents near major roadways. In response to concerns from constituents, the Montgomery and Prince George’s county delegations supported legislation authorizing the counties to establish a pilot program for noise abatement monitoring systems (HB 212).
Access to Health Care
Expanding access to health care has been a main focus for the Maryland General Assembly. This session, the legislature passed the Access to Care Act (HB 728), which allows those who do not have current legal residency status to purchase unsubsidized health care plans on the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. This policy will reduce the uninsured population in the state and help to stabilize insurance premiums. It will also reduce the strain on hospitals by minimizing emergency room visits.
The legislature also increased access to preventative care through HB 1259, which requires insurers to cover breast and lung cancer screening appointments. At a time in which access to reproductive health care is under attack across the country, the legislature took action with HB 367 to require that community colleges implement a plan to provide access to over-the-counter contraceptives for students. Finally, while Maryland has made progress in improving access to preventative care, we need to invest in our urgent care system as well. HB 1143 establishes a commission to review the state’s emergency department wait times, which are some of the highest in the nation, and recommend solutions.  
I was proud to support the Miriam Kelty Aging and Senior Social Connection Hub and Spoke Pilot Program (HB 1103), sponsored by Delegate Sarah Wolek,  to support seniors who choose to age in place by providing funding for the Montgomery County Village Consortium, which fosters social connections and coordinates neighbor-to-neighbor support.
Housing
My committee spent a significant amount of time this year on Governor Moore’s housing package. The Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act (HB 693) creates the Office of Tenant and Landlord Affairs, establishes a Tenants’ Bill of Rights, and increases the eviction filing fee to fund vital renter related programs, among other provisions. The Housing and Community Financing Act (HB 599) establishes the Maryland Community Investment Corporation as an independent unit in order to facilitate increased state investment in new housing and commercial property. Finally, the Housing Expansion and Affordability Act (HB 538) provides density bonuses for more housing for certain types of projects in areas that have received significant state investment, such as areas close to mass transit and state-owned campuses, and projects run by nonprofits. The House carefully refined this bill to ensure that it was narrowly targeted and would incentivize market-based projects from private developers and not just government-owned or subsidized projects. We also worked to limit the impact on single family home communities.
Workforce Development and Consumer Protection
This session, the General Assembly remained committed to expanding protections for Maryland’s workforce. I proudly supported HB 649, which builds upon existing pay equity policy by requiring employers to disclose certain salary information to improve wage transparency. The legislature also passed a measure to expand the information an employer must give to an employee for each pay period (HB 385). Finally, I supported efforts to strengthen anti-discrimination in employment by including protections based on sexual orientation (HB 602). 
Just as we strive to protect our workers, the legislature is also taking steps to protect consumers.  In our digitized era, private information is becoming exceptionally vulnerable and personal data is in need of another layer of defense. I was proud to support the Maryland Data Privacy Act of 2024 (HB 567), sponsored by Delegate Love, which establishes certain requirements or obligations for data processors to protect against the infringement of consumer privacy laws. I also supported the Maryland Kids Code (HB 603) to establish enhanced privacy protections for children, specifically within the online applications they are most likely to use. The legislature also took steps to improve transparency in commercial interactions. In response to reports about deceptive business practices by retail energy companies, SB 1 puts guardrails around the energy industry’s sales and marketing operations. The Gas Price Clarity Act (HB 882) improves price transparency by requiring retail service station signage to display the credit and debit price, especially if higher than the cash price. 
Francis Scott Key Bridge
The tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a cargo vessel collided with it has shaken the state. We mourn the loss of six construction workers and thank the brave first responders, including the Maryland Transportation Authority police that managed to minimize the loss of life by closing the bridge quickly.
State and federal agencies are working around the clock to remove the bridge debris and vessel so the channel can be cleared and the Port of Baltimore can reopen for business. Every day it is closed is an economic body blow on a macro scale but also results in unemployed dock workers. The legislature responded with the Maryland Port Act (HB 1526) which provides temporary relief programs for port employees and related businesses. 
Even when the port reopens, the region will face the reality of having lost a bridge that moved over 30,000 vehicles per day. Efforts are being undertaken to minimize the local traffic impacts. Going forward, Maryland will work to reconstruct the bridge and we appreciate the promised federal support for this effort, the details of which are still being worked out.
My Office Outside of Session
My newsletter will now revert to its out of session monthly format. I strongly value the input of my constituents on the issues before the General Assembly. While the state legislature only meets for 90 days each year in Annapolis, I am working for you 365 days a year. As we progress throughout the year, my office will continue to be a resource to help connect you to state and local officials.
If you have any questions about the material in this letter, other questions about the recently concluded legislative session, ideas regarding policy issues, issues with a state agency that require constituent services, or are interested in my office’s legislative scholarship, please contact me any time. I can be reached by phone at 301-858-3649, or by email at [email protected].