​Dear Friend:
There are just a handful of days left during this legislative session and my next email will be a comprehensive summary of everything that has taken place. Over the next few days, we will work to address energy and other environmental legislation, finalize gun safety and criminal justice bills, and pass hundreds of other bills on numerous issues.
Every year during this last minute crush of activity, I am often asked if it would make more sense to have a longer annual session or even a full time legislature. And as I have written to you before, it is a complicated question and there are pros and cons. But I do think attention is focused and compromise is hatched when a deadline hangs over you. If we had a 100 day legislative session, I believe we would still have this crush of last minute activity but it would be close to the 100th day and not the 90th.
 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 
A lot of my time this legislative session has been focused on energy issues. Negotiations continue between the House and Senate on comprehensive energy reform. But I am also the primary sponsor of a number of bills and want to share their status.
Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154): The House and Senate bills have a minor difference on this bill to improve access to our local boards of education that will hopefully be worked out this week.
Metro Funding Modification Act (HB 386): The bill to support our regional transit system is pending in the State Senate, where I will continue to make every effort to pass it.
Franchise Reform Act (HB 730): Identical versions of the bill have passed both chambers and the opposite chambers should act this week. The bill is helpful for economic development in Maryland.
Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act (HB 870): The legislation--to ensure the Maryland Department of Environment is helping developers of large buildings comply with Maryland's environmental laws--is pending in the state senate.
Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act (HB 1081): Bipartisan legislation to strengthen and improve our statewide transit agency has some House/Senate differences that we are still working to resolve.
Village of Drummond Reforms (HB 1623): Reforms to the Village of Drummond charter have passed both the House and Senate and are awaiting action by the Governor.

SCHOLARSHIP
In Maryland, state legislators are able to offer legislative scholarships for those seeking higher education in Maryland or outside of Maryland for unique majors only. Learn more here.

​POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
On Friday, my office participated in a site visit of the Potomac Interceptor breech with DC Water, Maryland Department of Environment, concerned community members, and others. The purpose of the meeting was to continue to discuss clean-up and testing needs for the community.
As a reminder, my office sends more detailed Potomac Interceptor-specific updates throughout the week. If you would like to be added to those updates, please just reply to this message.

​COMMUNITY NEWS
 
Thank you to departing Town of Glen Echo Councilmember Dawn Tanner for her service.
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Congratulations to Wendi and Danny Abramowitz, recipients of JSSA's Joseph Ottenstein Award.
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The NIH Community Orchestra and Chorus will present a concert highlighting the theme of "home" on Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 3pm at Richard Montgomery High School. More information can be found here.
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Save the date! The Nesfield Performance Foundation is hosting its Metro Move Fest on Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Come out for a day of family-friendly fitness activities brought to you by local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Please direct questions to Tiffany Nesfield ([email protected]). 
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 
Each week, I have profiled a non-Montgomery County legislator in the House of Delegates. I hope this has given you some insight into my colleagues around the state and from both parties. What I recognized shortly after I was elected is that each of my colleagues is here for a reason. I may not always agree with, like, or understand the reason, but they each have a sense of purpose that they bring to this work. So today, let me lift up all 140 of my colleagues in the Maryland House of Delegates.

I spend a lot more time updating you on the House than the Senate, for obvious reasons. But this time of the legislative session, I tend to think a lot about the Senate. First, there are dozens of Senate bills now sitting in my committee and this week the Senate sponsors are visiting to testify in support of their bills. Second, I am visiting the Senate committee chairs to discuss the bills from my committee--Environment and Transportation--pending in their committees and vice versa. Third, I am testifying in support of a few bills I sponsored that are currently pending in the Senate. Fourth and finally, I am preparing for a conference committee with the Senate on energy affordability and sustainability legislation.
Our State Senate has 47 members, largely representing the same districts as their three House members, although there are a few Senate districts with subdistricts for the House members. We are led by a Speaker in the House. The Senate has a President elected from their members, currently Bill Ferguson who represents a district in Baltimore (and was my law school classmate). The House has seven standing committees, the Senate has four: Judicial Proceedings (which our Senator, Sara Love, serves on); Budget & Taxation; Finance; and Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.
 
PODCASTS
I had the opportunity to participate in two podcasts this week.
First, I recorded a "post-crossover" episode of I Hate Politics. Listen here.
Second, I was interviewed for the Beyond the Hyphen podcast, which is the podcast of a Howard County high school junior, Mark Li. Listen here.
 
BUDGET UPDATE
I gave the highlights of the operating budgets last week as it passed the House. The House and Senate have both now adopted the conference committee report, which contained only a few changes from what the House passed. You can read the conference committee report here and a summary here.
The House is also working on the capital budget this week. The capital budget is the state's construction budget, where we advocate for our community's needs. These are typically one-time or temporary costs and do not impact the operating budget. I will provide further details but the capital budget increases school construction funds for Montgomery County; finishes the state contribution to rehabilitating the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park; funds culvert restoration in the District 16 portion of the C&O Canal National Historical Park; contributes to Suburban Hospital's Emergency Department modernization; supports updating Adventure Theatre; further funds upgrades for Maplewood-Alta Vista Park; provides funds the Children's Inn at NIH; continues our contribution to the North Bethesda Metrorail second entrance; and funds a sound barrier for Carderock Springs Elementary School.
 
POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
The C&O Canal was acting as a bypass pending repair of the pipe. Now that the pipe is operating again, DC Water is removing sludge from the canal and doing other remediation. Soil removal and treatment will also be taking place. We are also working with DC Water and the Maryland Department of Environment on future testing. As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here.
 
COMMUNITY NEWS
Voyage Maryland profiled Bethesda Historical Society founder and head Wendy Kaufman. Read it here.
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District 16 resident Whitney Ellenby wrote candidly about raising a son with autism. Read it here.
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Save the date! The Nesfield Performance Foundation is hosting its Metro Move Fest on Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Come out for a day of family-friendly fitness activities brought to you by local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Please direct questions to Tiffany Nesfield ([email protected]). 
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

​MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
 
Each week, I am profiling a non-Montgomery County legislator. This week, I am spotlighting the House's minority party leadership team: Minority Leader Jason Buckel and Minority Whip Jesse Pippy. Both delegates are, like me, attorneys and we all graduated from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. Delegate Buckel entered the House in 2015 and represents a Western Maryland district, specifically Allegany County. Delegate Pippy entered the House in 2019 and represents a Frederick County district. Both delegates do their job as leaders of the minority party, working against many things that I think are important. But they do it in a respectful and collaborative way. They do not oppose everything just for the sake of doing so, but actually engage on the issues and bills to represent their party and constituents.

This past Monday night, we passed the "crossover deadline" in Annapolis, the date by which bills passed from one chamber to the next are automatically referred to the other body's committee of jurisdiction. That means this week is a little calmer as we begin to take up Senate bills currently in the House. The state budget is also on the floor this week. Here is a brief update on legislation that I am the primary sponsor of. That said, the House considered hundreds of bills before crossover related to vaccinations, economic development, housing, public safety, childcare, and much more. And one bill that did not move forward that many of you have asked about is the Starter and Silver Homes Act related to housing.
The Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154): This legislation requires video streaming of local board of education meetings and other transparency measures has passed the House. Its Senate version, sponsored by Senator Cheryl Kagan, has passed that chamber as well.
Metro Funding Modification Act (HB 386): A re-commitment to Maryland's share of our regional Metro system's funding has passed the House. The Senate sponsor is Senator Malcolm Augustine.
Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act (HB 702): This legislation seeks to correct an issue with last year's energy rebates that left master metered residents out of the program. Broader energy legislation has language to support master metered residents as part of other energy relief. Senator Sara Love has championed the Senate version.
Franchise Reform Act (HB 730): The bill reforms our state oversight of the business concept of franchising. The Senate bill--sponsored by Senator Pam Beidle--has passed that chamber and the bill has also passed the House.
Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act (HB 870): Maryland has an existing law for large buildings to reduce emissions. In order to make certain new buildings follow the law, the amended version of this bill ensures that the Maryland Department of the Environment gets early notice about such buildings and it has passed the House.
Land Transfer Accountability Act (HB 1009): Alongside Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, the bill attempted to bring some accountability to threatened federal land and building sales but needs significant work to be found constitutional.
Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act (HB 1081): The outcome of a work group, this bill provides several reforms to improve operations of the Maryland Transit Administration. The bill passed the House. The Senate bill--which passed but after the crossover deadline--is sponsored by Senator Cory McCray.
The Board of Public Works Climate Transparency Act (HB 1161): Sponsored by Senator Shelly Hettleman in the Senate, the bill would have required additional climate information related to contracts at the Board of Public Works. As I explained in this video, the goal of the bill was accomplished without legislation.
Villager of Drummonds Reforms (HB 1623): On behalf of the District 16 legislators, I introduced this local bill to update the charter of the Village of Drummond. The bill has passed the House.

BUDGET UPDATE
 
The House version of the fiscal year 2027 state budget is on the floor this week. The budget contains no tax or fee increases, but does "decouple" some state taxes from federal changes that have taken place (so existing law continues in Maryland). The general fund balance (surplus) is projected at almost $300 million, and the Rainy Day Fund remains at $2.2 billion. The toughest part of the budget is the cuts to the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). That agency has seen tremendous growth over the past few years with state tax dollars for DDA rising from $667 million in 2021 to $1.7 billion today. I think that increased investment is a good thing, but the federal government places limits on non-institutional care costs (known as cost neutrality) and if the state violates that limit then it could mean a significant loss of federal funding. Work on this issue will need to continue in the future. A summary report of the House version of the budget is available here and the full committee report can be found here.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
DC Water held a public meeting in Bethesda last week on the Potomac Interceptor. You can watch that meeting here. As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here.

COMMUNITY NEWS
My condolences to the family and friends of L. Mark Winston, particularly his wife Bonnie and daughter Blair. I first got to know Mark and his family when he ran for Delegate in our district in 2010. We then worked closely together on a transit task force under County Executive Leggett. Mark was always generous in sharing his experience in running for local office, knowledge of transportation, and love of baseball. A celebration of life will be held on April 11th at 2pm at the Chevy Chase Women's Club.
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Congratulations to District 16 resident--and my neighbor--Reid Detchon on his reappointment to the Montgomery County Climate, Energy, and Air Quality Advisory Committee.
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Save the date! The Nesfield Performance Foundation is hosting its Metro Move Fest on Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Come out for a day of family-friendly fitness activities brought to you by local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Please direct questions to Tiffany Nesfield ([email protected]). 
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHTEach week, I am profiling a non-Montgomery County legislator. This week, I want to highlight Delegate Anne Healey. Delegate Healey has served in the House since 1991 and currently sits on the Environment & Transportation Committee with me. She represents a district in Prince George's County. Anne is retiring at the end of this term and, as a tribute to her, we renamed a pedestrian safety bill--an issue she has been a dogged advocate on--in her honor.

​Dear Friend:
We are just a few days from the "crossover deadline" in Annapolis, the date by which bills passed from one chamber to the next are automatically referred to the other body's committee of jurisdiction. After crossover, bills that pass the House go to the Senate Rules Committee and vice versa. Many significant bills are moving through the process including those related to the budget; childcare; juvenile justice; and much more. But I will focus here on my own legislative agenda.
The Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154): This legislation requires video streaming of local board of education meetings and other transparency measures has already passed the House. Its Senate version, sponsored by Senator Cheryl Kagan, has passed that chamber as well.
Metro Funding Modification Act (HB 386): A re-commitment to Maryland's share of our regional Metro system's funding has passed the House. The Senate sponsor is Senator Malcolm Augustine.
Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act (HB 702): This legislation seeks to correct an issue with last year's energy rebates that left master metered residents out of the program. Broader energy legislation has language to support master metered residents as part of other energy relief. Senator Sara Love has championed the Senate version.
Franchise Reform Act (HB 730): The bill reforms our state oversight of the business concept of franchising. The Senate bill--sponsored by Senator Pam Beidle--has passed that chamber and I am cautiously optimistic the House version will proceed.
Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act (HB 870): Maryland has an existing law for large buildings to reduce emissions. In order to make certain new buildings follow the law, the amended version of this bill--now moving through committee--ensures that the Maryland Department of the Environment gets early notice about such buildings.
Land Transfer Accountability Act (HB 1009): Alongside Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, the bill attempted to bring some accountability to threatened federal land and building sales but needs significant work to be found constitutional.
Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act (HB 1041): The outcome of a work group, this bill provides several reforms to improve operations of the Maryland Transit Administration. The House bill will be on the floor this coming week. The Senate bill is sponsored by Senator Cory McCray.
The Board of Public Works Climate Transparency Act (HB 1161): Sponsored by Senator Shelly Hettleman in the Senate, the bill would have required additional climate information related to contracts at the Board of Public Works. As I explained in this video, the goal of the bill was accomplished without legislation.
 
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
I was included on a recent podcast discussing transit issues in the state of Maryland. Listen here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/45db90a0
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As part of the state budget, we get a bimonthly report on Purple Line progress. The main charts are below. The report has a few key developments:
1. The report explains that "[a]lthough substantial construction completion is anticipated by late 2026, the system will undergo rigorous testing for more than one year beyond the construction completion date." This has always been the case, just not obvious from the reports.
2. The Capital Crescent Trail reopening has shifted to fall of 2026 (from summer of 2026 most recently). They are citing its use for construction access.
3. Much more detail is given on the dispute with the vendor regarding overhead utilities issues. The vendor is now citing a February 26, 2028 revenue service date. The state's milestones still have it in 2027.
The full report is here.

ENERGY UPDATE 
Last year, the new Speaker of the House moved energy issues over to the Environment & Transportation Committee. This occurred at a time of rising and challenging energy prices. After almost two months of digging into the issues, the committee has voted out a comprehensive bill that takes on the short, medium, and long term rate pressures on our bills. If you want to dig into the details, the first subcommittee meeting on the combined bill is available here. The second subcommittee meeting is available here. The full committee discussion is here. My comments at the press conference announcing that the House, Senate, and Governor all support the bill begin here.
 
BUDGET UPDATE
​The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates met recently to update their state government revenue forecasts. Income taxes are coming in relatively strong and there was an unexpected estate tax revenue increase, which will not recur. Federal tax changes are expected to impact corporate income taxes, so the state is being cautious there.
The main report is below and you can watch the presentation here.

DELEGATION UPDATE
 On most Fridays during the legislative session, the Montgomery County Delegation meets to go over local legislation. This past Friday, we were joined by Comptroller Brooke Lierman. The Delegation also passed a District 16 bill related to reforms for the Village of Drummond. You can watch the meeting here.
 
POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS 
As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here. DC Water is holding another public meeting tonight at Whitman High School at 6:30pm. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments also held an updated briefing, which you can watch here.

COMMUNITY NEWSCongratulations to District 16's River Paganini on being named the student member of the Montgomery County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.
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Save the date! The Nesfield Performance Foundation is hosting its Metro Move Fest on Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Come out for a day of family-friendly fitness activities brought to you by local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Please direct questions to Tiffany Nesfield ([email protected]). 
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHTEach week, I am spotlighting a non-Montgomery County colleague in the House of Delegates. This week, I am spotlighting Delegate Robbyn Lewis. Robbyn serves on the Environment & Transportation Committee with me, where she currently chairs the Transportation Subcommittee (last year she chaired the Land Use and Ethics Subcommittee). She represents a district in Baltimore and is known as one of our two "car free" members of the House of Delegates. I am considered a fairly avid advocate for transit in our state, but Robbyn gives me a run for my money.

​Ever since I first ran, oversight of--and investment in--our regional Metro system (the Washington Metropolitan Transit Administration or WMATA) has been a major priority. So I was thrilled that last week the House of Delegates passed Maryland's part of a regional Metro funding agreement on a bipartisan basis. The legislation now awaits action in the State Senate. 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 
A few of my other bills are working their way through the legislative process. The Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act has been voted out of subcommittee and will be before the full House Environment & Transportation Committee this week. And the Senate version of the Franchise Reform Act was voted out of committee on a bipartisan basis. Finally, my late legislation to reform the Village of Drummond's charter has passed out of the local Montgomery County committee and will be before the full Montgomery County Delegation on Friday. Because the bill was late, it also needed to be voted out of the House Rules Committee which occurred earlier this week.
 
BUDGET UPDATE
The Governor has released his first supplemental budget. The good news is that he corrected some issues in his original budget, specifically those related to behavioral health. Unfortunately, it compounded an issue with a phonics reading program I worked with a constituent to create. I am advocating with my colleagues in the General Assembly to fund the program.
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One of the biggest issues we are trying to address in the Governor's budget is funding for some of our most vulnerable Marylanders through the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA). The budget analysis for DDA is now available and can be found here.
 
DELEGATION UPDATE
On most Fridays during the legislative session, the Montgomery County Delegation meets to go over local legislation. This past Friday, we were joined by Montgomery County Public Schools. You can watch the meeting here.
 
POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here. One good piece of news this past week is that DC Water added two testing sites in response to community advocacy (and advocacy from elected officials) at Sycamore Island and the Feeder Channel at Lock 6.

 COMMUNITY NEWS
 
Congratulations to District 16's Susie Turnbull on being named to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.
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Congratulations to Jack Deutsch and Bobby Pestronk on their volunteer recognition from the Little Falls Watershed Alliance.
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Save the date! The Nesfield Performance Foundation is hosting its Metro Move Fest on Sunday, May 17, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. Come out for a day of family-friendly fitness activities brought to you by local vendors and nonprofit organizations. Please direct questions to Tiffany Nesfield ([email protected]). 
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This summer, the Red Line will be shut down between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations for significant maintenance and Purple Line work at Bethesda. Metro is working with state and local officials to create a bus bridge between the stations and the County held a briefing on the plan which you can read about here.
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
March is Women's History Month and I want to recognize the incredible women leaders who have represented District 16.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
 
Each week this legislative session, I am profiling non-Montgomery County legislators. This week, in honor of Women's History Month, I am highlighting Delegate Dana Jones. Dana is chair of our legislative Women's Caucus and represents Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. She joined the General Assembly during the height of COVID. We also have a shared love of books and libraries.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Last week, I had five bill hearings on the Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act, the Franchise Reform Act, Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act, the Land Transfer Accountability Act, and the Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act. These bills cover a range of topics including affordability, economic development, the environment, pushing back on what the federal government is doing, and transportation. And I will note that several of these proposals were developed with the assistance of constituents.
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Working with the rest of the District 16 Delegation, I have also gotten an additional bill introduced on behalf of the Village of Drummond to update their out of date charter. The bill will have a virtual hearing before the Montgomery County Delegation later this week.

DELEGATION UPDATE
On most Fridays during the legislative session, the Montgomery County Delegation meets to go over local legislation. This past Friday, we were joined by Senator Chris Van Hollen. You can watch the meeting here.
DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on this upcoming Monday, March 9th, starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
DC Water, WSSC, Maryland Department of the Environment and others held a public meeting last week regarding the Potomac Interceptor. You can watch the public meeting here.
As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here.

APPOINTMENTS NEWS
District 16 has two appointees to the Montgomery County Building Performance Improvement Board. Kevin Walton has been reappointed and Bill Bien has been appointed to the board.
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The Governor sent down his "green bag" appointments last week. These are his appointments to multiple state boards and commissions. District 16 appointments include:
-WIlliam Zeid, Architectural Review
-Aslim Abdullah, Dental Examiners
-Cedric (Henry) Watson, Elevator Safety Review
-Robert Bajefsky Hangun Roster
-Paula Collins, St. Mary's College Board
-Ryan Frederic TEDCO Board of Directors
-Bei Ma Venture Fund Authority Nichelle Schoultz Commission for Women 

COMMUNITY NEWS
​The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
​Each week this legislative session, I am profiling non-Montgomery County legislators. This week is a two-for-one because these two members work closely together as Chair and Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment: Courtney Watson and Mark Edelson.
Delegate Watson is from Howard County and previously served on their County Council. She served as my Vice Chair when I was chair of what is now her subcommittee. Delegate Edelson is from Baltimore City and we actually know each other from law school predating our service together. Together, these two Delegates have been leaders in the House on transportation funding and oversight--with the occasional assist from me.

​Dear Friend:
I always describe the job of a state legislator as having three components: legislating, as in writing and passing new laws; constituent service, which is helping anyone who reaches out to us navigate a problem; and oversight, to ensure the government is operating properly. But even just on the first component, legislating, there are different ways to achieve a goal. This year, Senator Shelly Hettleman and I had introduced the Board of Public Works (BPW) Climate Transparency Act (HB 1161), to ensure that the BPW--made up of the Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer--has information regarding the impact of state contracts on our ambitious climate and sustainability goals. But last week, without the House bill even having a hearing, the BPW adopted an advisory implementing the law, which you can read starting on page 42 here. With our mission accomplished, Senator Hettleman and I plan to withdraw the bill. Watch my short video on this topic here.
I also recently had the chance to participate in an interview with Professor John Dedie about the legislative session. You can watch it here.
 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Ways and Means Committee voted the Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154) to the floor unanimously. It will pass the full House of Delegates later this week.
Last week, I had no bill hearings on my legislation. But this week, I am in the midst of hearings on five bills I have sponsored in three separate committees. It is a busy week!
In the Environment and Transportation Committee last week, we had testimony from two District 16 residents.
Burning Tree Elementary School student Lucy Goldband traveled to Annapolis to testify in support of the Clear Before You Drive Act. The bill would follow the practice in other states of requiring drivers to clear their car roofs and hoods of snow and ice before driving. You can watch her testimony here.
And Donna Berry testified virtually in support of HB 646, legislation to improve the Motor Vehicle Administration process for dealing with certain medical conditions.
I am a cosponsor of both of these bills and have worked with the sponsors and constituents to advance them.

BUDGET UPDATE
The budget committees in the House and Senate are in the midst of their detailed work hearing the budgets of individual state agencies. Before each hearing, the Department of Legislative Services prepares an analysis of the agency's budget. If there is an area of government that is of particular interest to you, you can find the analyses here. Analyses continued to be added as the hearing date for that agency approaches.
 
DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on Monday, March 9th starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

​POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
 
Despite a sharp uptick in political rhetoric around the Potomac Interceptor break, real progress continues to be made. As I write this, there have been no overflow events since Super Bowl Sunday. DC Water--which owns and controls the pipe--expects to return full flow to the pipe (and out of the canal) by mid-March. DC Water is working with the National Park Service on plans to clean and fix the canal once that occurs. There are also odor mitigation efforts underway. As noted previously, DC Water has a landing page on the situation which you can access here. My office continues to email regular updates on the situation and you can just reply if you would like to be added to the list. Those updates are more thorough than this weekly check-in.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments held a briefing on the situation earlier this week. You can watch it here.
In addition, DC Water--which owns the pipe--will be holding a public meeting on Thursday (February 26th) at 7pm at Whitman High School to discuss the situation.
 
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS NEWS
As many of you know, Montgomery County Public Schools has been undertaking a boundary study, in part to account for the soon to reopen Woodward High School. The opening of Woodward is a positive development to ease crowding at Walter Johnson High School, but any new lines have pluses and minuses. You can read more about the Superintendent's recommendations here. Remember, you have an independently elected school board and if you have feedback on the recommendations, you should advocate to them.
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One thing related to MCPS we are dealing with at the state level is the requirement for schools to have a minimum of 180 school days and 1,080 school hours. The long closure from snow and ice earlier this year and the crunch of various holidays is putting significant pressure on the school calendar. Although I agree that the school system needs to get better at mitigating impacts from weather events, I am supporting legislation to give Montgomery County some flexibility. The bill is on the House floor this week.

 COMMUNITY NEWS
Each year, the county's planning staff releases a monitoring report on the Downtown Bethesda sector plan. This year's report is now available online and it will be presented to the Planning Board tomorrow. A few highlights:
-The County’s Commuter Survey Report for the AM peak period (7-9am) in the Bethesda Transportation Management District indicates an Employee Non-Auto Driver Mode Share (NADMS) of 51.4% and a Residential NADMS of 65.2%, resulting in a Blended NADMS of 54.2%, which is just below the Blended NADMS Goal of 55%.
-In the 2030-2031 school year, the cluster-wide utilization rate is expected to drop to 80.8%, which is barely within the 80 to 100 percent utilization rate range that MCPS considers efficient for an individual school to be operating at.
-However, as my Bethesda Elementary (BE) Third Grader knows, there is one school in the cluster that remains over capacity and that is BE. 
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The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

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The Greater Bethesda Chamber was in Annapolis last week and we honored their 100th birthday with a floor resolution.

​MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Each week during the legislative session, I plan to spotlight a non-Montgomery County Delegate colleague. This week, I want to highlight Delegate Scott Phillips from Baltimore County. Delegate Phillips is an attorney who previously chaired the Baltimore County Planning Board and now serves on the Judiciary Committee. But as we observe Black History Month, I want to lift up Delegate Phillips' role as chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, the largest state black caucus in the country.

Dear Friend:
According to the House rules, the 31st day of the legislative session is known as the "Introduction Date." Bills introduced after that date are referred to the Rules Committee--instead of their committee of jurisdiction--and are not guaranteed a hearing. With the Introduction Date now passed for both chambers, there are 960 Senate bills and 1,585 House bills (many duplicate each other). 251 of the House bills are pending in the Environment and Transportation Committee. Eight of the bills are ones I have introduced as the primary sponsor and can be viewed here.
Since my last update, I introduced one bill: The Board of Public Works Climate Transparency Act (HB 1161). The legislation ensures that when our state agencies are bringing contracts to the Board of Public Works, they will be consistent with our state's climate and environmental policies.
 
GOVERNOR'S HOUSING PACKAGE UPDATE
I have received many questions regarding the Governor's housing package and its potential impacts on District 16. The Governor has described three different bills as part of his housing package:
1. The Maryland Housing Certainty Act is actually sponsored by members (not formally by request of the Governor) and focuses on what is called "early vesting," as well as impact fees. Early vesting relates to when the existing set of rules and regulations apply to a project. The hearing for the bill is on February 19th.
2. The Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act focused on transit-oriented development in Maryland. A version of this bill passed the House last year and my own view is the that impact on Montgomery County is fairly limited, as we have already prioritized transit-oriented development around our fixed rail transit stations. That is something that has not happened all across the state. The hearing for the bill is on February 26th.
3. The Silver and Starter Homes Act is--in my view--by far the most controversial and far reaching. The bill would preempt a good deal of local rules about set backs, minimum lot size, and where town houses can be placed. As I have shared with those who have asked, I think the proposal is extremely aggressive and would need a lot of work to earn my support. Although the state has occasionally preempted certain local zoning to prioritize specific types of growth, this proposal is far reaching with a one size fits all structure. But I know the committee of jurisdiction will be working on the bill in the weeks ahead. You can watch the bill hearing online.
 
GOVERNOR'S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
The Governor delivered his annual State of the State Address one week ago. You can watch the speech here.

​DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on Monday, March 9th starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
 
Work continues to mitigate further leaks from the Potomac Interceptor sewage leak. As noted last week, DC Water has a landing page on the situation which you can access here. My office continues to email regular updates on the situation and you can just reply if you would like to be added to the list. The sewage is no longer regularly leaking into the Potomac River but when bypass pumps go offline or other variables occur, some spillage may occur.
The Utilities Subcommittee of the Environment and Transportation Committee held a briefing on the breach with DC Water, Maryland Department of the Environment, Potomac Riverkeepers, and others last week. You can watch that here.

 COMMUNITY NEWS
The National Park Service is seeking public input on potential changes at Glen Echo Park. Learn more and comment here.
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A community meeting about the potential project on the Friendship Heights GEICO property will be held on Thursday, February 19th at 7 pm, in the Westland Middle School cafeteria (5511 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD). RSVP at [email protected]. 
 
PRESIDENTS DAY
This past Monday was Presidents Day. Each year, the House of Delegates hears an address from a Republican member in honor of President Lincoln and a Democratic member in honor of President Washington. Back in 2018, I had the opportunity to deliver the Washington Day address. You can hear that old speech--it predates video streaming on the House floor--here.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Every week during the legislative session, I plan to spotlight a non-Montgomery County Delegate colleague. This week, I want to highlight Delegate Ashanti Martinez, the House Majority Whip. Prior to becoming a Delegate, Ashanti had a long history of working in local government and on local campaigns--including on the Congressional campaign of our current House of Delegates Speaker. The online Maryland Manual--the state's historic compendium of government--starts listing a Majority Whip for the Maryland House of Delegates about 50 years ago in the 1970s (the first one listed is a Calvert County Democrat named Thomas Rymer). In all of that time, Delegate Martinez is the first to rise to that post in his first term (and the first Afro-Latino). And, importantly for me, Delegate Martinez's mom works at Metro!

Every bill introduced by a certain date is guaranteed a hearing in the appropriate committee of the House of Delegates. Right now, the committee I chair--Environment & Transportation--is holding bill hearings every Tuesday through Thursday (soon to be every Tuesday through Friday). Two of my bills have also had bill hearings already, the Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154) and the Metro Funding Modification Act of 2026 (HB 386). 

​LEGISLATION UPDATE
 
Since my last update, I have introduced two more bills.
The Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act (HB 870) would ensure that buildings that will need to comply with Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) in the future are built to comply today. BEPS is our state policy to reduce emissions from buildings. It makes no sense for a building built today to not comply with standards that will apply in the future under current law.

​The Land Transfer Accountability Act (HB 1009) sets guardrails around the federal government's ability to own land and buildings it owns in the state. Recall that the current Administration has sought to dispose of federal office buildings and preserved natural resources.

The Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act (HB 1081) would reform the Maryland Transit Administration--which runs Baltimore-area transit as well as statewide commuter rail and commuter bus service--by creating two new boards to oversee these functions and makes other changes to improve MTA's functions. 
 
ENERGY UPDATE
I had the opportunity to discuss energy issues--which is new to the jurisdiction of my committee--with the Maryland Energy Talk Podcast. You can listen to it here.
 
DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
 The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on Monday, March 9th starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
 This past weekend, I visited the site of the Potomac Interceptor breach. You can get there by parking at Lockhouse 9 and walking towards Lockhouse 10 where you will see an active work site and sewage being pumped from the breached pipe, through the canal, and then pumped back into the pipe. Just a warning that if you do go, the tow path has not been plowed and there is quite an odor.
DC Water now has a landing page on the situation which you can access here. My office continues to email regular updates on the situation and you can just reply if you would like to be added to the list.
The Utilities Subcommittee of the Environment and Transportation Committee will hold a briefing on the breach with DC Water, Maryland Department of the Environment, Potomac Riverkeepers, and others on Friday afternoon.
 
COMMUNITY NEWS
This week's Montgomery County Planning Board is taking up two issues of interest for District 16.
First, the planning staff has released the biennial monitoring report on the implementation of what was called the White Flint Sector Plan. You can review the report here.
Second, the planning staff has provided initial recommendations regarding their update of the Friendship Heights Sector Plan. You can review those recommendations here.
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WSSC has a Customer Notification System that you can sign up for to stay up to date with WSSC issues that may affect you, including leaks and breaks.
 
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
 This week's member spotlight is Delegate Ryan Nawrocki. Ryan is a member of the Environment & Transportation Committee that I chair and represents Baltimore County. I would say that my relationship with Ryan encapsulates the old adage that you can disagree without being disagreeable. Ryan is a member of the Freedom Caucus so there is a lot we disagree on. But we are similar ages, have similar senses of humor, and both have young families--although his is much larger than mine--so we can disagree in a friendly and respectful way. Which is one of the nice things about Maryland's political culture. You can watch us discuss and debate energy issues on Baltimore's local news here.

​Dear Friend:
The deadline to introduce legislation in the House and be guaranteed a bill hearing is Friday, February 13. Between now and then, numerous bills will be introduced. Thus far, I have introduced the following bills:
Local Boards of Education Transparency Act (HB 154): Requiring local boards of education to livestream their meetings and meet other transparency requirements.
Metro Funding Modification Act of 2026 (HB 386): Resets Maryland's regional contribution to DC-area Metro funding to account for inflation and other needs.
Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act of 2026 (HB 702): Ensures that co-op and condo residents benefit from any energy rebates the General Assembly passes, including last year's rebate.
Franchise Reform Act (HB 730): Reforms the state's franchising laws to help our small businesses that are trying to use the franchise method.
More to come!

FLOOR UPDATE
Our floor sessions are off to a fast start this year with debate on the redistricting map and a bill to limit county partnerships with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) both up for debate at the end of last week and into this week. You can see part of my participation in the map debate here, here, and here.
 
COMMITTEE UPDATE 
The House Environment and Transportation Committee continues a rigorous briefing schedule. Since my last email, we have heard from our regional grid operator (PJM) and our California and Texas energy officials, as well as state transportation officials. Each briefing, hearing or other committee meeting is available on the committee's YouTube page.

DELEGATION UPDATE 
On most Fridays of the legislative session, the Montgomery County House Delegation meets. Last week, we heard from the Department of Legislative Services for our local fiscal briefing and voted on a few pieces of local legislation (bills that only affect Montgomery County). You can watch the meeting here and the continuation of it here.
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DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on Monday, March 9th starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS 
As noted last week, the District 16 legislators have been in regular contact with the Maryland Department of the Environment, as well as DC Water (who owns and operates the ruptured line, not WSSC) and Montgomery County government, regarding the major wastewater pipe breach along the Potomac. The good news is that the bypass system is now turned on and is operating well on most days. The bad news is that full repairs on the interceptor will take time and the impact of the sewage leak on the environment is not yet fully known. Please stay tuned for further updates. We have been sending more detailed updates to a list of constituents who have expressed interest. If you would like to be added to that list, please reply to this email.
One thing that challenges the bypass system--and our infrastructure in general--is items going down the toilet or the drain that do not belong there, especially grease and wipes. Please do your part to not put these materials into the system.

​THANK YOU MAYOR SLAVIN 
The Town of Somerset's Mayor, Jeffrey Slavin, has announced that he will not seek re-election. Mayor Slavin has served in that role since 2008 and was on the Town Council before that. Thank you Mayor Slavin for your years of service to our community. You can watch his announcement here.

CAMPAIGN NEWS
Senator Sara Love and I have announced a series of meet-and-greets around the district and have had two thus far. Unfortunately, the one scheduled for February 8th in Maplewood is being rescheduled. Email [email protected] for further information on any of our meet-and-greets.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 
Every week during the legislative session, I plan to spotlight a non-Montgomery County Delegate colleague. This week, I want to highlight Regina T. Boyce. Regina serves on the House Environment & Transportation Committee with me where she chairs the Natural Resources and Open Space Subcommittee. Although she represents an urban Baltimore district, she has become a trusted voice on the committee for rural, agricultural, and sportsmen communities because of her work ethic and diligence. And fun fact, we went to the same elementary, middle, and high schools!