Hearings - Weekly Update

​Last week I had my first bill hearing on legislation I am sponsoring, the Maryland Metro Funding Act which alters a provision of state law to match the contribution to our regional Metro system in the Governor's budget.  You can watch it here. 
And yesterday was the first day of bill hearings that I presided over in my committee.  We had over 50 witnesses testifying on 11 bills related to housing and land use issues.

Dear Friend:
Last week I had my first bill hearing on legislation I am sponsoring, the Maryland Metro Funding Act which alters a provision of state law to match the contribution to our regional Metro system in the Governor's budget.  You can watch it here. 
And yesterday was the first day of bill hearings that I presided over in my committee.  We had over 50 witnesses testifying on 11 bills related to housing and land use issues.

 


 
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 
Last week I attended a joint House and Senate press conference to announce a set of consumer protection bills we will work to pass this legislative session.  Importantly, this includes the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act authored by District 16's own Delegate Sara Love.  Here are all of the bills in the legislative package:
Electricity and Gas - Retail Supply - Regulation and Consumer Protection (SB1/HB267): balances electricity choice with tighter electricity supplier licensing regulations to protect customers from dishonest business practices, like confusing variable rates and unwanted, automatic renewals.
Commercial Law – Consumer Protection – Sale and Resale of Tickets (SB539): requires ticketing platforms to implement all-in-ticketing (to allow consumers to see the total cost of a ticket up front); prevents tickets from being resold for a large profit; caps ticket reseller fees at a reasonable rate (10%); and ends the sale of speculative tickets.
Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024 (SB541/HB567): gives consumers more protection and control over their personal data; requires companies to keep collected data safe; and adds extra layers of protection for sensitive data.
Consumer Protection - Online Products and Services - Data of Children (Maryland Kids Code) (HB603): requires tech companies to design their online products with kids’ privacy, safety, and wellness in mind. This means not collecting or selling kids’ data, setting high privacy standards by default, and avoiding manipulative design.
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Last week's Montgomery County Delegation meeting included a briefing by Montgomery County Park & Planning that you can watch here.  At the same meeting, the Delegation unanimously voted to support my bill reforming the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC).  Because WSTC is a bi-county agency, the bill now goes to the Prince George's County Delegation for consideration.  Also at the meeting, the Delegation voted to accept another local bill I drafted for late file related to teacher training at Montgomery County Public Schools for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination based on religion.

 
BUDGET UPDATE
 
I received a few questions about some of the District 16 capital projects I referenced in last week's email.
The Whitman High School upgrades are to replace the HVAC system which is over 30 years and past its useful life.
As for the North Bethesda Metro Station second entrance, you are not imagining that this project has received state taxpayer support before.  The $8 million in state funds committed so far is being combined with local funds to seek a federal RAISE grant to build the entrance.
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I have written quite a bit in recent newsletters about the state transportation budget. The Governor recently submitted his first supplemental budget, which allocates $150 million in one time money to help mitigate cuts to transportation and updates the language for the BOOST program, a $9 million program the Governor chose to fund for private school scholarships. 

 
TRANSPORTATION UPDATE
 
The Montgomery County Council recently passed a compromise approach to Little Falls Parkway. You can read about the project here.
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Last year, the Maryland Department of Transportation sought over $2 billion in federal funds to support their planned replacement and widening of the American Legion Bridge and portions of the Beltway. Local media covered last week that Maryland did not receive federal support but plans to apply again.

 
COMMUNITY NEWS
 
The Bethesda Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club has a series of upcoming meetings. To obtain links for any of the below, please email [email protected]:
-Monday, February 5 at 7:30am: Council President Andrew Friedson
-March 4, at 7:30am: Lisa Taylor, Chair of the Montgomery County Committee Against Hate/Violence
-April 10, at 7:30am: District 18 state legislators
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Congratulations to District 16's Amy Maron and Barry Shanoff on their recent appointments to the Montgomery County Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
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District 16's Kari Swenson--co-owner of Horizon (a franchisee of fast food restaurants)--was recently profiled by the Maryland Department of Transportation for the transit benefit she offers her employees.  Read about it here.

 
BOOK CORNER
 
If you watched the Montgomery County Delegation meeting linked above, you would have seen be show a copy of Suburb by Royce Hanson. Hanson was the two-time chair of the County's Planning Board and at the center of many of the most significant planning issues in the county over the past 60 years including establishment of the Ag Reserve, establishing a growth policy, and rethinking our suburban strip malls. You can read a more fulsome review I wrote about this book for a local