June Update: Media Hits

Dear Friend:
Over the past month, I have had some exciting opportunities to talk about my work in the Maryland General Assembly.
First, the District 16 legislators held our annual post-session town hall in May. If you were not able to join us, you can watch the town hall here.
A few weeks ago, I joined Kojo Nnamdi and Tom Sherwood in studio for WAMU's The Politics Hour. You can listen to the discussion here.

And for a wonkier take, you can listen to a deep dive discussion about the Environment & Transportation Committee I chair on the Conduit Street Podcast, the podcast for the Maryland Association of Counties You can listen to the podcast here.

I also got to interview author Casey Burghat regarding his book "We Hold These Truths: How to Spot the Myths That Are Holding America Back" at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. You can watch our discussion on CSPAN here.

Of course, my favorite opportunities to talk about my work are with groups in District 16. For example, last week the District 16 legislators joined the Friendship Heights Neighborhood Network for a town hall. In May, we visited with the Greater Farmland Civic Association. A few weeks ago, I addressed a group of District 16 weed warriors and then got to chip in to cut away invasive vines from our trees. And I joined Sara Love at the KID Museum in downtown Bethesda in giving awards to young inventors. If your neighborhood, building, or other group is interested in hearing about the work of state government, please let me know. 
 
KEEPING UP WITH MY ACTIVITIES
If you are reading this, you already know how to find me. But here are some other ways to keep up with my work for District 16. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or Bluesky. I also still share some limited information on Twitter/X.

FEDERAL THOUGHTS
​As I was finishing this email, I could not help but comment on what is happening in Los Angeles--where I went to college--in response to all of the breaking news alerts on our phones. Protest is a legitimate exercise of our constitutional rights but such protesters should be peaceful. When they are not, there can be a legitimate need for a law enforcement response. Perhaps in extreme cases, that response has to become more militarized to keep the peace, although I am skeptical that this is one of those extreme cases if you cut through a lot of the media fog and see how limited the situation actually is. All that said, and as usual  for the current presidential administration, their response is completely disproportionate, driven by an ideological and vengeful agenda, and a total smashing of U.S. laws and norms. I think back to the Jade Helm 15 "controversy" of 2015 where basic military training that happened to overlap with the Obama presidency was viewed by far right conspiracy theorists as an attempt at a military takeover. Now we have a president who has actually activated a state's national guard, as well as our U.S. military, against people on American soil in contravention of laws and norms and is simply cheered on by virtually every Republican who can get near a microphone. It is a disturbing and disheartening situation. But one that I fear could have significant downstream consequences in our country.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
 
When I sent out my last monthly newsletter, Governor Moore was still working through the output of the legislative session and considering what bills to sign, veto, or allow to become law without his signature. He has now finished making his decisions.
What has received the most attention are the bills the Governor vetoed, a complete list of which can be found here. The list includes a study on reparations, a study on greenhouse gas impacts on Maryland, a study on data centers, the creation of a new energy planning function for the state, a prioritization of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and a technology and social media guide for youth. In Maryland, veto overrides are not taken up until the next time we convene so there is plenty of time for consideration of potential action.
The Governor also allowed several bills to become law without his signature, which can be found here.
And the final bills the Governor signed after my May newsletter can be reviewed here.

BUDGET UPDATE
 
Maryland has long maintained a AAA bond rating from all three major credit rating agencies. Ever since I was elected, I have shared these bond ratings reports. Unfortunately, one of the three major bond rating agencies (Moody’s) lowered Maryland’s bond rating one notch from AAA to Aa1 for the first time in decades. The good news is that Fitch and S&P maintained Maryland's historic AAA bond rating.
As I have always explained when the ratings agency reports come out, “[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.” Remember, unlike our federal friends, Maryland does not deficit spend on operating. Debt financing is for capital/construction projects only. Therefore, this change has the potential to either increase the cost of state construction in Maryland and/or require us to pull back on capital dollars we spend to build schools, parks, hospitals, and more.
In my view, Moody's made this decision for one reason. Our state is a “company town” and that company is the federal government. Unfortunately, the current owner of the company hired his now departed tech bro as factory foreman and lit the factory on fire. As I have said in many settings around District 16, however you voted in November, the federal administration’s actions have an immediate negative impact on Maryland and this is an outgrowth of that.
Why am I so comfortable pointing at Washington? Because not much else has changed in Maryland. The factors Moody’s looks at have not really changed. My Republican colleagues are, frankly, crowing about those other factors. We are a high spending state (predominantly on public education, healthcare, and public safety); we do need to do better with our pension; we should become economically less reliant on the federal government and increase economic growth; and so forth. But all of that was true many prior times Moody’s affirmed the AAA bond rating. What has changed is what is happening in Washington. And that’s why DC also received a similar downgrade.
You can read the current (FY25) rating agencies reports--as well as historic reports--on the Treasurer's website.
 
MONTGOMERY COUNTY DELEGATION UPDATE
 
As the former chair of the now 26-member strong Montgomery County House Delegation, I am always eager to share information about our work. Last month, we re-elected our current chair and vice chair for another year at the helm. You can watch the organizational meeting here.
 
COMMUNITY NEWS
 
As a reminder, Metro’s “Better Bus Network” is coming on June 29th. A lot of the changes impacting District 16 are really just line name changes and frequency improvements. But check out the images below for more details or visit this site. A few bus stops in District 16 are also being eliminated/consolidated. See the full list of stop changes here.

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The Maryland Department of Labor has set up the small loan program we established in law a few months ago to support former federal workers who have been impacted by the chaos created by the White House. Learn more here.
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Although technically just outside of District 16, I was pleased to be on hand for the announcement of the next stage of joint development at the North Bethesda Metro Station: the announcement of a master developer. The work at North Bethesda is a partnership of Metro, Montgomery County, the state and the University of Maryland. The General Assembly has secured funds for site preparation, a second Metro entrance, and operating dollars for the Institute of Health Computing now established in North Bethesda.

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Congratulations to District 16's Devang Shah on his re-appointment to the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation and Aruna Nathan on her appointment to the Montgomery County Commission on Health.
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Congratulations to District 16's Karen Keating, winner of the Friend of Glen Echo Park Award.
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Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson was presented the inaugural JCRC Community Champion Award. Congratulations Andrew!
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Congratulations to the newly elected members of the Friendship Heights Village Council: Francine Klein, Victor Basile, Allyson Alt, John Conlow. And congratulations to the re-elected councilmembers: Roy Schaeffer (now Mayor) and Martha Solt (now Council Chair). And, finally, congratulations to Al Muller on his return to the council.
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District 16's Lawrence Halloran is the new Montgomery County Board of Elections substitute member. Congratulations to him.
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District 16's Little Falls Watershed Alliance has been named Montgomery Serves Volunteer Group of the Year.
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The District 16 Delegation was on hand to congratulate the Luxmanor Citizens Association on winning the Montgomery County Civic Federation's Sentinel Award.