Moving Bills Through The Process - Weekly Update

Dear Friend:
Every bill only has one sponsor but no bill is the responsibility of a single person. Each member of the House of Delegates gets their chance to put an imprint on every bill we consider whether that is just their vote for or against it on the House floor, an amendment, helping to persuade a colleague to vote for it, or countless other contributions. My name may not be on the sponsor line of landmark legislation such as the Climate Solutions Now Act--which set our state's ambitious climate goals--or the Built to Learn Act--which amped up our school construction program backed by gaming revenue--but like many other members I contributed to their passage.
That said, for most bills a sponsor has significant involvement in the legislation's trajectory. Because we are organized in committees, sponsors have the best chance of success when it comes to bills in their own committee where you are in the room to promote and prioritize your agenda. But members can have success in other committees and I am pleased that three of my bills are working their way through the Ways & Means Committee and on to the House floor.
The County Board of Education Member Anti-Bias Training Act (HB 324) and Local Boards of Elections Transparency Act (HB 412) were voted out of committee on a bipartisan basis and are on the House floor this week. The Affordable Housing Payment in Lieu of Taxes Expansion Act (HB 390) passed out of subcommittee last week and will be taken up by the full committee soon.

LEGISLATION UPDATE
​In addition to the progress described above, I had three bill hearings last week.
The first was the Franchise Reform Act (HB 992), which is designed to improve the regulatory environment for franchisors and franchisees in Maryland. You can watch that hearing here.
The second was on what I refer to as the Conflict of Interest Act (HB 932), which would strengthen ethics rules for governors. That hearing can be viewed here.
Finally, legislation that Senator Sara Love has championed for years related to privacy standards for our automated enforcement programs also had its hearing. That can be watched online.
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Although I am not the primary sponsor of the End-of-Life-Option Act--sometimes referred to as Death With Dignity--I get a lot of questions about it. I am a cosponsor of this legislation and think it is a sensible step forward for end of life care. The full House took up the bill and passed it in 2019 but it has never passed the Senate. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill have hearings in early March but it still does not appear that the votes are there in the Senate.

BUDGET UPDATE
The state budget continues to be one of the major issues of the legislative session. In addition to our projected budget shortfall, the complexity is compounded by actions in Washington, DC. The federal government's current funding runs out on March 14th. While a federal government shutdown is always economically impactful in Maryland, there is also great risk to funding programs Maryland and its people rely on with any deal that is struck. The next meeting of our state's Bureau of Revenue Estimates (BRE) is March 6th and we follow the BRE's guidelines in setting our budget. My prediction is that we will have seen some softening in sales tax revenue at least due to the uncertainty coming out of the current federal administration. Many Marylanders work as federal employees or work indirectly as contractors or in other jobs that revolve around the federal government. Even if their actual job is safe, what the current federal administration is doing with its chaos campaign will make many hesitate before making purchases.
There was some good news on the budget. One of the most controversial cuts proposed by Governor Moore is to the Developmental Disabilities Administration. His proposal was not only to cut the next budget year--starting this summer--but the current budget year as well. However, after significant advocacy, the Administration and House and Senate leaders have agreed to identify other funds to use for the current budget year and delay any cut. Whether or not the cuts take effect next budget year is part of ongoing negotiations.
VISION ZERO DAY
An important issue my committee is dealing with is referred to as Vision Zero. In 2019, Maryland set a goal of reducing serious injuries and deaths on our roadways by 2030. You can track our progress on a state dashboard but, unfortunately, we went from 535 deaths in 2019 to 621 in 2023 (2024 data is still being finalized but appears a bit better). Our committee is making an effort to help achieve the goal and on Friday we heard a number of bills related to Vision Zero, mostly related to improved automated enforcement. You can watch that hearing here. We have had earlier hearings on reckless driving, speed governors, for offenders, and reciprocal automated enforcement with our neighboring jurisdictions. The Washington Post recently quoted me in a story on this topic.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS
On Monday, March 3rd at 7:30am, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club will hear from County Executive Marc Elrich. Email [email protected] for the meeting link.
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On Tuesday, March 4th at 7pm, County Councilmember Andrew Friedson will hold a public safety meeting at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cafeteria.

COMMUNITY NEWS
Congratulations to Jane Fairweather on her reappointment to the Board of Directors of the Bethesda Urban Partnership.
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Last week the Governor delivered what are called his Green Bag appointments through which he nominates members of various boards and commissions (as well as other offices). I am pleased to see 11 District 16 residents appointed or re-appointed including:
Don Stanton, Aviation Commission
Eileen Levitt, Commission on Civil Rights
Leslie Hale, Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors
Marcia Mintz, Montgomery College Board of Trustees
Benjamin Klubes, Morgan State University Board of Regents
Swati Agrawal, Morgan State University Board of Regents
Micha Weinblatt, Public Private Partnership Marketing Corporation Board
Phillip Singerman, Technology Development Corporation Board of Directors
Meena Seshamani, another District 16 resident, has also been nominated by Governor Moore as the new Secretary of Health
Fiona Oliphant, Maryland Commission for Women
Kati Penney, Maryland School for the Blind Board of Directors
Daborah Jarvis, Washington Suburban Transit Commission
If you are interested in serving on one of these state boards and commissions, please visit https://govappointments.maryland.gov/instructions-for-filling-out-the-general-application-form/.

OFFICE CORNER
Spring training is now in full swing with exhibition games starting. That means it is a good week to share my Maryland minor league baseball team foam finger collection. From top to bottom, I have foam fingers for the Orioles' affiliate-Single A Delmarva Shorebirds, the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, Orioles' affiliated-AA Bowie Baysox, the now independent Frederick Keys, the Orioles-affiliated single A Aberdeen Ironbirds, the independent Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, and the now defunct Hagerstown Suns which were a Single A affiliate on of the Washington Nationals.