Post Crossover - Weekly Update

We are now past "crossover day," the day by which bills have to pass from one chamber to another. This email includes an update on the bills of which I am the primary sponsor. But we also had significant floor debate on a few other issues that I wanted to share information about.
The Maryland Second Look Act (HB 853) allows a subset of incarcerated Marylanders--those who were between 18 and 25 when convicted, were not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, is not a sex offender, and have been imprisoned for 20 years--to petition a court and consider a sentence reduction if the individual is found not to be a danger to the public and the interest of justice will be better served by a reduced sentence. This provision applies to approximately 350 incarcerated individuals and does not mean that they will be released early, but they will get a process to do so if it is safe. Victims or their representative will be provided notice and can submit victim impact statements and take part in the process.
The Maryland Values Act (HB 1222) nullifies Maryland counties' 287(g) agreements with federal immigration officials and sets a statewide policy for when local law enforcement should communicate and cooperate with immigration officials.
-The Tenant Possession Recovery Act (HB 767) responds to a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision by setting a 10 day time period for an evicted former tenant to recover their personal property (instead of having it placed right on the street corner).
These all involved serious, sober debate and I think it brought out the best of most of my colleagues, even when I disagreed with their views.
Early on crossover day, I provided a brief video update that you can view here.

BUDGET UPDATE
​The budget continues to be one of the major issues we are dealing with. The Trump Administration did not cause the original budget deficit but their actions over the past few months have immeasurably exacerbated the challenges to Maryland and our residents. That's not a question of ideology or how you voted, it is just a reality.
One issue I have heard from many of you on is concern about broad business-to-business services sales tax one of my colleagues has proposed. Like almost any impactful proposal we consider, this one will certainly not pass in whole or without changes but it is one of the options--at least in part--on the table to help us balance our budget and fund priorities like public education (the largest component of our state transportation budget). Indeed, the Governor has made clear that he does not support the full proposal and will not sign a bill that includes it. There is much more to come on the ongoing budget negotiations and debate.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Here is an update on the status of legislation I primarily sponsored.

County School Board Member Antibias Training Act (HB 324): This bill expands on an existing anti-bias training program, which includes training related to anti-Semitism, for school board members. The bill has passed the House on a bipartisan basis. Senator Brian Feldman is the Senate sponsor and his version has already passed that body.
Affordable Housing Payments in Lieu of Taxes Expansion Act (HB 390): This legislation would expand an existing state program that allows housing projects meeting certain affordability requirements to pay no or discounted property taxes. This bill allows that policy to apply, if the County chooses, to projects that maintain affordability for existing naturally occurring affordable housing that would otherwise be redeveloped to higher market rates. Senator Shelly Hettleman is the sponsor in the Senate and both of our versions have passed our respective chambers.

Specially Designed Vintage Reproduction Registration Plates (HB 313): This bill has passed the House unanimously and allows Marylanders to purchase vintage plates that were in use 100 years ago. The Senate sponsor is Senator Folden and his version has already passed that chamber.

State Mineral Act (HB 411): This legislation is a 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. The bill has passed both chambers. Senator Craig Zucker is the Senate sponsor. You can read more about the bill here.
Local Board of Elections Transparency Act (HB 412): 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 bill would expand those requirements to local Boards of Elections. It has passed both chambers on a bipartisan basis.

Metro Funding Modification Act of 2025 (HB 467): The 2018 regional capital commitment to our regional transit system of $500 million--of which Maryland contributes $167 million--has not grown to keep up with inflation. This bill re-sets the amount to account for inflation and sets a future 3% growth factor, all contingent on Washington, DC and Virginia doing the same. The bill has passed out of the House and is sponsored in the Senate by Senator Malcolm Augustine.
Automated Enforcement Privacy Protections (HB 516): This year, I am the House cross-file of Senator Sara Love’s bill to set privacy protections around our automated enforcement programs. The bill has passed the House on a bipartisan basis and Senator Love's bill has also proceeded in the Senate.

The MARC Rail Authority Act of 2025 (HB 517): As introduced, the bill would have set up an independent authority for Maryland's commuter rail system. It has been amended in the House into a workgroup to study the restructuring of the Maryland Transit Administration more broadly. The bill has passed out of the House. Senator McCray is the sponsor on the Senate side.

Conflicts of Interest Act (HB 932): 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 is sponsoring the Senate version of this bill. The House version has passed the chamber unanimously.
Franchise Reform Act (HB 992): 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. It has passed out of the House.
WSSC Planning and Reporting Act (HB 1195): This legislation is a Delegation bill that I originally sponsored that makes several reforms to our local water utility including place our county Director of Environmental Protection on the Commission, adding transparency provisions and requiring various reviews and reports to make the Commission more efficient. The legislation has passed out of the House of Delegates.

COMMUNITY NEWS
Two District 16 residents are recipients of Montgomery County Women Making History Awards. Congratulations to Santi Bhagat and Lavontte Chatmon.
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Congratulations to two new members of the Friendship Heights Transportation Management District, Julian Mansfield and Efi Pagitsas.
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I previously shared information about the State Highway Administration's MD 190 (River Road) Corridor Safety Study. The Montgomery County Planning Board will have a briefing on the study this week and you can see their read ahead packet here.

COMMUNITY EVENTS
​On Saturday, March 22nd at 3pm, the NIH Community Orchestra and Chorus will Perform at the Potomac United Methodist Church.

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On Thursday, May 8th at 6pm, the Maryland Transit Administration will host the latest Bethesda Chevy Chase Purple Line Community Action Team meeting. The meeting is virtual and can be accessed here.

OFFICE CORNERCrossover week is busy and we are in Annapolis for long hours. Because I have relatively young kids, I go home almost every night so I can see my family either at night or in the morning. But when I do miss them, my office is loaded with reminders of them and I am sharing those reminders for my look inside my office this week.