Presentment and Vaccinations

We are in the midst of "presentment week" in Annapolis.  Under the Maryland Constitution, the Governor has six days to veto or sign bills passed by the General Assembly during the legislative session, otherwise they become law without his signature.  That means in order to be able to override a Gubernatorial veto before the next time the legislature convenes, the bill needs to be presented to the Governor this week.  If a bill is presented later than this week, the Governor will have 30 days after presentment to act on the bill.  Much of our work in Annapolis is bipartisan and collaborative, but we typically expect the majority Democratic legislature to have some disagreements with the Republican Governor.  Therefore, some bills will be passed and presented this week so the General Assembly can override any vetoes it chooses to.

As always, you can keep up with what I am doing by following me at @mkorman on Twitter or by clicking "Like" on Delegate Marc Korman on Facebook.

Vaccines

The state of Maryland is now in Phase 2B of vaccine eligibility.  Eligibility will continue to expand over the next few weeks until April 27, when all Marylanders age 16 and older will be eligible.

Montgomery County's newest vaccination site opens today at the Montgomery College Germantown campus.  The site will ramp up over the next few days and by April 15th should be administering 3,000 doses per day.

I continue to offer a few practical tips to obtain vaccines for those eligible:

1. Pre-register with the state: When you are eligible, you can pre-register with the state to get vaccinated at a state mass vaccination site. 
2. Use an aggregator site: There are a number of websites that can be used to search for vaccine availability such as https://www.findashot.org/appointments/us/MD and https://www.vaccinespotter.org/MD/.
3. Continue to read Delegate Ariana Kelly's emails: Delegate Kelly sends a detailed vaccine email and I highly recommend reading them to stay up to date.
4. Montgomery County is launching a vaccination program for those who are immobile.  Pre-register here and note that the recipient cannot leave their home.
5. Text MDReady to 898-211 to get vaccine updates from the state, including about appointment availability at mass vaccination sites.

Legislative News

I serve on the Capital Budget Subcommittee in the House.  We passed the state's construction budget last week and the Senate is taking it up this week.  The capital budget funds the construction of K-12 schools; buildings at our institutions of higher education; public safety facilities; hospitals; and more.  Among the highlights:

• A new $85 million local parks and playground infrastructure fund which includes $10 million for the Pepco Powerline Trail in Montgomery County;
• An increase of $35 million to the state's regular school construction budget over the Governor's request, bringing the total to $220 million.  Montgomery County is a major beneficiary of this program.
• An increase of $20 million to the state's school construction program for high enrollment counties over the Governor's request, bringing the total to $60 million of which Montgomery County is allocated approximately one quarter.
• Increases funding to the Catherine and Isiah Leggett Math and Sciences Building to $13,130,000, a $1.5 million increase over the Governor's request.
• In District 16, the capital budget as passed by the Senate includes:
  • ​$250,000 for the potential rebranding of the White Flint Metro Station.
  • $500,000 for the Willett Branch Greenway; and
  • $500,00 for the Gibson Grove historic cemetery.

The capital budget now returns to the House for further consideration.
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Several of my bills that passed the House of Delegates are now proceeding in the State Senate.  The Office of People's Counsel Environmental Reform Act has passed the Senate.  The Board of Public Works Budget Reduction Clarification Act and legislation to increase funding for certain special needs teachers should both be on the Senate floor later this week.
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A significant amount of the constituent email received over the past week was about three bills. 
The first bill is the Value My Vote Act, legislation from my colleague Delegate Wilkins that ensures that those who are incarcerated but are legally entitled to vote are able to do so.  It passed the House after a rigorous debate on March 22nd.

The second bill is Delegate Charkoudian's legislation that requires the Public Service Commission to consider the state's climate and labor goals and policies as part of its decision-marking.  I consider the bill complementary to my legislation reforming the Office of People's Counsel.  Both the House and Senate versions of the legislation have passed their respective chambers.

The third bill is HB 1322, a bill authored by Delegate Washington to protect teachers who choose not to return to in person teaching during the current school year from discipline or retaliation.  The legislation has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate.
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Community News

• Tonight (Wednesday, March 31 at 7pm), join a community meeting regarding a possible name change to the White Flint Metro station.
• Join the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Democratic Breakfast Club on Monday, April 5 at 7:30am to hear from Dr. Raymond Crowel, Director of Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services.  Email John Keller at keller.johnw@gmail.com for more information.
• On Friday April 9th, Councilman Andrew Friedson will be holding a "Fridays with Friedson" from 11:30am-12:30pm.  Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/3016160784121/WN_FTiQvyA-SuSr8SqeRBo9gw
• New Directions in Writing has announced "The Things They Carry," a series of free writing workshops for health care workers and first responders to help them with the trauma they may have experienced responding to COVID-19.  Learn more here: https://www.thingstheycarryproject.org/