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Last week I previewed the Governor's State of the State address. You can read the speech here or watch it here.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Governor has also introduced his legislative package, which by tradition is introduced by the Speaker by request of the Administration (yes, the Democratic Speaker would even sponsor the former Republican Governor's bills). Governor Moore's proposed bills are: Serving Every Region Through Vocational Exploration Act of 2023: Establishing a service year option program for high school graduates to perform a year of service. Family Prosperity Act of 2023: Extends the state earned income and child tax credits. Access to Banking Act: Establishes the Maryland Community Venture Investment Fund to incentivize the placement of banks and credit unions in low and moderate income neighborhoods. Fair Wage Act of 2023: Speeds up the implementation of the $15.00/hour minimum wage and links it to inflation. Clean Transportation and Energy Act: Increases the incentives for zero emission vehicles, including for trucks. Broadband Expansion Incentive Act of 2023: Exempts certain broadband related equipment from the sales and use tax. Innovation Economy Infrastructure Act of 2023: Establishes a grant program in the Department of Commerce for certain technology related infrastructure projects. Health Care for Heroes Act of 2023: Covers healthcare costs for Maryland's National Guard members. Keep Our Heroes Home Act: Increases the tax benefit for military retirement income. The committees in the General Assembly will now do their due diligence and consider these proposals. ----- Two priorities of the General Assembly have also been introduced. The first is the Speaker's constitutional amendment to enshrine reproductive freedom in the state constitution. The second is the cannabis reform legislation to implement Maryland's new recreational cannabis market, required by the successful constitutional ballot question last year. Recreational cannabis will be regulated like medical cannabis to ensure safety through the renamed Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission. Existing growers, dispensers, and operators in the medical cannabis program would be able to convert--at a cost--to a combination recreational/medical license and additional licenses would become available. The tax rate will begin at 6% and slowly rise to 10%, with most of the funding originally targeted towards implementation and social equity programs. COMMUNITY NEWS
At noon today, Governor Moore will deliver his first State of the State Address in the House chamber. You will be able to watch the speech on the House of Delegates' YouTube channel. I will include a link to the speech on my social media feeds and in next week's newsletter. And speaking of Governor Moore, many of you immediately noticed that I inadvertently used the former Governor's name last week when referencing a cabinet appointment. Old habits die hard and I added the paragraph after my dedicated proofreaders did their work, so the error was entirely my own. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE I have now introduced nine pieces of legislation, which I expect to be my full load this legislative session. You can browse the bills here. Of course, I will be involved in many other pieces of legislation and issues as a member of the Appropriations Committee and House Majority Leader, so just because you do not see a topic in my own bill list does not mean it will not be addressed or I will not be working on it. Thus far, two of my bills have been the subject of House committee hearings (every bill introduced before a certain date is guaranteed a hearing). Both bills are devoted to trying to increase our ability to fund major infrastructure projects. The State and Federal Transportation Funding Act hearing was last week and allows the state to use a federal financing vehicle referred to as "GARVEE" bonds for major projects. The Maryland Rail Investment Act hearing was earlier this week and the bill would establish a rail authority in the state funded by road tolls to build major rail projects. EDUCATION UPDATE The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is a comprehensive and far-reaching effort to improve public education in the state of Maryland. Most of the press coverage of it during the Hogan years was about cost. Overall cost is important, but the Blueprint is really about what we are doing with our scare resources. It focused on five areas, now known as pillars and described more fully in the legislation:1. Early Childhood Education 2. High Quality and Diverse Teachers and Leaders 3. College and Career Readiness 4. More Resources for Students to Be Successful (particularly targeting certain groups such as special needs to English Language Learner populations) 5. Governance and Accountability On point five, this included standing up a new Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), which is chaired by Ike Leggett. The AIB is required to produce a Comprehensive Implementation Plan and then each school district will do the same. The Comprehensive Implementation Plan is now available online. For those who want to do a deep dive, it gets into the details of each pillar by describing the objectives, tasks, and sub tasks that will go into achieving the goals of that pillar and the outcome measures and milestones that will be used to track progress. It will not always be perfectly smooth and progress will be challenging, but the Blueprint for Maryland's Future is more than an increase of funds for our public schools--as important as that is--but a new way to ensure progress towards our ambitious goals. COMMITTEE UPDATE As I often explain, the vast majority of our work in the legislature is committee-driven. I serve on the Appropriations Committee. In addition to bill hearings, my committee holds budget hearings on each state agency and department. But early in the session we also do more general briefings and here is what we have been up to this past week.  As chair of the Transportation and Environment Subcommittee, I presided over the briefing on major projects. Because of a technical issue, the video of the meeting is not available but the audio is here.
The full committee also held its annual fiscal briefing, where we break down the Governor's budget broadly before examining each agency more closely. The materials for that briefing are available here. And you can watch the briefing here. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The Brunswick Line is the MARC commuter rail line that serves Montgomery County (and beyond). The Maryland Transit Administration is taking comment on the Brunswick Line Expansion Study, which focuses on specific and achievable infrastructure and service improvements. Read the study and comment here. ----- The Biden Administration recently released a fact sheet regarding the bipartisan infrastructure law's impact on Maryland. Read it here. ----- I know many of you are concerned about Old Georgetown Road and Little Falls Parkway. I have been involved in numerous constituent conversations on both over the past few weeks but do not have any type of comprehensive update since my prior weekly emails. We continue to pass along specific questions, concerns, and feedback on both issues to the relevant agencies. COMMUNITY NEWS
Last Friday, the Governor introduced his first budget proposal. It is made up of three components: the operating budget; the capital (or construction) budget; and a Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) which proposes changes in statute to support a balanced budget. You can review the budget submission here. Later today the General Assembly will have its annual fiscal briefing as we begin to dig into the proposal. Over the next few weeks we will continue to go through the budget on an agency-by-agency basis as we work with the Governor to finalize the budget.  Here are some of the highlights of the budget:
As I said, we will dig more deeply into the budget over the coming weeks. ----- Last week, I joined my colleague Senator Cheryl Kagan for "Kibbitzing with Kagan." You can hear our conversation on YouTube. TRANSPORTATION In my update two weeks ago I mentioned a forthcoming announcement from Montgomery County Park & Planning regarding Little Falls Parkway. That announcement came a few days ago. On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, from 7 – 8:30 p.m, Parks will hold a virtual meeting to present data from traffic studies conducted on Little Falls Parkway between Arlington Road and Dorset Avenue. After the meeting, Parks will present the findings of the traffic studies to the Planning Board in a hearing during which members of the public will have the opportunity to testify. The Planning Board will then review the Parks Department’s recommendations and the public testimony and determine whether to proceed with the pilot project in a subsequent meeting. The Planning Board public hearing and meeting dates are yet to be determined but will likely be held in late March and early April. Once the dates are set, they will be publicly announced and posted on the Parks Department’s website on the project page. ----- Work continues on the Purple Line, but the construction contractor has recently claimed that delays on utilities relocation will extend the construction by several months. The state's view is that the delays can be mitigated but you can read more about the situation here. ----- Governor Moore recently announced his new Secretary of Transportation: Paul Wiedefeld. Mr. Wiedefeld is best known in our area for his work as the General Manager of Metro, but he has also led the Maryland Aviation Administration and Maryland Transit Administration, and worked at the State Highway Administration. Read more about the announcement here. COMMUNITY NEWS
We are now in week two of the 90 day legislation and I am finalizing the bills I will be the primary sponsor of this year. I currently plan to sponsor nine pieces of legislation. That said, there are some significant issues the General Assembly will address that I may not be the sponsor of, but will take up significant time. This includes the annual budget which goes through the committee I serve on (Appropriations) and all of the major bills, which as the Majority Leader of the House I will have some involvement in.
The legislation I currently plan to sponsor includes: -State and Federal Transportation Funding Act (HB 51): The bill allows the state to use Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) Bonds to finance certain transportation projects. -Maryland State Agency Transparency Act of 2023 (HB 58): The legislation expands various open meeting and transparency requirements--including web streaming meetings--to the Maryland State Ethics Commission. -Net Metering Flexibility Act (HB 68): Thanks to a constituent, I learned that our state policy for net metering credits--the credits earned for generating energy from solar panels--is not as consumer-friendly as it could be and this legislation seeks to improve that. -Maryland Rail Investment Act of 2023 (HB 74): This is a repeat of last year and would use road, tunnel, and bridge tolls to fund a new rail authority to invest in needed transit rail projects around the state. -Young Readers Program Expansion Act: Last year we passed a bill to create a state match program for Imagination Library-type programs (every kid under five gets a book a month from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library). This year's bill would move the program from the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention and put it in the Maryland State Library Agency and add further funding. -Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act: Another repeat from a prior session, this would allow our state workers to engage in binding arbitration as part of the existing collective bargaining process. -Special Needs Teacher Pay Parity Act: The state's "non-public placement" program is for students with special needs who the local school district decides to send to a school outside of the traditional public program. This bill would rename the program and alter the funding to increase special needs teacher pay. -The Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority Sunset Act: I previously served on Governor Hogan's State Transparency and Reform (STAR) Commission that looked at several quasi-governmental state agencies. This bill takes a close look at one of those agencies to determine if it should continue. -Board of Public Works Public Comment Act: This legislation would set up a more formal process for the state Board of Public Works--which approves all state contracts--to accept and consider public comments. The Maryland General Assembly website has many great resources if you are interested in following our work over the next 90 days. I will highlight just a few: The general schedule is available here: You can look up legislation and track its progress here. Every bill introduced by the bill introduction deadline is guaranteed a hearing and before the hearing, a fiscal and policy note about the bill will be published. You can view the Committee Schedule, which will be regularly updated, here. I also recommend a few different news resources for those of you interested in the legislature. In addition to the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun, there are three websites that specialize in coverage of Annapolis: Maryland Reporter: http://marylandreporter.com/ Maryland Matters: https://marylandmatters.org/ Center Maryland: http://www.centermaryland.org/ The Daily Record is a paid site, but the Twitter feed of their ace reporter, Bryan Sears (@bpsears) is a good one to follow. There are also a few good podcasts that cover the legislative session including the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Conduit Street Podcast. For more local coverage, Bethesda Beat. COMMUNITY NEWS
Today is the start of my new term and the beginning of the annual legislative session. I am honored to be serving in a new role this year, having been recently named Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates by Speaker Adrienne Jones. I look forward to serving my district and state in this new capacity.  And speaking of new roles, congratulations to District 16's State Senator Susan Lee, who earlier this week was tapped by Governor-elect Wes Moore as Secretary of State. Delegate Ariana Kelly will be seeking the Senate seat and I look forward to supporting Ariana in this new role.
But what most of you want to read about are roads, roads, roads. Three different roads have been dominating the communication we receive from constituents these past few weeks. Little Falls Parkway: Montgomery County Park & Planning has been piloting a "linear park" concept on Little Falls Parkway. This involved reducing traffic to two lanes and shifting it all to one side of the median. We have heard from many constituents concerned with the changes and expect an announcement from Park & Planning this week regarding the path forward. We have also been working with the State Highway Administration on the Little Falls Parkway and Massachusetts Avenue intersection and expect State Highway to provide recommendations in February. Old Georgetown Road: As I wrote in a previous newsletter, in December the State Highway Administration used a repaving contract to install two bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road, removing one of three lanes of traffic in each direction. I spent most of the holidays responding to emails and phone calls about the bike lanes, some favorable but most concerned about the impact on through traffic flow. I have driven up and down the road at numerous times of day, including with some local neighborhood association representatives, to have a closer look at the situation. The purpose of the lanes is to improve safety on the corridor in response to historic incidents--including deaths--along the road (including creating a buffer between the side walks and auto traffic). But this must be done in a balanced way. The lanes are both available for bikes and can act as a buffer for those on the sidewalk. You can see State Highway's presentation on the project and you will note that their estimates of through traffic time increases are far less than what people have experienced in the early days of the bike lanes. We have been in regular contact with State Highway since the lanes' installation sharing concerns. State Highway considers the project incomplete, as certain paint and sign elements are not complete. They are also working with Montgomery County's Department of Transportation on potential signaling changes. That said, State Highway has committed to more real-time monitoring and a post-installation study to assess if and how the lanes are working. Here is their recent statement: [Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA)] will soon be completing remaining improvements of the project and will coordinate closely with MCDOT traffic engineering staff to improve operations through signal timing adjustments and other engineering enhancements. MDOT SHA will assess traffic operations throughout January and February to examine corridor performance and travel time impacts. The assessment will examine travel times using field collected travel time run data and vehicle probe data, speed using field collected data, lane utilization using traffic counts, origin-destination patterns, Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (BLTS), Pedestrian Level of Comfort (PLOC), safety, and mobility (vehicular and multimodal). We expect further feedback from State Highway on the path forward soon and will strive to keep you informed. American Legion Bridge/I-495/I-270: With Governor Hogan about to depart office, I am regularly asked about the fate of the private toll road expansion project he has been promoting for several years. Last year, the Governor entered the state into a Public Private Partnership with an entity called Accelerate Maryland Partners. That entity was due to submit a section proposal for the American Legion Bridge, 495 connections to I-270, the two spurs, and I-270 to Gaithersburg. Late last year, however, the Governor announced an extension of the section agreement deadline until later this year, placing the project in the hands of the incoming Moore Administration.LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Incumbent legislators can "pre-file" bills before the legislative session begins. 130 Senate and 123 House bills were pre-filed this year and you can review them all here. I will talk more about my legislative agenda in a future email but, for now, I have four pre-filed bills on transportation funding, clean energy, and government transparency. TRANSPORTATION UPDATEThe Maryland Transit Administration is now required to submit bimonthly reports on the Purple Line as a result of provisions we have placed in the state budget. The January report is available here. Since release of the report, which unfortunately shows extremely limited progress, I have been meeting with Maryland Transit Administration staff to discuss the project and hope to have more to report soon. COMMUNITY NEWS
Happy holidays from my family to yours. I hope you and your loved ones are able to get a bit of a break and can enjoy the holiday season. Scroll down for information about the District 16 send-off and my legislative update.  On Wednesday January 4 at 7:30pm, the District 16 team will be holding an online legislative town hall send-off in advance of the legislative session. If you are interested, please register here: bit.ly/d16-01-04  BUDGET UPDATE
As House Chair of the Spending Affordability Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, I spend a lot of time on state budget issues. The state budget somewhat reflects the overall health of our economy and tells us how much we can contribute to the common good of public education, parks, transportation, and other government services. Last week, the state Board of Revenue Estimates released their updated forecasts, which still show robust revenues but includes the consensus expectation of a recession next year. The Spending Affordability Committee also met to issue our budget recommendations for next year. You can watch the meeting here and read the report we adopted here. To summarize the report's recommendations, its recommends that we maintain a 10% rainy day fund and a $350m fund balance (the amount of excess cash in the bank account after we are done budgeting), proposes a robust capital (construction) budget in keeping with our prior year plans, and calls for increased attention to restaffing state govt. You can hear me discuss the state budget on the I Hate Politics Podcast here. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The non-partisan Department of Legislative Services releases "Issue Papers" each year to set forth some of the matters that the General Assembly may take up during the next legislative session. You can read the 2023 legislative session Issue Papers here. ----- Each year the Montgomery County Delegation takes up local and bi-county legislation in advance of the legislative session. The 2023 session bills are available here. One of the bills was put forth by me--along with my District 16 colleagues--involves procurement policy in the Village of Friendship Heights, which is in state law. The bill was suggested to me by a constituent to allow Friendship Heights increased authority for procurement in emergency circumstances and increases the threshold for competitive bidding for the first time in decades. You can watch me testify on the bill here. There are many other important bills the Montgomery County Delegation is considering but some of the highest profile involve County Park & Planning, which is part of the bi-county Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. One bill would create a task force on the structure of Park and Planning and whether it should be moved within the executive branch. The other impacts who appoints the Planning Board Chair and the rules they have to follow. They will both be subject to further consideration and debate by the Delegation.TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The Montgomery County Delegation recently sent a letter to the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or Metro) opposing efforts to restore the Red Line turnbacks, which would reduce service to Montgomery County. You can read the letter here and some local coverage here. I note that following the letter, the Metro budget proposal for the next fiscal year was released and does not include the turnbacks. ----- In response to the death of Enzo Alvarenga and building off of the MD-187 (Old Georgetown Road) corridor needs analysis, the State Highway Administration (SHA) has extended bike lanes as part of a repaving projects to cover Ryland Drive to Tilden Lane. This has proven controversial and although I am personally interested in seeing if these lanes are viable, I have been relaying implementation concerns to SHA. The agency will be doing a post-implementation study to measure the impact on road traffic once the lanes have been installed for a period of time. Part of the benefit of the bike lanes being put in as part of repaving is that they are relatively easy to uninstall if the data warrants it. ----- Part of the Marriott Headquarters project in downtown Bethesda involved Marriott paying for daily use of parking spots in Garage 11 (the parking garage on Woodmont across from the Marriott Headquarters). Because of telework, many of those spots are sitting empty during the day. Marriott has worked with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, my office, and others to pilot the opening of some of these unused spots for public access during the day. Learn more here. COMMUNITY NEWS
 Thank you for your support in the recent election. With your help, I was elected to a new four year term in the House of Delegates alongside my colleagues in District 16, Senator Susan Lee, Delegate Ariana Kelly, and Delegate Sara Love. On Election Day, my son and I visited 31 District 16 polling places and spoke with many of you. Although some votes are still being counted, most races in Montgomery County have clear victors. But if you want to monitor any races or see the results, you can visit the Board of Elections website. I now look forward to continuing my work as your Delegate in a new term. Outside of these emails, you can follow my activities on Twitter at @mkorman; Facebook at Marc.Korman.Campaign and, less often, on YouTube. MONTGOMERY COUNTY DELEGATION After four years, I have stepped down as chair of the 24 member Montgomery County House Delegation (our rules have a four year term limit). It was a challenging but rewarding four years as our Delegation navigated COVID-19 while considering over 100 local bills--legislation that only impacts Montgomery County--and advocated for our County's needs. I appreciate the confidence my colleagues placed in me and thanks to the Delegation staff, particularly our administrators Sara, Michelle, and Rebecca. And congratulations to the new leadership, Delegate Palakovich-Carr, Delegate Shetty, Delegate Stewart, and Delegate Qi. The Montgomery County Delegation's work for the 2023 legislative session is beginning. Local legislation will soon be posted to montgomerycountydelegation.com and local bill hearings will be on December 8 and 15. You can watch our recent joint priorities hearing here.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE As House Chair of the Spending Affordability Committee, I presided over our recent annual overview of the Maryland economy and budget. You can read the presentation we reviewed here. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The District 16 Team and Councilman Friedson have been meeting with the State Highway Administration regarding River Road regularly since the death of Sarah Langenkamp, who was killed while riding in one of the painted River Road bike lanes. The State Highway Administration recently provided us the below update on their current activities. In short, at our request, SHA has begun a needs analysis which will identify safety improvements that can be implemented in this corridor. Additionally, SHA is evaluating near-term improvements such as a potential speed limit reduction, signing upgrades and pavement marking upgrades to improve cyclist safety. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) would like to thank you for your close coordination. At this time, we are writing to provide you an update of our efforts along the corridor following our recent discussions. The Montgomery County Department of Police – Collision Reconstruction Unit (MCP – CRU) is currently investigating the fatal bicycle-involved collision that occurred on 8/25/2022, along MD 190 north of Little Falls Pkwy. While the MCP – CRU investigation is ongoing, the MDOT SHA District 3 Traffic office is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the engineering conditions that were present along MD 190 at the time of the fatal crash. Our office typically performs such evaluations for any pedestrian/bicycle fatal crash that occurs along a State-owned roadway. The evaluation would consider the findings of the MCP investigation when it is completed and made publicly available on our MDOT SHA link at https://mdot-sha-fatal-crash-evaluation-maryland.hub.arcgis.com/. The MDOT SHA’s Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering (OPPE), in consultation with MDOT SHA’s District 3 office, has initiated a comprehensive needs analysis for the MD 190 corridor between Springfield Drive to Little Falls Parkway. This needs analysis will outline a multimodal vision for the corridor by identifying strategies to address pedestrian and bicycle network needs, enhance safety, and improve travel conditions in the corridor. It will also provide a road map to deliver improvements based on MDOT SHA’s Context Driven - Access & Mobility for All Users guide, a planning and design resource centered on establishing safe and effective multimodal transportation systems. Context Driven weighs the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers in the context of the surrounding environment and targets strategies that overcome deficiencies and improve safety and mobility. We anticipate the needs analysis being available later this winter. As MDOT SHA’s comprehensive needs analysis progresses forward, the MDOT SHA District Three Office is currently evaluating several near-term improvement opportunities within the existing roadway footprint to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety along the MD 190 corridor from Springfield Drive to Little Falls Parkway, such as a potential speed limit reduction, signing upgrades, pavement marking upgrades, and vertical delineation to reduce conflicts between turning motorists and bicyclists. We anticipate completing our review of corridor wide enhancements before year’s end and will share the results of our efforts when completed. We also encourage continued feedback from community members, residents, and local stakeholders regarding potential enhancements to the corridor. Thank you again for your continued partnership with MDOT SHA and support for our pedestrian and bicycle safety initiatives in Montgomery County. ----- The Purple Line construction contractor recently began a multi-year pedestrian detour on Wisconsin Avenue. The pedestrian access is diverted on the west side of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street and will last several years as the Purple Line shaft down to the Red Line station is completed. I had a long meeting with the contractor about finding some way to keep pedestrian access open--as the building constructed just to the north was able to do--but they could not figure out a way because they need a building and crane there plus access to the site to take out excavated material. And speaking of the Purple Line, the Maryland General Assembly--through my budget subcommittee--requires the Maryland Transit Administration to provide bimonthly status reports on the Purple Line's progress. The most recent update is available here. ----- Maryland Auto Insurance is the state-backed auto-insurer of last resort. During the past legislative session, I worked with my colleague Senator McCray to allow Maryland Auto to offer more flexible installment plans to improve access to its insurance products and ensure more Marylanders are driving with the required insurance. You can read about the launch of the new plans here. COMMUNITY NEWS
The General Election is on Tuesday, November 8 and polls are open from 7am to 8pm. You can locate your polling place here. As we are now used to, however, there are multiple other ways to participate in the election. You can request a mail-in ballot by November 1 here. If you do not want to mail that ballot back, you can put it in one of the drop boxes. A complete list of locations is available here but in District 16 there are drop boxes at every public high school, the Montgomery County Conference Center (Marriott Bethesda North), and the Friendship Heights Village Center. Just outside the district, there is a drop box at the Lawton Center, as well as nearby high schools. Early voting will also be available from Thursday, October 27 to Thursday, November 3 from 7am to 8pm. You can vote at any early voting site in Montgomery County and the complete list is here. The early voting sites closest to District 16 are the Lawton Center, the Potomac Community Center, and the Executive Office Building in Rockville. If you want to help launch me into those next four years, please consider contributing here. BALLOT QUESTIONS On your ballot will be several ballot questions that I want to provide information on. Question 1: A yes vote would approve the renaming of the Maryland Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals as the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Maryland Appellate Court. As an attorney, I am personally comfortable with the current names but I am voting YES because these names will bring us in line with most state court systems and make more sense to members of the public. Question 2: A yes vote would approve a somewhat technical correction to the district residency rules for Maryland state legislators. I am voting YES. Question 3: A yes vote would permit an increase in the threshold of a jury trial of the amount in controversy from $15,000 to $25,000. I appreciate that some are concerned that this could reduce access to justice, but the $15,000 threshold is long-standing and, over time, such dollar amounts should be adjusted upward to reflect their current value. I am voting YES. Question 4: A yes vote would permit an individual who is at least 21 years old to use and possess cannabis, subject to future licensing and taxation legislation by the Maryland General Assembly. This past year, we did pass an initial implementation bill (https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/legislation/details/hb0837?ys=2022rs) that addresses some aspects of recreational cannabis including home grow, expunging prior records related to cannabis, and what levels of possession would be permissible. I am voting YES. Question 5: A yes vote would alter Howard County's Orphans Court system--these courts hear contested matters regarding a decedent’s estate, including validity of wills and legal questions involving transfers of property--by having the county's Circuit Court judges take over this role, similar to the process in Montgomery County. Because the Howard County Delegation supported this change, I am voting YES. Question A is a local ballot question that would include the County Council in the process of removing the County Attorney. I am voting YES. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE Last week, the Maryland Department of Transportation visited Montgomery County for their annual presentation of the draft Consolidated Transportation Program, which can be accessed here. Here is an excerpt of me discussing District 16-specific priorities and projects. Here is an excerpt of me discussing countywide transportation issues. And here is a video of the entire meeting. ---- On October 24 at 7:00pm, the District 16 Team and Councilman Friedson will be convening state and local agencies to discuss the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Little Falls Parkway. You can RSVP for the event here.  
The November general election is fast approaching. The deadline to register to vote is October 18. Early voting is October 27 through November 3. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot--and there will once again be drop boxes throughout our area--is November 1. And election day is November 8. I am excited to vote for the state candidates leading my party's ticket this November: Wes Moore for Governor (and Aruna Miller for Lieutenant Governor); Anthony Brown for Attorney General; and Brooke Lierman for Comptroller. I am not only excited to vote for them, but to actually work with them for the next four years as we implement the Blueprint for Maryland's Future to support our students and schools; ensure transportation options that focus on safely moving people; fulfill our ambitious clean energy and other environmental goals; make sure government is working to make life a little easier for our residents, whether they are struggling with a health challenge, having difficulty with their bills, or something else; and to do it all in a transparent and accessible way for our residents.  LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The Humane Society Legislative Fund for Maryland scores legislators on their support for animals. I was pleased to receive 100% this year. You can review the scorecard to see what they evaluated here. BUDGET NEWS The state has issued its fiscal year 2022 (the year that ended June 30, 2022) close-out report. You can read it here. The top line is that there is an "unassigned" budget surplus of $1.121 billion. This is after an $870 million transfer from the surplus to specified uses: particularly bringing the Rainy Day Fund up to 10% and a construction project fund. That process is part of a "revenue volatility" policy put in place to avoid appropriating capital gains revenue that never materializes. This is all positive for the state's finances and represents both the benefits of federal stimulus during COVID and a strong underlying economy, even as some of our neighbors suffer and the cost for important goods is too high. But the Bureau of Revenue Estimates expects growth to slow in the near term and warns of stubborn and persistent inflation, as well as how much of the revenue is from capital gains which can be erratic (and why we have the revenue volatility policy referenced above). TRANSPORTATION UPDATE The Purple Line continues to be an issue of great concern to our residents. Construction is currently scheduled to continue until 2026. The Transportation, Land Use, and Public Safety Committee of the Montgomery County Delegation--a committee chaired by District 16's own Sara Love--held a briefing on the pedestrian challenges related to the construction work. You can view it here. ----- Five Metro stations recently changed their names, including White Flint converting to North Bethesda. Read about it in the Washington Post. ----- The Maryland Department of Transportation has issued their six year draft Consolidated Transportation Program. This will be the subject of a public meeting in Montgomery County on Tuesday October 11 at 7pm at the Montgomery County Council building. You can read the draft plan here. COMMUNITY NEWS
Thank you again to the voters of District 16 for re-nominating me--as well as my teammates Senator Susan Lee, Delegate Ariana Kelly, and Delegate Sara Love--for another term during the June primary. I appreciate the support and confidence. Even in an election year, the legislative process continues. The Montgomery County Delegation's annual fall meetings have been scheduled. These meetings include a presentation by the state Department of Transportation, a priorities hearing at which any County resident can tell us what they care about, and two nights of hearings on any local (Montgomery County only) bills that are introduced. More information is on the calendar page of the Delegation's website.  As always, you can keep up with what I am doing by following me at @mkorman on Twitter or Delegate Marc Korman on Facebook. And you can support my political work by contributing here.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The Department of Legislate Services has released its quadrennial Major Issues Review describing the General Assembly's work over the four year term. Four years is a long time and there are many highlights from an impactful term like the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the Built to Learn Act, the Climate Solutions Now Act, the Clean Energy Jobs Act, and so much more. ----- I am pleased to have been named a "Green Champion" by the Maryland League of Conservation Voters and for scoring 100% on this year's legislative scorecard. You can read what issues and bills they scored legislators on here. BUDGET NEWS The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates is an important but under-known part of state government that tracks how our economy is doing and it’s impact on the state budget. Thanks to legislation I cosponsored in 2021, it now has its own website at https://www.mdbre.gov/ The 2021 bill also reformed BRE’s hiring process and makes it more transparent with posted reports and a regular meeting schedule. TRANSPORTATION UPDATE There has been a lot in the news lately regarding the federally led environmental review of the Governor's proposed private toll road expansion on I-495 and I-270. I joined a group of lawmakers from Montgomery County that requested the Federal Highway Administration extend the time to review the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which is available here. Governor Hogan issued a press release attacking the federal government for not rubber stamping the environmental review of his private toll road widening project. Buried in the press release, Governor Hogan also conceded he would be asking those same federal officials for money: "As a result, I have directed state transportation officials to initiate the process of applying for a federal bridge grant to mitigate these federally-driven cost increases." The Governor tries to explain it is the federal government's fault he needs a taxpayer subsidy for his supposedly tax-free project, but this is a distortion of reality. Almost every road way Public Private Partnership (P3) in the United States has required taxpayer contributions. Do not take the word of a project skeptic like me. Take the word of project supporters at the Reason Foundation who in a review of all road way P3s found the following: "All but two of the 17 projects involved some investment by the state DOT, in addition to the private sector’s investment of equity and its legal obligation to pay off revenue bonds." (Source) It is also interesting to note that the consortium tasked with building the project does not have a construction partner to actually do the work at this time. ----- I am a supporter (and rider) of transit and recognize its traffic, economic and environmental benefits. But its challenges are real. I recently spoke to a streaming news service called Newsy about some of the national challenges facing transit. You can watch the segment here. Closer to home, I spoke to Governing Magazine about some of the particular shortcomings of our regional Metro system. ----- The state has issued its draft State Rail Plan. As a leader in the Maryland Transit Caucus, I helped draft our comments, which you can review online as well. ----- With the new construction contractor for the Purple Line in place, I joined with the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee to call on Maryland to abide by its statements that the project would include a Project Labor Agreement. Our letter is here. As the construction contractor steps in, work will ramp up on the corridor. One recent announcement was that a lane of auto traffic and the sidewalk on 355 between Elm and Hampden will be closed. Although the public notice referenced the need for vehicles to access the construction site, the need for the closure is more complicated than this and includes building a temporary structure to support a crane. I have met with the contractor to discuss potential mitigation and to understand if this long-term closure is truly necessary. We placed a requirement in the budget that the Maryland Transit Administration submit a report every other month on project process. You can read the first bimonthly report here. COMMUNITY NEWS
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May 2023
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