Thank You and Monthly Update

Thank you to so many of you for joining me at my re-election kick-off fundraiser last week.  It was wonderful to be in the presence of so many family members, friends, constituents, and supporters.  If you were unable to join us but would still like to contribute, you can still do so by clicking here.

You can always keep up with what I am doing by following me at @mkorman on Twitter, clicking "Like" on Delegate Marc Korman on Facebook, or visiting www.marckorman.com.

Legislative News
If you or someone you know lives in District 16 and is pursuing a higher education, don't forget the student can apply for a legislative scholarship.  Every year, each Senator and Delegate in the Maryland General Assembly receives legislative scholarship funds through the Maryland Higher Education Commission to award to their constituents.  

Visit http://www.marckorman.com/scholarship for more information.
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I recently wrote a guest blog post for the Seventh State blog about former Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson's book, Suburb.  You can read my review of this vital work on Montgomery County land use here.
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During the legislative session, we passed a change to the process by which the Attorney General can file suits against the federal government.  Attorney General Frosh has filed a new suit, in concert with the Washington, DC Attorney General, against President Trump alleging violations of the Constitution's Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clause.  You can learn more about it here.

Administration News
The Governor has now taken action on all bills passed by the General Assembly.  A list of bills the Governor has vetoed can be found here.  Bills are either vetoed on policy grounds--the Governor does not like them--or because the bills are duplicative of others bills that passed.  For example, the Governor vetoed my legislation on leap day, leave day for state employees (HB 324) but signed the identical Senate version of the bill (SB 580).
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Maryland has a a renters tax credit for low income seniors.  Click here to learn more about your eligibility and how to apply.
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In response to a request from Maryland legislators, the State Highway Administration has submitted the linked report regarding how to improve coordination between road work and utility work. A major complaint of many constituents is that it constantly seems like road work is done and then the road is dug back up a short-time later for something unrelated.

The report is a bit too self-congratulatory about the work the State Highway Administration is doing, but does offer a few suggestions. Coordination is complicated by the fact that many of the players are private companies. Even the government entities have difficulty coordinating. We have a situation in District 16 where River Road work was just completed by one party and now the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission has had to go back in because they just budgeted for an important capital project.
Anything that can be done to increase coordination and improve the situation for constituents on state roads would be welcome. I believe the County publishes a list to try and coordinate on County roads already.

Community News

• A recent Montgomery County Inspector General report has found that traffic signals in Montgomery County have yellow signals below the state-set level of 3.5 seconds.  This has an effect on red light cameras if someone crosses the stop line while the light is still yellow.  I sent the County Executive a letter about this issue which you can read here.
• I have previously highlighted episodes of Public Interest Podcast, which is the work of District 16's Jordan Cooper.  A few recent episodes are particularly interesting for District 16 residents:  Susan Kirk, Executive Director of Bethesda Cares; Ginanne Italiano, President of the Greater Bethesda Chamber; and Nancy Kopp, State Treasurer and former District 16 Delegate.
• Congratulations to District 16's Ken Hartman, Director of the Bethesda Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.  Ken is the recipient of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce's Ron Resch Business Advocate Award.
• Best of luck and congratulations to Jane Fairweather, who is the incoming Chair-elect of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce.
• Thank you to several District 16 residents who have joined or been renominated to local boards and commissions:
  • Advisory Committee on Consumer Protection: Jane Merkin
  • Friendship Heights Transportation Management District Advisory Committee: Manuel Ochoa
  • Citizens Review Panel on Children: Ronna Cook and Laura Coyle
  • Property Tax Assessment Board: Theodore Seale
• Congratulations to Nancy Bliss of District 16 for becoming president of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County.
• Deborah Beers has retired as Mayor of the Town of Glen Echo after 25 years.  Thank you to Mayor Beers for her service.  Congratulations to her successor, Willem Polak, as well.
• District 16 has three awardees at the annual Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington Annual Gala: Stuart Lessans, Breslau-Goldman Award; Sheldon Grosberg, Community Leadership Award; and Rabbi William Rudolph, Distinguished Service Award.  Congratulations one and all.

​If you know of a District 16 resident who merits recognition or condolences, please email [email protected]