The Final Stretch

I try to serve and respond to all of my constituents, but there are two in particular who are especially important to me and I was excited that they were able to spend the day in Annapolis last week.  My son even helped me with my voting button on the House floor (two Kormans for the price of one!).

Legislative News

The Maryland General Assembly 2016 session will end this coming Monday atmidnight.  These final days feature a flurry of activity and legislation.  Some of the legislation that has been or will be considered during these final days includes earned sick leave, the Justice Reinvestment Act, the Maryland Small Business Savings Program and Trust program, and tax changes, among many other important bills.

• Earned Sick Leave: The legislation passed the House and would require employers with more than 15 employees to provide earned sick leave for their employees.  Montgomery County has previously passed its own program, so the changes in our community would actually be minimal.  My seat-mate Delegate Ariana Kelly has been especially active on advancing this issue in our state.
• Justice Reinvestment Act: A far-reaching bill that would divert more non-violent offenders to treatment programs instead of prison.  The Pew Charitable Trust studied Maryland to come up with a diversion approach that would save tax dollars, improve outcomes, and keep more Marylanders as productive members of their communities instead of part of the revolving prison door.
• Maryland Small Business Savings Program and Trust: The bill would establish a Maryland retirement trust savings program for employees at businesses without such plans, setting up procedures for payroll deduction and other employee protections.  The goal of the voluntary program is to encourage more Marylanders to save for retirement.  My seat-mate Delegate Bill Frick has been a House leader on the issue.
• Tax Changes: The House and Senate have passed different pieces of legislation affecting taxes.  The House version is limited to increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for low income individuals while the Senate bill includes income tax reductions for high earners.  It is possible that a reconciled version of the competing proposals will be passed before the legislature adjourns for the year next week.

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I was pleased to be given charge of SB 764, legislation from Senator Raskin (D-Montgomery) and Senator Rosapepe (D-Prince George's) that passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis and clarifies the protections for student journalists at our public schools and institutions of higher education.  As of this writing, the bill has passed out of the Appropriations Committee unanimously and is heading to the House floor for consideration.  

Metro

The New York Times recently published a story about Metro.  After so many years of Washington Post and other local media stories on Metro's issues, it was interesting to see another major media outlet write about the system.  
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You may have heard about a Council of Government's summit on Metro last week.  The big news out of it was WMATA Board Chairman Jack Evans' discussion of potential and major long-term line closures.  You can learn more about the summit here.

Administration News

As I have expressed in prior emails, the Public Private Partnership ("P3") Agreement for the Purple Line project is lengthy and complex.  Indeed, the single agreement covers a 36 year period and includes the finance, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the new transit line.  I joined with colleagues from Prince George's County and Montgomery County to ask the Maryland Department of Transportation for more details about some of the provisions in the P3 Agreement.  The letter is available here.  Bethesda Beat also wrote a story on the letter.  The Secretary sent a prompt reply.

I also attended the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee oversight hearing on the Purple Line P3 Agreement.  The hearing can be viewed online and the material from the hearing can be found here.
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As the end of session approaches, legislation has been heading to the Governor's desk.  For bills that hit the Governor's desk before the end of the day last Friday, the Governor has six days to sign or veto the bills.  The Governor vetoed the Maryland Open Transportation Investment Decision Act, which the legislature will likely overturn.  The Governor released a letter explaining the reasons for the veto and several fact checkers have taken issue with his claims which you can view here and here.

My legislation, the Board of Public Works Transparency Act, is among the legislation the Governor will be deciding on.  The legislation passed both chambers on a bipartisan basis and had the support of the Administration's Department of Budget and Management.  The Governor has already signed three pieces of legislation, including the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act, that has been presented to him.

Community News

• On Saturday, April 9, Toll Brothers will be presenting their plan for the WMAL property in Bethesda.  The meeting will take place at 10am at the North Bethesda Middle School.
• On Monday, April 11, the White Flint Sector Plan Implementation Advisory Committee will be meeting at 7pm at the Wall Park/Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center (5900 Executive Boulevard in Rockville).
• Early voting begins on April 14th and runs through April 21st.  The three early voting locations closest to District 16 are the Lawton Center in the Town of Chevy Chase (4301 Willow Lane), the Potomac Community Center (11315 Falls Road), and the Executive Office Building in Rockville (101 Monroe Street).
• The Bethesda Literary Festival will be held April 15-17 at sites around Bethesda.  More information is available here.
• The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, April 26, 2016.

If you know of an upcoming community event, please email [email protected].

District 16 Notes

• My deepest condolences to District 16 constituent, and my Leadership Montgomery classmate, Jillian Copeland on the loss of her father (Stephen Friedlander).

• My predecessor in the House and friend former Delegate Bill Bronrott recently lost his mother, Annette Bragman Bronrott.  I hope you will join me in expressing your condolences to Bill.

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

​Sincerely,
Marc Korman