Weekly Update: Bills Are Moving

Some of the bills that I am the primary sponsor of have begun moving through the legislative process. Last week, the Locals Boards of Education Transparency Act passed the House unanimously. And the Metro Funding Modification Act passed two House committees, with bipartisan support and is on the House floor this week. A state legislator does a lot of work beyond their own bills, but it is good to see some of what I have authored pass.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Last week, I had five bill hearings on the Co-Op and Condo Energy Refund Equity Act, the Franchise Reform Act, Large Buildings for Tomorrow Act, the Land Transfer Accountability Act, and the Maryland Transit Administration Reform Act. These bills cover a range of topics including affordability, economic development, the environment, pushing back on what the federal government is doing, and transportation. And I will note that several of these proposals were developed with the assistance of constituents.
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Working with the rest of the District 16 Delegation, I have also gotten an additional bill introduced on behalf of the Village of Drummond to update their out of date charter. The bill will have a virtual hearing before the Montgomery County Delegation later this week.

DELEGATION UPDATE
On most Fridays during the legislative session, the Montgomery County Delegation meets to go over local legislation. This past Friday, we were joined by Senator Chris Van Hollen. You can watch the meeting here.
DISTRICT 16 NIGHT IN ANNAPOLIS
The District 16 Delegation is hosting District 16 Night in Annapolis on this upcoming Monday, March 9th, starting at 6:00pm in the Lowe House Office Building. If you are interested in attending, just click reply to this email.

POTOMAC INTERCEPTOR NEWS
DC Water, WSSC, Maryland Department of the Environment and others held a public meeting last week regarding the Potomac Interceptor. You can watch the public meeting here.
As a reminder, we send out a Potomac Interceptor-specific email multiple times a week. If you would like to be added, please just reply here.

APPOINTMENTS NEWS
District 16 has two appointees to the Montgomery County Building Performance Improvement Board. Kevin Walton has been reappointed and Bill Bien has been appointed to the board.
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The Governor sent down his "green bag" appointments last week. These are his appointments to multiple state boards and commissions. District 16 appointments include:
-WIlliam Zeid, Architectural Review
-Aslim Abdullah, Dental Examiners
-Cedric (Henry) Watson, Elevator Safety Review
-Robert Bajefsky Hangun Roster
-Paula Collins, St. Mary's College Board
-Ryan Frederic TEDCO Board of Directors
-Bei Ma Venture Fund Authority Nichelle Schoultz Commission for Women 

COMMUNITY NEWS
​The next Purple Line Community Action Team Meeting for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase area will be on Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm and will be held virtually. 

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
​Each week this legislative session, I am profiling non-Montgomery County legislators. This week is a two-for-one because these two members work closely together as Chair and Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment: Courtney Watson and Mark Edelson.
Delegate Watson is from Howard County and previously served on their County Council. She served as my Vice Chair when I was chair of what is now her subcommittee. Delegate Edelson is from Baltimore City and we actually know each other from law school predating our service together. Together, these two Delegates have been leaders in the House on transportation funding and oversight--with the occasional assist from me.