Tuesday, March 8, 2022

MD Legislative Report - March 8 2022

   The 2022 General Assembly is two weeks away from ‘cross-over’ day when any bills that have not passed one house or the other will not be able to be voted on by the other house and will basically be dead.  So, in the next two weeks we will have a clear understanding of which of the bills that I have listed have some chance of passing.  I am first listing some bills that have passed one of the two houses and then some bills that have not moved out of Committee and could use some help.

·  HB 154 would require each public school district to adopt and implement guidelines to reduce the risk of exposure to food allergens.

·  HB 459 - Juvenile Justice Reform: Makes reforms to the juvenile court and intake process based on the recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Reform Council.

·  HB 16 - Unattended Dogs - Extreme Weather Conditions and Heat: Prohibits a person from leaving a dog outside and unattended without access to suitable shelter or suitable shade during extreme weather conditions and temperatures.

·  HB 19 - Safe Walk to School Act: Requires school boards to develop pedestrian safety plans.

·  HB 43 - Maryland Sustainable Buildings Act of 2022: Requires the State government to establish standards for State-owned buildings to conserve energy.

·  HB 157 - Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicles - Reserved Parking Spaces: Prohibits parking a vehicle in plug-in electric vehicle charging space unless the vehicle is plugged into charging equipment

·  SB0029 - Marriage Law - Minimum Age Requirement2

·  SB0073 - General Assembly - Election to Fill a Vacancy in Office

·  HB0153 - Repeal of the Spousal Defense

·  HB0472 - Juvenile Justice Reform

·  HB0001 - Constitutional Amendment – Cannabis

·  Tax Relief package

o    House Bill 1151 cuts the tax on diabetic care products like testing strips, insulin pumps and glucose monitors.

o    House Bill 288 cuts the sales tax on baby products including car seats, baby bottles and bottle nipples. 

o    House Bill 282 cuts the sales tax on diapers.

o    House Bill 492 cuts the tax on dental hygiene products like toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and mouthwash. 

o    House Bill 364 cuts the sales tax on thermometers, pulse oximeters, and blood pressure monitors. 

o    House Bill 2 provides a tax credit to businesses that hire and retain workers from underrepresented communities who are chronically unemployed. 

 

 

There is a particularly good organization that tracks important bills.  It is the Maryland Legislative Coalition.  http://mdlegislative.com .  I am using information from their website for the next few legislative updates.

 

Action Needed


Listed below are several very important bills that need to be voted out of their committee and voted on in the next two weeks. 

Please ask your legislators (if they are on the relevant committee) to push to get the bills on a voting list and try to ensure that they pass in the strongest possible posture, without any weakening amendments.  If your legislators are not on the relevant committee, ask them to make sure that they vote for the bills and do not allow any weakening amendments.


ENVIRONMENTAL BILLS -
HB0141/SB0023 Equity in Transportation Sector - Delegate Ruth/Senator Carter
HB0171/SB0135 Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act - Delegate Fraser-Hidalgo/Senator Kramer
HB0596/SB0783 Constitutional Amendment - Environmental Rights - Delegate W. Fisher/Senator Smith

GUN CONTROL BILLS - 
HB0425/SB0387 Public Safety - Untraceable Firearms - Speaker/President

HEALTH CARE BILLS -
HB0610/SB0493 Public Health - Commission on Universal Health Care - Delegate Ruth/Senator Pinsky
HB0008/SB0275 Labor and Employment - Family Medical Leave Insurance Program (Time to Care Act of 2202) - Delegate Valderrama/Senator Hayes
HB0694 Hospitals - Financial Assistance - Medical Bill Reimbursement - Delegate Charkoudian

SOCIAL JUSTICE BILLS -
HB0086/SB0006 Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases - Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart/Senator Waldstreicher
HB0083/SB0029 Family Law - Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry - Delegate Atterbeary/Senator Elfreth
HB0114/SB0129 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Delegate Williams/Senator Hettleman
HB0559/SB0265 Probation before Judgement - Probation Agreements - Probation Not Deportation - Delegate W. Fisher/Senator Lee
 


HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THESE BILLS
 

Call or send an email to your legislators.  This includes both your Delegates and your Senator since we have bills in both chambers. 

You can find your legislators here.  With this sheet, you can filter by committee, County and District and see all of their contact information.  


For your Delegates:
 My name is _________, my address is ______________, and my phone number is __________.  I am writing to let you know that I am strongly supporting the following bill(s) and would like your help in getting them on a voting list this week.  I would also like to ask that you do not vote for any weakening amendments. 

If you are not on the relevant committee for these bills, I would appreciate your voting for them on the House floor and ask that you do not vote for any weakening amendments. 


Economic Matters Committee

·  HB0008 Labor and Employment - Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program - Establishment (Time to Care Act) - Delegate Valderrama

·  HB0171 Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act - Delegate Fraser-Hidalgo

Environment and Transportation Committee

·  HB0086 Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases - Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act of 2022) - Delegate Stewart

·  HB0141Equity in Transportation Sector - Delegate Ruth

·  HB0596 Constitutional Amendment - Environmental Rights - Delegate W. Fisher

Health and Government Operations Committee

·  HB0610 Public Health - Commission on Universal Health Care - Delegate Ruth

·  HB0694 Hospitals - Financial Assistance - Medical Bill Reimbursement - Delegate Charkoudian

Judiciary Committee

·  HB0083 Family Law - Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry - Delegate Atterbeary

·  HB0114 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Delegate Williams

·  HB0425 Public Safety - Untraceable Firearms - Speaker

·  HB0559Probation before Judgement - Probation Agreements - Probation Not Deportation - Delegate W. Fisher


For your Senator:
My name is _________, my address is ______________, and my phone number is __________.  I am writing to let you know that I am strongly supporting the following bill(s) and would like your help in getting them on a voting list this week.  I would also like to ask that you do not vote for any weakening amendments. 

If you are not on the relevant committee for these bills, I would appreciate your voting for them on the Senate floor and ask that you do not vote for any weakening amendments. 

Finance Committee

·  SB0023 Equity in Transportation Sector - Senator Carter

·  SB0275 Labor and Employment - Family Medical Leave Insurance Program (Time to Care Act of 2202) - Senator Hayes

·  SB0493 Public Health - Commission on Universal Health Care - Senator Pinsky

Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee

·  SB0135 Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Act - Senator Kramer

Judicial Proceedings Committee

·  SB0006 Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases - Tenant Rights and Protections (Tenant Protection Act of 2022) - Senator Waldstreicher

·  SB0029 Family Law - Emancipation of a Minor and Authorization to Marry - Delegate Senator Elfreth

·  SB0129 Access to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Program - Senator Hettleman

·  SB0265 Probation before Judgement - Probation Agreements - Probation Not Deportation - Senator Lee

·  SB0387 Public Safety - Untraceable Firearms - President

·  SB0783 Constitutional Amendment - Environmental Rights - Senator Smith



HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR THESE BILLS
 

Call or send an email to your legislators.  This includes both your Delegates and your Senator since we have bills in both chambers.  You can find your legislators here or on our website http://mdlegislative.com under Legislators.  

If you would like to include a short description of the bills, you can include the descriptions shown above.



If you want to contact your representatives in District 47 about any of the bills, you should email or call:

 

Senator Malcolm Augustine       Malcolm.augustine@senate.state.md.us 410-841-3745

Delegate Diana Fennell (47A) Diana.fennell@house.state.md.us 301-858-3478

Delegate Julian Ivey (47A) Julian.ivey@house.state.md.us      410-841-3326

Delegate Wanika Fisher (47B) Wanika.fisher@house.state.md.us 410-841-3340

 

If you do not know who your representatives are, you can go to www.mdelect.net     to find out who are your elected representatives   There is also a very good smart phone application “MD GOV” which lists all the Delegates and Senators, their Committees and their contact numbers.

 

 

 

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