Blog

End of Session 2024

Everyone is in agreement – this was an incredibly and unusually busy legislative session this year. Not only were so many important bills heard, but so many groups came out to hold events and visit their representatives in person. It was truly a pleasure to be able to meet so many of you in person to hear your concerns and …

Transportation Funding

My statement on the recently announced transportation cuts Yesterday, the Maryland Department of Transportation announced drastic cuts to the transportation budget. These cuts will hurt Marylanders statewide and set back our economy and environmental health for years, possibly decades. Canceling 12 major highway projects, all MTA commuter bus routes, and the MARC Brunswick Line extension, as well as reducing state …

2022 End of Session Letter

It looks like the worst of the arctic weather is behind us and it’s finally starting to feel like spring. Similarly, the Maryland General Assembly has made it a long way from the completely virtual session of last year and is once again starting to feel more like it did before the start of the pandemic. We began the session …

Crossover Day ✓

Yesterday was crossover, the day by which bills need to pass one chamber to guarantee consideration by the other chamber. Crossover is an intense day as we try to get as many bills across the line as we can. We had two long floor sessions and one short one in the evening. In between floor sessions, I stopped by the …

HB832 Update

I wanted to give a quick update on HB832, the Homeschool Advisory Council bill. The hearing on the bill is this Thursday, March 3. The hearing starts at 1pm, but there are other bills and we may not be first. As I’ve been saying, I think that a public hearing is important because of the intense interest in this bill. …

HB832 Maryland Homeschool Advisory Council: Responses to Questions

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to write to me or leave comments about HB832. I especially appreciate that most of the messages have been polite and thoughtful. I’m reading your messages, but it’s not physically possible to reply to every one, so I wanted to respond to some of the questions and concerns I’ve seen. …

Reproductive Rights

The radical right has never stopped attacking reproductive rights, but until now the nearly 50 years of precedent has held. But now that the right has succeeded in packing the Supreme Court with conservative activist justices, the right of a pregnant person to control their own body and their own choices is in serious jeopardy. In Maryland we are better …

Baltimore County Fair Maps

The Baltimore County Council will hold a hearing tomorrow (Tuesday) at 4pm on the planned redistricting map for County Council and Board of Education districts for the next ten years. With Baltimore County population now 30% Black and 48% people of color, under the Voting Rights Act the county should have at least two majority Black districts and one majority-minority …

MTA Transportation Equity Hearings Starting Today

Last session I introduced the Transportation Equity Analyses and Assurances Act of 2021 to help build a more equitable transportation system in Maryland. Transportation plays a key role in employment, health, environment, and quality of life, and it’s important that Maryland’s transportation decisions are fair to all Marylanders regardless of race, income, or disability. Even though the bill didn’t pass, …

Equity in School Construction

Tuesday night, I testified at the Baltimore County Board of Education in support of the MYIPAS recommendations. Baltimore County has many aging schools, and the needs far exceed the funds available. Faced with this situation, Baltimore County, working with the Board of Education, hired an independent consultant, Cannon Design, to perform an analysis and make recommendations to help guide the …