News From Your State Delegate |
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Courtney Watson
Serving Maryland District 9B
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March 10, 2022
Hello Friends,
It's a very busy time right now in the Maryland General Assembly. Bills are furiously being presented in committees, bills are being sent to subcommittees for additional consideration, and bills are coming on the floor for spirited and sometimes long debate. As Chair of the Economic Matters Committee's Workers' Compensation Subcommittee and member of the Banking, Consumer Protection and Commercial Law Subcommittee and the Property and Casualty Subcomittee, my days are full!
The Constitution of Maryland requires that before any bill becomes law, it must be read on three different days in each legislative chamber. With “crossover day” approaching on March 21 (the deadline guaranteeing that a bill that has passed out of one chamber of the legislature will be taken up in the other chamber), bill sponsors are anxiously working to move their bills forward.
Now is the time to advocate for bills that are important to you! Check the status of bills by logging on to the Maryland General Assembly website, then feel free to contact my office with feedback and questions. Email is the best way to contact us. Keeping up with the email volume is sometimes a challenge so if you do not get an answer in a timely manner, feel free to resend the email with "resending" in the subject line.
Thank you, and...
...May your heart be light and happy,
may your smile be big and wide,
and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!
-Irish Proverb
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Comptroller Franchot Visits OEC
Standing with Ukraine in Annapolis
Programs for Veterans and Their Families
HCHS Lunch Series - Ellicott City Children's Museum
HoCo Conservancy Seeking Hike Leaders
Latest News from the Howard County Executive
Life After COVID-19
Celebrate Women's History Month at the Walters
World Autism Acceptance Day at Blandair Regional
And More...
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It's been two years since the first COVID-19 patient was hospitalized in Maryland. Hats off to the Health Care Heroes who served and continue to serve our community with dedication, bravery, and stamina. We are so grateful! |
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A Visit to Ellicott City from the Comptroller |
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Ellicott City had a visit recently from Peter Franchot our Comptroller who is running for Governor and his running mate, Monique Anderson Walker. It was another opportunity to highlight the uniqueness of Ellicott City as one of the country’s oldest intact streetscapes now 250 years old. The importance of continued state funding for the flood mitigation Safe and Sound plan is always front and center in these visits.
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Standing with Ukraine in Annapolis |
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A somber ceremony was held last week by Maryland leaders in Annapolis. “Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine” said Speaker Adrienne Jones in a powerful speech about what makes a country strong and how Ukraine exemplifies this through the strength of its people.
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Programs for Veterans and Their Families |
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- Is Entrepreneurship the right choice for you?
- Do you have a business idea but not sure where to start?
- Do you have a business and want to take it to the next level?
- Classes will be held on Wednesday Evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, starting on April 6, 2022, and ending with a Graduation Ceremony on June 1, 2022
- Orientation and all classes will be held at Harford County Economic Development Complex, 2021 Pulaski Highway, Havre de Grace, Maryland 21078
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To register, please complete the form found here
- Project Opportunity is an intensive curriculum based 8-week cohort program facilitated by small business professionals and subject matter experts. The program concludes with a formal business pitch.
- Training Includes: Assessing Your Business Idea, Marketing Analysis, Financing and Financial Management, Business Structure and Taxes, Development of a Business Plan
A transformative entrepreneur accelerator program in partnership with M&T Bank. The empowering program teaches early-stage and historically under-served entrepreneurs the essentials of business planning, operations, credit building, digital communication, and financial management. Top business mentors, coaches and subject matter experts will lead the intensive 10-week bootcamp at no cost to participants. To apply, please click here.
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A Lunch Date with History |
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April 1 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Learn more from those behind the scenes about the development of Howard County Historical Society’s new Ellicott Mills Children’s Museum scheduled to open later in the month as part of the anniversary celebration. Located in the renovated Ellicott family’s original Quarker school building, the museum will offer a look at day-to-day life in the town from the late 1700s to mid1800s.
The Lunch Date With History series features a lecture each month in 2022. Each lecture features a special speaker(s) with in-depth knowledge and insight into the topic. Parking is available on the street or in the Circuit Courthouse parking lot. You may bring your lunch. The lectures are free to Howard County Historical Society members and $5.00 for non-members. To register please click here.
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Nature Lovers - Help Wanted |
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Volunteers are needed to lead hikes for our K-12 programs during the school year! Availability is needed on weekday mornings, when field trips take place. A love of nature and working with children is all that is required -- we teach you the rest!
Upcoming Trainings
Elementary field trips 3/14: 9am-12
Climate Change field trips 3/21: 9am-12pm
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FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S OFFICE |
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Howard County Executive Ball
Announces $76 Million Bond Sale
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced that a total of $76 million Public Improvement (CPI) and Metropolitan District bonds were sold via a competitive bid process. These bonds are highly valued in the marketplace in large part due to the County’s AAA credit rating, which was affirmed by all three credit rating agencies last month.
Notable projects funded through the bond sale include:
- New Elementary School #42
- Talbott Springs Elementary replacement
- High School #13
- Blandair Regional Park
- Police Department building upgrades and renovations
- Storm drain improvements
- Upgrades the to the Little Patuxent Water Treatment facility
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Howard County Ensures Broadband to
85% of Unserved Households
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced exciting, new Transform Howard projects that will make remarkable progress in closing the digital divide in Howard County with broadband expansion to 85% of currently unserved households. Ball detailed three projects to implement public Wi-Fi and broadband in Elkridge to 100 households and expand broadband access in Western Howard County to 462 households.
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County Executive Ball to Hold 2nd FY23
Resident’s Budget Hearing on March 14th
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will hold his second Resident’s Budget Hearing for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) budget cycle on Monday, March 14th at 6:00 p.m. This year’s budget hearing will be held virtually and can be watched live from the County Council’s streaming website; the hearing will be listed under “Upcoming Events.”
Residents can sign-up ONLINE to speak at the hearing by going to www.howardcountymd.gov/budgettestimony. Speakers must sign-up individually, and one person may not sign-up for several testifiers. Additionally, individual testimony is limited to three minutes and group testimony is limited to five. Speakers who have a document or record they wish to submit with their testimony are asked to email the file to budgettestimony@howardcountymd.gov,
with “BUDGET TESTIMONY” in the subject line.
From the same link, residents will also have the option to provide online budget testimony; however, residents are reminded that internet testimony is considered public information and, as such, is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act.
If you have any questions and/or problems registering for the Budget Hearing, please contact the Budget Office at 410-313-2077 (voice) or use Relay at 7-1-1, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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From Johns Hopkins Medicine |
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What Does the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic Look Like?
Johns Hopkins University public health experts offer insights into what will signal that SARS-CoV-2 is moving from pandemic to endemic, and how we might change our approach to the virus going forward. Read more here.
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Celebrate Women's History Month at the Walters |
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Saturday, March 12, 1-4 p.m.
Location: Onsite - Walters Graham Auditorium
Join a collective Wikipedia edit-a-thon and increase information about women and gender nonbinary artists in the Walters collection. Whether you are new to editing Wikipedia pages or a frequent contributor, this program will provide training and resources to increase your knowledge of both Wikipedia editing and the Walters collection.
If you like this event, you may also want to attend these events:
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HCPSS Looking for Partners |
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The HCPSS Teacher Externship Initiative is a new program that will offer a unique professional development opportunity connecting the classroom to the workplace. HCPSS teachers will spend time in a workplace learning about trends, skill requirements and opportunities in industries related to their subject to enrich and strengthen their teaching and bring relevance to student learning.
HCPSS is looking for businesses and organizations to host teacher externs for 150 hours over 4–6 weeks during the summer months in 2022 and/or to financially support the initiative by providing a full or partial teacher externship stipend for our externs. If you are interested in being involved in either or both of these capacities, please contact laree_siddiqui@hcpss.org. Non-profit donation eligibility may apply.
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BGE Energizing Small Business Grants |
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BGE is pledging $15 million to assist Maryland’s small businesses with COVID-19 relief and recovery. This grant program is part of BGE’s comprehensive Customer Relief and Energy Infrastructure Investment Plan, designed to help the state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
BGE Energizing Small Business Grants (of $20,000) will prioritize companies operated by historically underrepresented groups that are pivoting their business in response to the pandemic. Eligible applicants must be: a for-profit business founded in 2020 or prior, between 1-25 employees, less than $7 million in annual revenue, demonstrated need for support, strong plan for moving forward, and be in (or on the way to) good standing with the State of Maryland.
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Questions?
Send an email to:
Attention: Cindy Scruggs
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The General Assembly has put together video tutorials on using the MGA Website, which can be found by clicking below. You will find tutorials about searching for and tracking bills, signing up to testify on a bill, and more. To follow my legislation, click here.
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HOW TO CONTACT MY OFFICE
Your thoughts are always welcome. Please contact me by email (see the link at the top of the page). When requesting help for constituent matters, please include "constituent" in the subject line.
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Delegate Courtney Watson
Howard County District 9B
Member, Economic Matters Committee
Vice Chair, Democratic Caucus
Maryland House of Delegates
6 Bladen Street, Room 350
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-841-3077 / 301-858-3077
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