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Dear District 30A Friends and Neighbors:
This has been a year of collaboration, starting with you. Thank you for reaching out to our office in a record year of phone calls and emails. I hope to have accommodated and served you as you deserve. It’s my hope that this 2021 Legislative Session Summary answers your questions and reminds you that my door is always open-- with the help of technology and/or friendly weather.
This year was no easy year for the Maryland General Assembly; for the first time in history we hosted a nearly 100% virtual session. I proudly resumed my seat on the Appropriations Committee as well as the Health and Social Services Subcommittee and the Oversight Committee on Pensions within the Appropriations Committee. I was an active member in the Democrat Caucus, Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus, the Women Legislators of Maryland, the Maryland Veterans Caucus, and the Transit Caucus.
There were a total of 1,588 House Bills and 1,183 Senate Bills introduced. Together we made progress across a wide range of topics. Our priorities included police reform, COVID-19 pandemic aid, fixing the unemployment system, supporting teachers and students, improving access to healthcare and improving voting accessibility.
Our Legislation
For my second session, I introduced bills to address housing quality, public safety, equity and justice, and worker protection. 15 bills were filed, of them four passed the House and one passed the Senate. Three others were implemented in other governmental programs, and two will be worked on over the interim:
Legal Education Success Collaborative- Established: (HB1268/SB0526)
The bill establishes the Legal Education Success Collaborative, a partnership with Maryland Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Maryland law schools to provide scholarships, professional development, and mentorship to HBCU students primed for law school admission.
Congregate Care Facilities - Visitation: (HB0276/HB0983)
The final version of the bill was incorporated into omnibus bill, HB0983 “Nursing Homes- COVID-19 and Other Catastrophic Health Emergencies- Visitation (The Gloria Daytz Lewis Act).” The bill creates guidelines for well being visitations in the parameters of COVID-19 safety measures and requires alternative means of communication with visitors.
Department of Housing and Community Development – Community Development Administration – Compliance Monitoring Reporting: (HB0105)
HB0105 would require Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to improve solicitation of resident feedback for an annual report of its compliance monitoring of low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) assisted properties, and make the reports available to the public on its website. The bill was passed by the House and fell short of an opportunity for a vote in the Senate. Nevertheless, the bill’s purpose was incorporated into the Department of Housing and Community Development budget as a mandate on the Department.
Environment - Mold Inspections - Standards, Reporting, and Penalties: (HB0129/SB070)
This bill would establish by regulation statewide standards for the inspection, detection, and remediation of mold in rental housing. Although it was the second year the bill was introduced, there is further work to be done to build a consensus among stakeholders.
Public Safety - Local Youth Violence Review Committees: (HB0093/SB406)
The intention of this bill is the formation of a committee to review homicide or serious injury of persons 24 years and younger to make recommendations for youth violence prevention and intervention. This legislation will be a continual topic throughout the interim as the community works together to make it possible for the 2022 session.
Other Impactful Legislation
Police Reform and Accountability Act of 2021
In response to the overwhelming need for police accountability as demonstrated by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, Maryland took the historic step of passing sweeping police reform and restructuring the flawed system that went unchanged for over 50 years. The Police Reform and Accountability Act of 2021 includes five bills HB0670, SB0071, SB0178, SB0600, and SB0786. The bills repeal the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights (LEOBR) and reform the Maryland Public Information Act, along with various other provisions. Key provisions of the legislation include:
Civilian Participation
Civilians are included in police oversight and accountability in two discrete functions. First, each local government is required to form a Police Accountability Board (PAB) composed exclusively of civilians selected by county/city council(s). The other is a requirement for trial boards with one civilian member. Civilians serving on trial boards will be required to receive training on police procedures from Maryland Police Training Standards Commission.
Transparency & Accountability
Allows for public inspection of administrative or criminal records related to law enforcement officer misconduct. By January 1, 2025, each law enforcement agency must require the use of Body Worn Cameras. The bills provide whistle-blower protection for officers who report misconduct. Adopts a statewide database to track police officer decertifications due to improper use of force. There will be enacted an innovative hiring system, including implicit bias training and full disciplinary history disclosure.
In instances of police misconduct, there will be swift and uniform penalties across the state that may result in dismissal, emergency suspensions, or decertifications. The bills state how and when no-knock warrants can be served. Prohibits law enforcement agencies from receiving military surplus weaponized vehicles or military style weapons. Establishes a statewide use of force standard. Requires alleged or potential police-involved deaths of civilians to be independently investigated by the Office of the Attorney General.
Environmental Policy
Maryland strives to meet the environmental needs of the state's population and ecosystem. We are underway in Phase III, the final phase, of our Watershed Implementation Plan to Restore Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Significant progress has been made since the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), “pollution diet” was adopted by Congress in 2010. Although we have done well to reduce pollution from wastewater facilities, greater attention to pollution from agriculture and other industries present opportunities to meet our goals.
This session, we passed several bills aimed at addressing our environmental goals. First, HB0507 “Clean Water Commerce Act” halts the sunset of the Bay Restoration Fund Wastewater Account and increases the allocation through 2030. The funds will be used toward reducing nitrogen levels in agriculture and run-off, toward developing green infrastructure and storm water projects in disadvantaged communities.
HB0569 “Electricity - Net Energy Metering - Limit” doubles the state capacity for residential rooftop solar panels and community solar energy projects. SB0065 “Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard -Qualifying Biomass (Black Liquor) removes black liquor, (the by-product of paper mills and a large contributor to air and water pollution), from Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. HB80/SB359 “Urban Tree Program- Establishment” requires the Department of Transportation to develop an urban tree program to replace trees removed during transportation projects.
Education (Higher Education & K-12)
We began Session by overriding the Governor’s veto of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and affirmed our commitment to transforming K-12 education for Maryland students. In response to the lessons learned from implementing virtual learning, we revised the Blueprint into Blueprint 2.0 (HB1372) which adjusts education funding and provides more support to address learning loss, expands behavioral and mental health resources, closes the digital divide, and requires better reporting and data tracking of student progress.
Additionally, we took action to correct historic inequities in Maryland’s higher education. HB1/SB “Funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities” provides $577 million to Maryland’s four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to resolve program duplications and level the playing field for all students regardless of background, race or the college they attend. Also, we made good on a long standing commitment to our community colleges and fully funded the Cade Funding Formula to support our community colleges as they gear up for the increased needs of students looking for quality higher education closer to home. Our four-year public institutions received additional funding and our private four-year institutions (i.e. St. John’s College) received full funding of the Sellinger Funding Formula to provide financial assistance to eligible students.
Housing Relief
As a result of COVID-19, Maryland saw the fragility of our rental housing market. To combat housing instability and provide greater support to property owners and tenants, the legislature passed two priority bills and provided record funding for landlords in the budget.
HB0018 makes Maryland the first state to grant tenants a right to counsel in specific eviction cases. In eviction cases, the number of tenants who do not have active counsel due to lack of funding or other factors is overwhelming compared to the number of landlords without counsel, generally giving landlords an advantage in eviction cases. HB0031 increases the fee to file for an eviction (paid for by the landlord) from $15 to $75 ($85 in Baltimore City) to discourage frivolous and duplicative eviction filings and promote landlords and tenants to resolve disputes independently.
Health Equity
Systemic racism has roots throughout the infrastructure of our nation, but especially in the medical field. It has been proven that minorities and people of color receive disparate levels of medical care. This Session, we took legitimate steps to address these disparities. HB0028 “Implicit Bias Training and the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities” requires health equity and bias training as part of accreditation and licensing for all health care providers. To further address health inequities, HB078 “The Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Health Equity Act of 2021” and HB0463 “Maryland Health Equity Resource Act” establish the Maryland Commission on Health Equity and designate Health Equity Resource Communities respectively which uses the states general fund to award grant funding to applicants for the purpose of improved and enhanced access to primary care, promoting primary and secondary prevention services which aide in the reduction of healthcare cost and other inequitable health outcomes in disparaged communities. . HB0849 “Public Health - Medical Records Fees” lowers the maximum fee that can be charged for medical records and prohibits a separate preparation fee. These three bills create a foundation for increased health equity and future legislation to further address the inequities.
Health Care
Navigating through the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic we were duty bound to address access to health care. HB123 “Preserve Telehealth Access Act of 2021” expands the definitions of “telehealth” as well as coverage and reimbursements for telehealth for both Medicaid and private insurance. HB565 “Hospitals- Medical Debt Protection” revises the method for income qualification for free of reduced cost hospital care and prohibits hospitals from charging interest or fees on certain debts incurred by patients.
Election Reform
The struggles of holding a national election during a pandemic were not lost, however the election innovations our country had to accept, including increased early voting and mail in ballots, have inspired legislation to further streamline all elections in Maryland and increase accessibility to our right to vote. HB0745 “Election Law - Early Voting Centers” will create over a dozen new early voting centers across Maryland for the 2022 election. Additionally, we passed HB1048 “Permanent Absentee Ballot List” to permanently implement the mail-in ballot option. Voters will not have to request a ballot for every election, thus encouraging all communities to exercise their constitutional right to vote without unnecessary hassle.
Criminal Justice Reform
Maryland will always strive to make our criminal justice system wholey equitable and just for everyone impacted by it. We passed three bills to better serve individuals eligible for parole or exoneration. SB0202 “Correctional Services - Parole -Life Imprisonment” removes the Governor from parole decisions for those who are sentenced to life in prison after 20 years, thus making the parole process independent from partisan politics. SB0494 “Juvenile Restoration Act” ends juvenile life sentences without the consideration for parole, allowing for consideration 20 years after the offense. Finally, The Walter Lomax Act (HB0742) provides appropriate compensation and adequate resources for individuals who have been exonerated.
Also, HB016 “Dignity Not Detention Act” addresses the disparities between public and private immigration prisons by banning private immigration prisons and grandfathering three existing detention centers.
Speaker Jones’s -- Racial Economic and Justice Act
Since the New Deal and prior, Black families in Maryland have been disadvantaged by redlining, mortgage rates, and banking investment strategies and thus have been unable to consistently break into the housing market. Two bills were passed addressing this: HB1213 “Determination of Creditworthiness - Evaluation Rules and Alternative Methods” which prevents housing/loan applicants from being denied if applicants can provide alternate forms of creditworthiness and HB1178 “First-Time Homebuyer Savings Accounts” which creates tax free savings accounts for first time homebuyers. Both policies will create a more equal path to homeownership for all.
We passed two bills championed by Speaker Jones to address racial inequality in the corporate workspace. HB1210 “Corporate Diversity -Board, Executive Leadership, and Mission” requires Maryland companies to report on the racial diversity of their boards and increase diversity in executive leadership or mission to qualify for State capital funding. HB1211 “Pre-Seed Capital for Minority Entrepreneurs'' adds $10million to TEDCO’s Builder’s Fund to increase meaningful venture opportunities for minority entrepreneurs. As much as there must be equal representation in government and law, there must as well be minority representation in business to better reflect the communities we serve.
COVID-19 Pandemic Relief and Recovery
After every resident in Maryland was negatively impacted by COVID-19, the legislature took action to provide the needed relief to all Marylanders, starting with SB0496 “Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families (RELIEF) Act.” This bipartisan act provides $1.5 billion in pandemic relief. The Act infuses $509 million in spending and includes $1 billion in tax relief and credits, raising the earned income tax credit for individuals with no children from $100 to $530. We also exempted unemployment insurance payments from State income tax, provided $500 stimulus payments to Marylanders who qualified for the earned income tax credit of 2019, gave aid to small businesses with tax breaks and payment forgiveness, and converts up to $50,000 in Equity Participation loans to grants.
Also, the Unemployment Insurance Reform Package takes steps to fix the broken unemployment system. This package modernizes the UI system, improves customer service creates more accountability, and takes proactive steps for the next emergency. The package includes HB0907/SB0817, HB0908/SB0816, HB1002, HB1138, HB1139/SB0819, and HB1143/SB0771.
Transportation
The temptation this Session was to allow temporary decreases in ridership during the pandemic to lull us into a loss of perception of the importance of mass transit. Thankfully myself and those of my colleagues on the Transit Caucus were able to prioritize the benefits of mass transit and pass HB114/SB199 “ Transit Safety and Investment Act of 2021.” The bill mandates spending for six years to address the repair needs outlined by the Maryland Transportation Authority to increase transit usability and accessibility.
FY2022 Budget and Revenue
Heading into Session COVID-19 created a billion dollar deficit that affected the State budget as it went through the House Appropriations Committee. The FY22 State Budget eliminates the structural budget for the next two years, restores the Rainy Day Fund, and leaves a cash balance to account for unforeseen impacts from COVID-19. With a strong focus on fully funding healthcare and education, $1.5 billion is allocated to construction projects to increase the workforce.
To increase revenue, we listened to the overwhelming request of the voters to legalize sports better in Maryland. HB0940 makes Maryland the 21st state in the nation to do so, thus increasing funding for education and increasing opportunities for minority businesses without raising taxes.
Additionally, the capital budget leverages significant funds to the betterment of schools: $2.2 billion for school construction, $320 million to modernize classrooms and provide necessary equipment for schools to safely re-open. $130 million to maintain parks and playgrounds to support healthy outdoor activity.
District 30A Capital Budget Projects
When our friend the late Speaker Mike Busch held this seat he championed countless capital improvement projects in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. This year we brought home more than $15 million to District 30A for the capital priorities you requested. These investments in our amenities and necessities will hopefully help us rebound from a tough year. Please join me in celebrating these project:
- $1,400,000 Annapolis City Dock Stormwater and Flood Mitigation
- $1,000,000 City of Annapolis – Parks and Playgrounds grant for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement, and capital equipping of playgrounds and parks in Annapolis locations
- $250,000 Annapolis Overhead Utilities Undergrounding grant for the capital equipping of underground utilities in the City of Annapolis
- $600,000 City of Annapolis – Stanton Community Center Renovation capital renovations to the Stanton Community Center
- $5,677,502 Anne Arundel County Public Schools grants for special construction, fiber and broadband infrastructure projects
- $100,000 Brewer Hill Cemetery for the capital equipping of Brewer Hill Cemetery Facilities
- $1,000,000 Historic Annapolis Restoration renovation of the Brice House and other State–owned, historic properties leased to Historic Annapolis, Inc.
- $5,000,000 St. John’s College a grant to St. John’s College for the design and construction of renovations to Mellon Hall
- $250,000 Maryland Fire – Rescue Services Memorial a grant for repair, renovation, reconstruction, site improvement of the Maryland Fire – Rescue Services Memorial
- $336,000 Anne Arundel Medical Center grant construction and equipping of the Pathways’ inpatient and outpatient clinical space
- $10,000 Anne Arundel County Community Garden grant for site improvements to the grounds, walkways, and parking lot
- $25,000 Chesapeake Children’s Museum Amphitheater grant for site improvement, and capital equipping of a new amphitheater complex
- $75,000 Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating, Inc grant for site improvement, and capital equipping of ADA restrooms in the Adaptive Boating Center
- $45,000 PAL Park Field grant repair, renovation, and capital equipping of the PAL Park Field, including site improvements to the sports field
- $70,000 Peerless Rens Club grant for the capital equipping of the Peerless Rens Club facility, located in Anne Arundel County
- $100,000 YWCA Domestic Violence Safe House Shelter grant for the planning, design, of the YWCA Domestic Violence and Trafficking Shelters
- $75,000 Banneker–Douglass Museum grant for site improvement of the Banneker–Douglass Museum
- $9,000,000 Anne Arundel County grants to the county local parks to design, construct and capital equip indoor and outdoor park infrastructure and other capital–eligible projects that enhance recreational amenities, including but not limited to trails, playgrounds, and recreational facilities
Be on the lookout for improvements to our local State facilities:
- $2,750,000 State House Exterior and Grounds Restoration construction of the restoration of the exterior and grounds of the historic Maryland State House and Old Treasury buildings in the Annapolis State Government Complex.
- $2,836,000 Courts of Appeal Building continue design of a new Courts of Appeal Building in Annapolis.
- $12,500,000 Department of Legislative Services Building design and construct a new Department of Legislative Services Building.
- $3,800,000 Alterations and renovations to the Old Senate Chamber to its 18th Century appearance
- $60,000,000 Department of Legislative Services Building continue construction and capital equipping of a new Department of Legislative Services Building
Thank you for your support and communication over the past year, and if at any point you need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my office. Connecting with each of you is the most valued part of my job as your Delegate, please continue to reach out in the interim and I will do the same.
With Respect and Deep Appreciation,
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