A bill creating a statutory right to counsel made it to the House floor today.

I was a high school freshman when I read Gideon’s Trumpet, the book about Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court decision establishing a right to counsel in criminal cases where jail was a possibility.

I served on the Task Force to Study Implementing a Civil Right to Counsel in Maryland, which was created by Senate Bill 262 in 2013.

I introduced legislation to implement the recommendations of the task force in 2015.

Over the years, I have also introduced bills to protect tenants who face eviction, whose children are being poisoned by lead paint.

After decisions are made in Annapolis, after the bills are enacted, the landlords are represented in court by someone who knows the law.

The tenant is not.

We are about to address that imbalance.

Changes will be made to House Bill 18 – in the Senate and in subsequent years, if necessary.

But today is a very big step forward.