I know effective testimony when I hear it.

Especially when the witness is sitting next to me and speaking on behalf of my bill.

House Bill 186 would broaden eligibility for a program that repays a portion of a teacher’s academic debt if the teacher is in a school where most of the children come from poor families.

Joseph Mahach, who teaches at the John Ruhrah Elementary Middle School in Southeast Baltimore, told the Appropriations Committee:

By passing HB 186, you can tell teachers that you are looking out for them. You can show us that funding education isn’t just a discussion of best practices ad budget calculations. You can show teachers that yes, the state of Maryland is committed to world class education, but that doesn’t mean you will lose sight of the details that can make a career in teaching just that little bit easier.

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Every bill has a fiscal note.

The note estimates the cost of implementing the legislation.

If a bureaucrat doesn’t like your bill, he or she will submit a costly estimate to the General Assembly’s budget staff.

But I am not without options.

I wrote a friend and computer entrepreneur to ask for his estimate.

I can submit his response to our budget staff as well.