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A B++ and military experience

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I would give my testimony a B++.

Why a grade? I was speaking alongside the deans of the University of Baltimore and University of Maryland law schools, where I co-teach the Legislation class in the fall semester.

I knew the issue and never looked down at my written statement. If my rhetoric had sung, I would have gotten an A.

The issue was funding the tax clinics at both schools and the one offered by the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

For example, sound advice would prevent taxpayers from being on the verge of losing their vehicle registration because they had not paid undisputed taxes.

Those payments would fund the clinics.

As is the case with tobacco taxes, some day we would need to find a new source of revenue.

—-

I also teach my students to personalize their testimony.

House Bill 1016 would fund a year of public service for people who have just graduated from high school.

Testifying after me was Jesse Colvin, the CEO of Service Year Alliance, which hopes to spread this idea nationwide.

Jesse served four combat deployments in Afghanistan.

He told the committee: “”My military experience, especially in Afghanistan, is where I learned what is possible when Americans from different walks of life join together to tackle shared problems.”

The committee chair’s drawer

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Bills are guaranteed a hearing if they’re introduced by a certain date.

They’re not guaranteed a vote by the committee after that hearing.

They may remain in the committee chair’s drawer instead.

So I asked a member of committee leadership if my bill was stuck in the chair’s drawer for the rest of the session. Or was the committee waiting until it acted on other bills with a higher priority?

The latter, I was told.

That means we have time to count to a majority on the committee when, or if, that vote is held.

We’re scheduling a meeting of interested legislators and advocates to strategize.

From fraudulent flyers to technology

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My legislation criminalizing fraudulent campaign flyers designed to suppress voter turnout was enacted in 2005. The threat to our democracy now comes from sophisticated technology.

The Securing America’s Federal Elections Act (SAFE Act) passed the House of Representatives eight months ago, but it still sits on Senator Mitch McConnell’s desk. I had legislation drafted adopting the provisions in the SAFE Act that are needed in Maryland law.

House Bill 392 passed the House of Delegates today, 134-0. My legislation requires the disclosure of the foreign manufacture of any component of a voting system and of any material change to a component that occurred outside the United States. If such occurrences would compromise or influence the independence and integrity of an election, the contract may be terminated.

Congressman John P. Sarbanes chairs the Democracy Reform Task Force. In his letter of support for HB 392, he wrote, “All Americans deserve and expect their votes to count, unencumbered by foreign or domestic interference.”

The Building Block

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For the bill hearing on the redevelopment of Pimlico, my 41st District colleagues and I have expressed our support.

We wrote, “What is now essentially a vacant property, except for the third weekend in May, will become an attraction for Park Heights, northwest Baltimore communities, city residents, and countless visitors.”

The full text of our letter is at https://drive.google.com/open?id=1UOKyRh-HbUmDCtftGH8MkE2oVpNYdpgu

In my individual letter to the chair of the House committee that’s considering the bill, I wrote, “It will save the Preakness.  It will be the building block for the Park Heights community.”

 

Dear Chair Kaiser:

The Maryland Stadium Authority is highly regarded for building Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium.

That’s why I met with Tom Kelso, chair of the Authority, in December 2015 to discuss a study of the future of the Pimlico Race Course site.

That study was funded by the City, the State, and the Maryland Jockey Club.  It is the forerunner of the redevelopment project for Pimlico and Laurel that your committees will consider tomorrow.

As I was walking to the Preakness last May, I saw Michael Gaines, running the barbeque for Manna Bible Baptist Church, right across Belvedere Avenue from the entrance to the Pimlico parking lot.

Michael’s brother is the pastor of the church.  They want to develop Belvedere Place, a mixed-use project including 150 units of mixed-income rental housing.  My 41st District colleagues and I are working with the church to obtain state funding.

The benefits of House Bill 1056, the Racing and Community Development Act of 2020, are twofold.

It will save the Preakness.  It will be the building block for the Park Heights community.

I urge a favorable report on this historic proposal.

Yours truly,

Samuel I. Rosenberg

 

Testifying and whispering

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When I took the Constitutional Litigation seminar at Columbia Law School, the professor was Telford Taylor.

Taylor was a chief prosecutor during the Nuremberg war crimes trial after World War II.

Nathan Lewin, a noted Supreme Court litigator, taught the seminar after Prof. Taylor retired.

Prof. Lewin and I testified together today, along with Delegate Dalya Attar, on legislation that would address the fate of Jewish women who are chained to their marriages because their husbands will not grant them a get – a religious divorce.

Del. Attar’s legislation, which I have co-sponsored, would require a husband to state, under penalty of perjury, that he has taken all steps within his control to remove all barriers to his wife’s remarriage.

A committee member asked Lewin about the consequences for the woman if she does not receive a get.

“Her children are considered bastards,” I whispered. Lewin repeated what I had said.

I never whispered in Telford Taylor’s ear.

 

Valuable Questions and a Small Step

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The committee chairman’s questions are very valuable.

They are asked after my supporters and I have testified and all other members of the committee have asked their questions.

The chair’s questions provide insight into his or her thinking on my bill.

House Bill 457 would require schools to test more frequently for the presence of lead in each drinking water outlet more frequently than is currently required.

“I understand why the Maryland Association of Boardsof Education submitted written testimony,” noted chairman Kumar Barve. (A comment in this instance instead of a question.)

Unsaid was the fact that the association wanted to avoid having its representative testify in front of the committee and be asked tough questions.

I will ask the chair tomorrow what steps he wants to take next on my bill.

—

Peter Diamandis may not have been to Baltimore until last night, when he spoke at the Stevenson University Lecture Series at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

The founder of Xprize Foundation. Diamandis predicted that the next decade will witness faster rates of positive change, fostered by tehnological advances, my brother Bruce wrote me.

I responded: “I agree with Peter D’s insight.  Public attention is focused on the actions of the powerful, but there are countless Sergeys [Sergey Brin co-founded Google.]out there.

And on a day when people are justifiably bemoaning the loss of Legg Mason, I am heartened by the fact that we are on the verge of taking a small step in a positive direction for the City by preserving the Preakness and redeveloping the Pimlico site.

 

Taking the lead on lead testing

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We have made great strides in reducing the number of children suffering from lead poisoning in Maryland.

Under compromise legislation that I introduced and Governor Schaefer signed, property owners are required to reduce the risk of a child being exposed to lead paint. However, they do not have to remove all lead paint from a rental unit.

Compliance with that law is the reason why fewer children are being poisoned – and damaged for life.

But not every at-risk property meets the law’s standards.

A lead inspection company and two of its inspectors certified properties as lead-free despite testing that showed they were not, according to a lawsuit recently filed by the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Attorney General Frosh.

I am considering what steps should be taken to prevent such violations.

If a landlord files an action to repossess a property because the tenant has failed to pay the rent, that landlord should have to provide evidence that the property complies with all lead safety requirements. That is not the case under current law.

House Bill 491 would forbid landlords’ use of the courts to put tenants on the streets if the landlords themselves cannot demonstrate compliance with the lead risk reduction law.

Lastly, the vast majority of schools in the state have reported lead levels over the federally suggested limit of 20 parts per billion in at least one fixture, most often a water fountain.

House Bill 457 would require lead testing in school buildings at least once every 18 months. Our children deserve at least this level of attention to their health.

 

 

Very proud

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Today was the bill hearing for House Bill 1300, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – Implementation. It’s the Kirwan Commission recommendations for pre-K-12 public education.

I spoke at a rally prior to the bill hearing:

“I am a very proud graduate of the Baltimore City Public Schools.

“I now teach five hours per week in the fall semester as an adjunct law school professor. I can’t imagine the preparation needed to teach five hours every day. That’s why I support the Kirwan Commission’s proposed increase in pay for our teachers.

“The work doesn’t end when the bill passes. I will work to make sure that this legislation is fully implemented.”

In her remarks, Delegate Maggie McIntosh spoke of the crippling effect of children being set apart as poor learners.

A contemporary of mine at City College was wrongly labeled in that manner in elementary school.

His name was Elijah Cummings.

Public Service

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Students who want to spend a year in community service before college could join the Maryland Corps.

Senate President Bill Ferguson and I are the lead sponsors of legislation that would mandate funding for this program.

My prepared remarks for a press conference on our legislation follow.

I know this issue well. I don’t expect I’ll be reading this verbatim tomorrow.

In a campaign speech on October 14, 1960, at 2 a.m., Senator John F. Kennedy told students at the University of Michigan, “On your willingness…not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete.”

The Peace Corps was born.

Maryland is already a leader in assisting students seeking a career in public service.

Over the last two years, 302 recent college graduates who are working for the government or a non-profit have received state grants to pay off their academic debt. The Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program was the first in the nation.

An internship can set a student on the path to public service. Since the Walter Sondheim Internship Program was authorized in 2008, 523 fellows, most of whom are undergraduate juniors and seniors, have received a stipend for an internship with a government agency or a non-profit.

The Maryland Corps will be an historic step forward in our shared endeavor of fostering a free and equitable society.

The full Kennedy speech is at https://www.peacecorps.gov/about/history/founding-moment/#video-modal-0.

Compromised

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Legislating is the art of compromise.

An identical version of one of my bills (a crossfile) was heard in the Senate yesterday.

This morning I emailed a friendly lobbyist: “Testimony attached.  Let’s discuss possible compromise.”

We met this afternoon. The lobbyist will talk to committee staff to gain insight into what the members are thinking of doing.

On the House floor, a committee chair asked me to meet with a witness who testified against my bill, in effect deputizing me to reach a compromise for the committee to consider.

Two of my witnesses understand the nuances of my bill better than I do.

A meeting has been scheduled. I will join it if I can.

During committee hearings this afternoon, I asked questions of witnesses with the hope that their answers might lead us to a compromise.

  • My Key Issues:

  • Pimlico and The Preakness
  • Our Neighborhoods
  • Pre-Kindergarten
  • Lead Paint Poisoning