Uncategorized – Page 30 – Sandy Rosenberg

Make it happen

January 23, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

“We need to make the commitment and have the persistence to make it happen.”

That could be said about any number of programs.

Brit Kirwan said it today about the proposals for making Maryland’s public schools, pre-k-12, world class.

The persistence he spoke of will be needed to vote for the significant funding increase necessary to carry out that commitment to educational performance.

Brit chaired the commission that studied our current system and proposed the changes now before us.

He is appearing before every committee in the legislature.

Our committee usual spends little time on briefings outside the realm of health care.

That was not the case today.

Nearly half of our members asked questions.

A Republican colleague suggested that school choice was a better option than the Kirwan plan.

School choice or vouchers benefit a few. Systemic change benefits many.

I don’t do anything

January 22, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

“This is cannabis. I don’t do anything without talking with the Attorney General’s Office.”

Will Tilburg, the executive director of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, offered that response to a question at our committee briefing today.

The Commission has been sued over its award of licenses, the lead sponsor of legislation regarding medical marijuana pled guilty to bribery charges today, and cannabis – medical or otherwise, is an illegal drug under federal law.

As the career leader among legislators in requesting advice from the Attorney General, I understood.

After the public hearing, there was a discussion about a health insurance bill with a civil rights provision.

“Civil rights is one of my passions,” I said.

I will be included in the group that reviews the bill.

The bill could pass

January 21, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

Nothing concentrates the mind like a hanging, declared an 18^th Century British writer.

In Annapolis, or any legislative body, nothing concentrates the mind like a bill hearing.

It may be unlikely, but the bill could pass.

It brings everybody involved to the witness table – after they’ve met with the sponsor.

At a reception last night, a colleague told me about a problem in his county.

“Why don’t you introduce a bill?” I asked.

He then recalled that we had once discussed the therapeutic benefits of a bill hearing.

My committee had a briefing today on insurance carriers’ compliance with parity laws for patients with mental health or substance abuse disorders.

Plenty of charts but no legislation.

That will follow in the weeks ahead. Then we can accomplish something.

More intensive supervision

January 20, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

My last bill drafting request dealt with one of the most important issues of the session – public safety.

Individuals who are striving to lead a productive life after incarceration should be assisted. Serious parole violators should return to prison or be subject to more rigorous oversight.

The Baltimore Metropolitan Region has the most staff resources for parole and probation, but it also has the highest number of specialized populations requiring more intensive levels of supervision.

The average caseload for an agent is 82. The legislation I have requested would lower that number to 50 for any agent managing a caseload involving offenders identified as requiring more intensive supervision. My bill would also have agents use technology to enhance supervision of their clients.

I am going to educate myself on this issue prior to the bill hearing.

I welcome your thoughts.

I defer

January 16, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

Nathan Lewin has argued 28 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and drafted and filed more than 235 briefs in that Court.

I was on a conference call with him today about get legislation.

Our draft bill seeks to address the problem of Orthodox Jewish women whose husbands are denying them a get, a religious divorce. Senator Cheryl Kagan and Delegate Dalya Attar will be the lead sponsors.

Under Jewish law, no one, including a rabbi, can pressure a man to agree to a get.

You may remember that several years ago I introduced legislation to address this problem.

It failed because of First Amendment concerns.

Nat Lewin drafted the get law that the New York legislature passed 40 years ago.

He believes that we need to make a significant change in our bill.

“Why is our bill drafted this way?” one of the other legislators on the call asked me.

“I defer to Nat Lewin,” I replied. “We should make the changes he proposes.”

When my colleagues and I meet with key legislators to discuss the bill, I will ask Nat Lewin to join us.

All the difference

January 15, 2020January 15, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost’s verse may be a bit profound for my two chance meetings today, but it comes to mind nonetheless.

I try to swim at least twice each week when I’m in Annapolis.

I was going to swim tonight but looked at my schedule and realized that was not possible. So at 7:40 a.m., not my preferred time, I headed to the Anne Arundel County pool.

Whom did I run into there? Senate President Bill Ferguson.

We briefly discussed an issue of concern to both of us.

At lunch time, I thought about a restaurant on West Street but decided to go to a place on Maryland Avenue instead.

On the way, I bumped into a member of Mayor Young’s staff.

He joined me for lunch. We discussed the same issue of concern as this morning.

We’ll find out whether these meetings, as Frost wrote, “made all the difference.”

The biggest waste of time in Annapolis

January 14, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

A lot of legislators spend a lot of time asking their colleagues to co-sponsor their bills.

It’s the biggest waste of time in Annapolis.

Except when it isn’t.

Lots of co-sponsors won’t influence the committee that’s considering your legislation.

A handful of prominent members of the committee might help – especially those who will be in the room where it happens when the committee leadership discusses bills prior to the full committee’s voting session.

Co-sponsors can also make a statement if you’re introducing a bill to create the crime of domestic terrorism.

My bill would create a new criminal offense for the commission of any violent crime with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or influence the policy or conduct of a government by intimidation, coercion, mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.

It would also require the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security to report to the General Assembly on the State’s efforts and plans to prevent, detect, and address domestic terrorism.

The three people I’ve asked to co-sponsor the bill are the chairs of the Legislative Black Caucus, the Legislative Latino Caucus, and the Women’s Legislative Caucus.

Their support would make a statement.

Fit to pass

January 13, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

I have been accused of making too many bill requests after reading the New York Times.

Today I plead guilty.

The Trump Administration has crippled the environmental review of construction projects funded with federal dollars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/climate/trump-nepa-environment.html

I asked that a bill be drafted to create such a review process in Maryland.

Earlier this year, I read that the New York legislature had passed legislation requiring that hundreds of millions of dollars be spent in disadvantaged communities harmed by pollution and other industrial byproducts.

I also asked that a bill be drafted to do the same here.

The Times logo is “All The News Fit To Print.”

I hope that my two bills are considered fit to pass.

An internship for Bluto

January 9, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

I’ve introduced my first bill.

House Bill 79 would broaden participation in the Maryland Technology Internship Program.

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski wrote about the Massachusetts program in a Baltimore Sun op-ed six years ago.

The state provides a grant to an intern with a technology-based business or the government.

We passed the bill the year we introduced it.

There was no funding, however, until Governor Hogan included it in the state’s Amazon HQ2 package in 2018.

Under HB 79, the minimum grade average for eligibility would be 2.5, instead of 3.0. (It’s known in some circles as the Belushi amendment.)

Students could also intern in a non-profit technology-based business.

The people at UMBC who administer the program requested both of these changes.

Last year, legislation with the grade change passed the House but too late for the Senate to act.

I may look for a Senate sponsor who serves on the committee that would hear the bill.

A time to mourn, and a time to dance

January 8, 2020 | by delsandy | Uncategorized | No Comments

I was honored to be asked again to give the opening prayer on the first day of the session.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

When we last met on sine die, we mourned the loss of our Speaker.

As we convene today, we celebrate an historic beginning for our Speaker.

Since we last met, we have also lost a former member of our House, Elijah Cummings.

By his example and his words, Elijah could change hearts and minds, and most importantly in this chamber, he could change votes.

“Walk with me,” he would intone. His district would become our district. His city our city.

“A lot of people call me a bridge builder, but sometimes I feel like I’m the bridge itself,” he said shortly after his election to Congress. “I often become the bridge, so people can begin to concentrate on what they have in common as opposed to what differences they have.”

John Lewis made history when he sought to cross a bridge – the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, but suffered a fractured skull instead.

His courage and commitment brought about the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Protecting the right to vote is still his cause. May it remain so for years to come.